UK Car Insurance that includes Fully Comp in EU???

macmac_2

Having lived & worked in France for 10 years, where I drove my French car and insured it with a few different French companies over that time, I had fully comp cover automatically within the policy cost for driving that car in all EU countries, including the UK, without the need for a Green Card.

I believe that is the common situation for car insurance in other EU countries... after all, they just drive across the frontiers at no cost, unlike us who have to pay to cross the most expensive stretch of water in the world to reach our fellow Europeans for a glass or six.

I was surprised, therefore, to find on my return to the UK that it is apparently common here to have to pay extra for a Green Card to gain fully comp cover when driving elsewhere in the EU.

Is this yet another of the UK cartel rip-offs, or can anyone suggest UK insurance companies who have the same attitude to customer service as their European colleagues?

In anticipation of any suggestions, merci bien !

hillendale

Totally agreed with above

raskazz

With respect, your post is very mixed up the actual facts.

A Green Card was purely evidence of cover meeting the required legal minimum standards of the visited country - it had nothing to do with schedule cover - i.e. TPFT, comprehensive etc. With the advent of the EU Motor Directives a Green Card is no longer required for travel within EU and signatory countries - all you need is the existing certificate of motor insurance to confirm that your cover meets the legal minimum standards of the country visited.

There are loads of insurers who offer a certain period of schedule cover in the EU/signatory countries at no extra cost. There are some that charge for any schedule cover but in my experience these are in a minority.

This is not evidence of a cartel or any other tinfoil-hatted stuff, merely the suppliers of a product evolving in response to consumer behaviour - i.e. stripping down cover to reach the top of the aggregators as most consumers buy on price rather than level of cover.

mikey72

They strip out any extra cover, and will only give the bare minimum required by law, unless an extra premium is paid. In my experience, these are the majority, and I've used a different one every year, and read the policies of a lot others. But CSIS included fully comp in the EU at part of the initial premium. So at least one insurer in th uk can afford to, and still be competitive. How did the premiums compare between france and the uk?

rs65

macmac wrote: »

Is this yet another of the UK cartel rip-offs, or can anyone suggest UK insurance companies who have the same attitude to customer service as their European colleagues?

What has it got to do with cartels or customer service?

I just don't think there is the widespread need for UK cars to have EU cover. I have driven for 27 years and never taken a car abroad.

The UK is an island - most other EU countries have borders with others. Their need for EU cover is greater.

mikey72

rs65 wrote: »

What has it got to do with cartels or customer service?

I just don't think there is the widespread need for UK cars to have EU cover. I have driven for 27 years and never taken a car abroad.

The UK is an island - most other EU countries have borders with others. Their need for EU cover is greater.

I'd prefer fully comp free, I go over serveral times a year, so usually with minimum cover.

rs65

Mine is basic cover but can be upgraded to match the normal UK cover for £26.50 annually.

I don't need it so am happy that it's an optional extra.

Ultrasonic

Personally, I've never driven any car I own abroad and so am glad that I have not been automatically charged extra on my premiums for cover I would never have needed.

If I were to drive on the continent I would defintiely be slightly more likely to have an accident than at home due to the whole driving on the opposite side of the road thing. It would seem entirely reasonable for an insurance company to charge a little extra to cover this risk.