9134 UK Car Insurance

moved to www,italiauncovered.co.uk

[quote=Chris Newton;85978]I'm sure I recently read on the forum somewhere about someone who insures their uk car in the UK and uses it all year in Italy. Although this requires bringing the car back every year for an MOT,it would fulfill my needs for the next couple of years.
Can anyone out there reccomend an insurance Co that will provide insurance???
Many thanks chris.[/quote]

I think if you read this thread here

you will find that you only need to tax & MOT your car if you insure with a uk insurer &/or drive on the UK roads.

[url=http://snipurl.com/22kgi]English Car in Italy - Italy Magazine Forums[/url] (If I can get the pesky link to work):smile:

If you are worried about it ring up some of the specialist expat insurance companies and ask specifically. They say that they don't care about your MOT & UK tax as long as you maintain your car.

The police in Italy obviously have no jurisdiction about the absence of road tax and (naturally) would not know anyway.

This is what I intend to do.

Pip pip

I am led to believe that for a foreign registered car to be used in Italy it must be legal in the country of registration therefore a British registered car must not only have valid insurance but must also have its British MOT and road tax.

Thanks everyone for helpfull replies, Nielo I went straight to saga and got a quote for £250 unlimited time in europe! brilliant
ciao chris

Well done Chris, we use Saga and they are indeed v good. You will need the trip back to UK to MOT and renew tax disc. Last time I was stopped by the carabinieri they checked and took down the number of the tax disc.
Trip back to UK not really that bad provided you take at least 3 overnight stops

I used Saga too for several months, but it is not really intended for people living here full time, rather for those who make multiple trips, or travel a lot in Europe generally. That's why at renewal time I got specialised expat insurance with the US company Clements through Italsure. They also supply the little sticker for your windscreen which shows you have the appopriate third party cover for Italy.

Of course, as pointed out above, you do have to keep the car legal by Moting and taxing it in the UK, though clements do not ask for this.

I have my UK registered car in Italy at the moment. At first I used my normal insurers but they would only insure my car for 30 days at a time. I was thinking I would have to transfer my car to Italian registration, because I read somewhere that you can't keep a foreign car in Italy for more than 6 months in any one year. Is this still true and if so does anyone know how difficult it is to transfer to Italian registration?

there are many threads on this. You are only allowed to drive your car on UK plates for six months in any twelve, as I understand it.

To put your car on Italian plates is a tiresome and bureaucratic process, but will be easier if you are driving a European car, which also has a certificate of conformity. Much longer if you have, say, a Japanese import or a US car.

[quote=gradese;86234]I used Saga too for several months, but it is not really intended for people living here full time, rather for those who make multiple trips, or travel a lot in Europe generally. That's why at renewal time I got specialised expat insurance with the US company Clements through Italsure.[/quote]
I'll cut-and-paste a comment about Clements I made in an earlier thread:

I applied to Clements for car insurance and was refused on the grounds that they don't insure retired people. (I'm "only" 52, I've not made any sort of insurance claim in more than 30 years and my driving licence is clean, so I'm fairly sure that the stated reason [I]was[/I] the real reason for refusal.)

I assume the result would have been different if I'd declared myself to be a farmer or handiman or aspiring artist or unpublished writer or something else that would be vaguely defensible. After all, it's not like they ask to see payslips or anything.

Also, the Clements form I filled in asked for a UK address, so I'm really not sure this is the best route for people who live in Italy full-time and want to be totally truthful when asking for insurance cover. Which is probably the best policy, given how insurance companies generally look for any excuse to not pay a claim.

Al

Can recommend Saga, I think you HAVE to be over 50 and unlimited travel in Europe allowed, not too dear but don't forget if the car's not legal in UK then not legal in Italy. MOT, UK Tax and insurance essential. Annual trip to UK CAN be a pleasure!

I have just come across a company called eCar who offer 356 day cover abroad as standard, and have provided a very competitive quote (£167 for 1998 Fiat Punto third party only with 2 drivers). Does anyone have experience of this company? I had never heard of them till today.

I still have two worries:
1 - Legally, my car should be registered in Italy after 180 days. Will this effect any claim I make during days 180-356? Does anyone have any experience of this, perhaps having made a claim with Saga during the second part of the year?
2 - As from July, I will no longer have a property in the UK (YIPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!!). I will still have an address in the UK (family) and do not intend to take out residency in Italy at the moment although we will be there full time from July (excluding trips back to the UK, etc.). Whilst I will therefore still technically be a UK resident, I won't own a primary residence in the UK and this is a term of the policy with eCar. Again, has anyone had to make a claim in this situation?

Thanks!

[quote=AllanMason;87601]

I applied to Clements for car insurance and was refused on the grounds that they don't insure retired people. (I'm "only" 52, I've not made any sort of insurance claim in more than 30 years and my driving licence is clean, so I'm fairly sure that the stated reason [I]was[/I] the real reason for refusal.)

I assume the result would have been different if I'd declared myself to be a farmer or handiman or aspiring artist or unpublished writer or something else that would be vaguely defensible. After all, it's not like they ask to see payslips or anything.

Also, the Clements form I filled in asked for a UK address, so I'm really not sure this is the best route for people who live in Italy full-time and want to be totally truthful when asking for insurance cover. Which is probably the best policy, given how insurance companies generally look for any excuse to not pay a claim.

Al[/quote]

I am resident in Italy & have insured 2 cars with Italsure, who are the UK agents for Clements. They did not ask for a UK address & all the policy documents are sent direct to my Italy address. Also I am 55 and retired .... again no problem!

Did you apply through Italsure, or direct to Clements?

Graham

[quote=keepwick;88233]I am resident in Italy & have insured 2 cars with Italsure, who are the UK agents for Clements. They did not ask for a UK address & all the policy documents are sent direct to my Italy address. Also I am 55 and retired .... again no problem!

Did you apply through Italsure, or direct to Clements?[/quote]

Direct to Clements. What they said in their refusal email:

[I]Dear Mr. Mason,

Your AutoElite Application has been declined by the insurance company. As a retired person you are not eligible to get automobile insurance coverage under our AutoElite Program. Your payment $535.00 will be credited to your Visa Card.

Best regards,

Rona Rafiq
Personal Insurance Account Executive, Clements International[/I]

(Slightly amusing side note - because of dollar-pound exchange rate fluctuations during the week it took Clements to consider my application, I actually made a profit off this transaction. Even after credit card charges and poor exchange rates, I received more GBP in the refund than was taken from my card when Clements charged me at the time of my application. :bigergrin:)

Al

We have 2 cars here, both insured through Italsure/Clements. No problems at all with age as they are both insured under my wife who is 60+ and not working, so I would suggest you try through the Italsure website.

I do wonder how legal it is,and what would happen if you made a claim.

The rules are clear,if the car is registered in the uk, then it does need tax and an mot yearly,unless under 3 years where the mot is concerned.

And also if you keep a car in Italy,does it not have to be registered there?

Me thinks some are not playing the game......Welcome to the Italian way of doing things.....:laughs:

Both ours are on Italian registrations as we are residents here. One RH Drive from UK, exported as required and re-registered here and the other bought in Italy.
Rather keep on the right side of the authorities and not be a target of them as I know someone who tried to just drive on UK plates as a full resident......... targeted by the Caribinieri...... eventually changed to Italian registration and no more problems.

We are certainly not trying not to play the game. We simply have a 10 year old car which is worth less than a £1000 and hence it's not really worth spending the money registering it in Italy. We want to spend the next year or so in our Italian home with a car. However, after that time, we don't currently know a) whether we will in fact still want a car; and b) whether we will continue to stay in Italy full time. Therefore, at the present time we really don't want to take out full residency or spend too much money on the car. What's the solution?! TIA.

Had a conversation with a UK couple the other day, he a policeman, she a lawyer, regarding this subject. It did not come to any firm conclusions, but the general opinion was that providing proof could be supplied that the vehicle had been maintained in a roadworthy condition if, in the event of a claim, the insurer asked & that nothing in the policy small print said otherwise then the insurer would have to pay. An insurance is, after all, a contract between two parties to provide cover. I've read my policy from cover to cover & it does'nt even mention needing a driving licence.
Pilch

Ask and one person will say one thing and another...another. We have bitten the bullet and pay for 2 Italian cars to insured here but initially our English car used here for a couple of years, was insured by AXA on a special policy to cover 365 days in Italy sold by the AA through their Newcastle Upon Tyne Office.

All this discussion reminds me of someone I worked with a number of years ago who was blind. he had his own car (to be sued by people driving him around) and when he insured it he went all the way through the question on the phone, got the quote for any driver and then as they were collecting his payment asked if it mattered that he was blind! Needless to say there was a very long conversion which resulted in him - arguments being that individuals are insured not vehicles so he couldn't insure his car as he had no licence but his argument being that it was his car for his benefit so who else could insure it He did eventually get his insurance after getting the insurance ombudsman involved and he does drive (on closed roads) - bit like Al Pacino in Scent of Woman!

My personal take on all this is that if there is ANYTHING that you haven't told your insurers and you need to claim they will try to wriggle out of it - I know of people who have had legitimate claims turned down because they haven't informed the insurer that they have 3 points from a camera. There will be some small print somewhere which say if there is a change of circumstance (which clearly keeping the car in Italy is) the insurance may be invalidated. Just tell them and pay up (or risk them not covering you in the case of an accident which can be VERY expensive - someone ran in the back of my stationary car - almost no damage to car but serious damage to my neck - 18 months of physio twice a week, orthopedic consultant appointments, claim from my employers for my sick pay, compensation, legal fees (we settled before we went to court) etc probably £20k +in total - is it worth it to save a few pounds (plus if you don't have insurance you may get a ban or criminal record))

Chris

Trying to do everything right may not prevent your insurance company refusing a claim. In UK a friend had a claim rejected for being 3 days over her MOT date on a 3 year old car. Other claims have been rejected for fitting spotlights. This, of course, only applies to the fully comp aspect of the insurance as insurance companies are bound by law to give you legal liability. As far as road tax and UK MOT are concerned this is argued extensively on Euro forums. Basically the Euro rules are as stated with your need to be 'legal' in your home country and those countries that have ratified the agreement agreed to incorporate it in National law. As far as I know none have and none enforce these regulations plus there is scope in the rules which allows flexibility. Saying that something in this field is 'legal' or 'illegal' is a massive oversimplification.