EU / UK Insurance Dilemma

Curls2208

Hello there,

I have recently got a ten month temporary job in Brussels. 

I have a UK car with UK insurance which is due to expire just before my big move.

I'm lost as what to do about car insurance.

Here is where I'm at -

-I want to keep my UK car at first and take it over there - due to being unsure about if my contract will be renewed or not.
-I will be there for longer than 90 days on UK insurance - I am unsure if this is possible?
- If my temporary contract later turns into a permanent contract, I will later look into getting my car switched over to Belgian plates.

Has anyone been in a similar situation....my insurance is due to expire literally about 5 days before I go out. I did consider maybe getting Belgian insurance would be better if I can't get UK, but I think that wouldn't be acceptable if I had UK plates.

All the insurance websites I look on all seem to mention 60 / 90 day limits in the EU for UK vehicles, are there any that do not have such a restriction? It's 180 days in terms of the actual legally allowed limits by border control.

Frozen_up_north

LV provide  up to 180 days in Europe 

paul_c123

Sell UK car and cancel insurance before you go.

In Brussels, buy a Belgian car and arrange Belgian insurance.

You'll never be able to sell a UK car in Belgium; and you'll never be able to sell a UK car in the UK, if you're in Belgium.

Curls2208

Thanks Mr Burns.  It's a perfectly decent car and I may end up back in UK in a years time so I don't want to sell it, if my contract gets made permanent then I'll consider the above  

Emmia

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/country/belgium/

I think you're well advised to sell before you go - you can only use your car for a maximum of 6 months in Belgium before you'd need to re-register (and deal with any import fees). Plus I'd expect Belgian insurance is more expensive on a non-belgian registered car.

cw8825

be quite rare for a uk insurer to cover you out of the country for over 180 days
if your not taking it your will need to sorn it and store it or give to a friend/ family

if you take it, you could arrnage insurance when your out there this is probably the sensible choice, keep the car you have to see what happens 

Mildly_Miffed

Living and working in Belgium for ten months will make you legally a Belgian resident.

Belgian residents cannot keep and use non-Belgian-registered vehicles in Belgium, same as UK residents can't have non-UK registered vehicles here.

You will need to either register the vehicle in Belgium, or leave it here for your return.

The 60/90 day limits on insurance are cumulative through the policy year - and are simply the extent to which they are willing to provide full cover. You would still have bare minimum legal cover past that date, because they cannot get out of that.

90 days out of any 180 is the post-Brexit visa-free access for UK nationals visiting the Schengen zone. I presume you have a work visa and/or residency and/or an EU passport.

Herzlos

If you don't want to sell the car yet, can you leave it with a family member to use in the mean time and sell later on your behalf?

Do you really need a car in Brussels?

Do you really want the hassle of getting the car over there and driving a car with the wheel on the wrong side? It can be pretty awkward.


I'd be inclined to sell the car now and rent a car over there if you actually need one.

paul_c123

Also, storing a car for 10-12 months will be problematic, the fuel will go off, the battery will go flat, the tyres will crack, various greased and rubber components will dry/crack up. It doesn't do a car much good being stored for more than a few weeks at a time, and its a chunk of depreciating capital tied up.

The suggestion to "gift" it to a friend/relative, which might need to be returned if you return to UK, is a good one if you don't need the capital eg for a car purchase in Belgium.

Curls2208

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It's all useful info.

Ok I'll use it for first month or so whilst I find my feet and then come back in the summer and maybe sell the car and get myself a cheap small Belgian car.

I would use the car as work is on the edge of the city, I am also very much an explorer and would love to get down to the Ardennes etc.

The argument about wheel on wrong side is an interesting one, as whenever I hire in Europe I always find I struggle with the positioning of the car in the road (often drifting towards the middle or the near curb) precisely for this reason, having the drivers seat on the left side of the car. I felt that if I kept my driving position on right side even if it's 'wrong' for Europe, I'd be much less likely to drift into middle or side of road like I often do when I'm driving a European car.

Mildly_Miffed

RHD is "European", too... There's still three EU countries drive on the same side of the road as the UK.

But comfort is a practice thing.

I've owned both LHD and RHD cars in the UK, I've driven both on the "correct" and "wrong" sides of the road, and I'm pretty much ambidextrous. It just becomes second nature in fairly short order.