European Cover on Car Insurance Policies

stevemul

There are a number of posts on the forum regarding Car Insurance whilst driving in Europe but none seem to answer this basic question.

I believe that as a general principle, Insurance policies now include basic Third Party Insurance, sufficient to satisfy legal requirements in European Countries. Therefore, in principle, whilst driving in Europe, your insurance Company would pay out for a genuine Third Party Claim if you were involved in an accident.

Now, just to confuse the issue, Insurance Companies add a period eg 31 days wherby your Comprehensive Cover is extended to European Travel PROVIDED THAT YOU INFORM THEM THAT YOU ARE DRIVING OR INTEND TO DRIVE OUTSIDE OF THE UK.

My question is this:
If you fail to inform them for whatever reason, presumably you are still LEGALLY coverd Third Party but would they be legally entitled to refuse a Third Party CLAIM because they state that you should have informed them?
For example, I frequently travel to Ireland by ferry, sometimes to Belfast (UK) and sometimes to Dublin (Europe) depending on times and prices. I then travel day by day between North and South.
Over the years, discussions with reps of Insurance Companies have never given consistent answers, either wanting to raise the premium or saying that I need to tell them each time but I believe they are simply "guessing" the answer.
Does anyone actually KNOW for definite?

forgotmyname

Depends on the insurance company and the policy that you have.

They all have their own terms.

stevemul

The point of my question is that none of the many Policies I have examined give an answer.
I am asking whether they are LEGALLY entitled to refuse a TP claim.
I have no doubt that they would TRY to refuse a claim and claim that their T's&C's state such but what is the point of having a legal TP certificate as defined by EU legislation if they can refuse a claim?

Iceweasel

They can not refuse a 3rd Party claim anywhere in the EU, Norway, Switzerland, and Serbia - under any circumstances. You do not need to inform them you are going outside the UK.

But they could well refuse to cover your damage if you didn't inform them as per their conditions.

Eire is of course no problem - but beware insurance companies who say that they include all European countries - they do not - what they really mean is the the EU plus the few other countries who have the MIB agreement.

Check your policy documents - the territory covered should be clearly stated.

bowlhead99

Mine (an Admiral group one) notes on the face of the certificate:

European Car Insurance Cover:
This Certificate is valid for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands; any other country which is a member of the European Union and Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Croatia, Andorra and Liechtenstein.
Important - Length of Stay:
If your planned journey exceeds 30 consecutive days, please call Customer Services Department prior to your departure.

Advice to third parties: Nothing contained in this Certificate affects your right as a third party to make a claim

From the third party perspective the fact that you might not have told the insurers you were going to be in Dublin for 31 days straight does not stop them being able to claim off the insurers.

Within the policy document itself, it notes that your international cover lasts for 30 consecutive days and for up to 90 days in a year and if you think you may exceed them you should contact them because they may be able to arrange extra cover for an extra premium. They also note that you don't need to contact them ahead of travel if you are not going for more than 30 days, but you should take your certificate with you, and in the event of a claim you may be asked to evidence your travel.

So while your wording might be different, the general principle is that the third party cover is not restricted in the EU but your general coverage will stop after 30 days outside UK or after whatever term your insurer specifies.

If you had my policy and were basing yourself in Belfast you can go to Dublin 31 times in a month and be covered for every one-day trip ; but after 3 months running you would have exceeded the 90 days in foreign countries and lose your full coverage if you hadn't called them up to ask for it to be extended and got them to agree.

stevemul

Thank you bowlhead99.
The answer to my question is there in black and white - the first time I have seen it "Advice to third parties: Nothing contained in this Certificate affects your right as a third party to make a claim"

Iceweasel

Not that it affects you in Eire but Admiral's certificate info quoted by bowlhead99 is way out of date.

Croatia has been an EU member for several years so does not need a special mention.

Since then Serbia signed up to the MIB standards a couple of years ago so should now be included in the list.

I omitted to mention Iceland, Andorra and Liechtenstein in my post, but they have been on the list for years -since the minimum cover in MIB approved countries was introduced.

Car_54

Iceweasel wrote: »

Not that it affects you in Eire but Admiral's certificate info quoted by bowlhead99 is way out of date.

Croatia has been an EU member for several years so does not need a special mention.

Since then Serbia signed up to the MIB standards a couple of years ago so should now be included in the list.

I omitted to mention Iceland, Andorra and Liechtenstein in my post, but they have been on the list for years -since the minimum cover in MIB approved countries was introduced.

Moving slightly further into the land of pedantry, the name "Eire" has been obsolete since it became the Republic of Ireland in 1948.

Iceweasel

[quote=[Deleted User];69127167]Moving slightly further into the land of pedantry, the name "Eire" has been obsolete since it became the Republic of Ireland in 1948.[/QUOTE]

Thank you .....

Go raibh maith agat as sin ach ta me a fhios go direach cad e an tir ar a dtugtar - Éire.

Ta se beo agus go maith agus ait in aice leig.

Richard53

[quote=[Deleted User];69127167]Moving slightly further into the land of pedantry, the name "Eire" has been obsolete since it became the Republic of Ireland in 1948.[/QUOTE]
There are several million people in Eire who would disagree with that

Car_54

Richard53 wrote: »

There are several million people in Eire who would disagree with that

Do you mean the ones who can speak Gaelic? Considerably less than several million.