2990 Please Help

Can anyone tell me of an insurance co AA International Insurance Services?
I am taking a car to italy and need to leave it there and it seems this company will give a green card for twelve months. I travel on the 25th of March so it is very urgent
Miah

Category
Travel & Holiday Advice

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/19/2006 - 04:56

.. stuart collins is an insurance broker that have a web site .. they offer long term european insurance .. via norwich union..

the car has to be registered at an address in the uk the road tax and the mot have to be maintained and current in order for the insurance to be valid... so make sure these two things last the lenght of the stay...

there are rules about how long you can keep a car in italy without registering it here.. i cannot remeber the time limit... but as lack of any control at the borders is commonplace between eu states i would suggest it would be difficult to prove that you had nt left for a stay say in france during the period so it had never been there permanentley beyond whatever the restricted time is...

i also believe ... but this might be wrong... that you should first enquire maybe with your current insurer because i think your normal uk comprehensive cover should give you third party cover throughout europe for the period that you maintain that comprehensive cover... so check this maybe first... there are also companies ... i used norwich union in the past that also let you add to your current cover and provide a break down service whilst abroad which can be handy....

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/19/2006 - 05:13

Just to clarify Adriatica's post, the time limits for keeping a car on UK plates apply from taking up residency, I believe the limit is six months from residency, if you are not resident, there does not appear to be a limitation, other than the need to tax and mot the car in the UK.
hope this helps.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/19/2006 - 05:23

If you read French Property News - which I dont think you would dream of diong - there is much talk about this.

I have heard there are many old bangers in France - because they dont bother to take them back to England -

I dont know how they stand if they have an accident tho.!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/20/2006 - 04:29

[QUOTE=Miah]Can anyone tell me of an insurance co AA International Insurance Services? Miah[/QUOTE]

They are part of the AA [Automobile Association - not AlcoholicsAnonymous]

When I was looking at extended car insurance abroad, they would do 12 months [as long as you had a UK address].

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/20/2006 - 05:31

The Europa website gives information on items such as driving licences and car 'import' registration

Registration
If you live and drive in the host country for a period of 6 months or more, you should register your car in the host country. You will have to pay a registration tax. You should register your vehicle up to 6 months after its entrance in the host country. The registration process allows the national authorities to verify whether the vehicle has the technical characteristics (technical conformity and technical control) required by legal safety standards: bring all necessary technical documentation and have it translated, if possible. Also, please consult the following factsheet:

[url]http://europa.eu.int/citizensrights/index_en.cfm?action=factsheet&area=car&[/url] factsheet=deliveryregistration&country=uk&lang=en
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Hope this is of use. The Europa website is full of clear and useful information.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/19/2006 - 06:34

Thanks for that info George. I hadn't heard that the 6 month rule only applied to residents who presumably want to import a car permanently. I'd like to believe that was being implemented in Italy. I was under the impression UK plates could only be used for 6 months out of any calendar year. That temporary travel to say, France for the day didn't count to reset the clock. Although border controls are lax there is always the evidence of ferry bookings which presumably could be asked for by interested local authorities if the car became a matter of talk and/or investigation by the carabinieri in a small local area. Certainly in our area they often operate a road block on a bend, using a landrover with a computer in its back. We have had to stop and wait 30 minutes whilst all our documents were inspected whilst driving a hire car.

Wonder if anyone else with personal experience can add to the information exchange on this topic. Most of my information is gained from The Informer website.