Are you covered fully comp when you go to Europe? (1 Viewer)

[normanandsue]

In my post Trip to Greece much discussion centred around whether our fully comp insurance extends to EU countries or only third party. (I think many of us assume it is Fully Comp, because insurance companies do not make this clear unless asked the question directly) As many of us spend a lot of time in Europe it's important for us to know just what cover we have. Pete @ Tykatem gave the following info that I thought was helpful and informative especially regarding the Green Card, that few insurance companies issue and hope he does not mind me sharing it on a separate thread

The green card is not in itself insurance cover. It is a document recognised in all the participating countries as proof that your vehicle has been insured to the minimum necessary to meet the legal requirements of those countries. This requirement is often simply third party insurance, covering you against a claim for damage you cause to another vehicle.
Even if you have fully comprehensive cover in the UK you need to check that this level of cover extends to Europe. Many insurers will only offer third party cover in Europe, no matter what your cover in the UK. Some insurers will extend cover to fully comprehensive for Europe, but only if requested and only for an extra premium. They will also usually impose a time limit per trip and per total number of days abroad in any one year.
For our motorhome, our Insurers gives us Fully Comprehensive cover for 180 days in Europe at no extra cost.

 

[jumartoo]

I've never understood this "going to Europe" bit about British insurance. Britain has been in "Europe" for years and still is atm!

 

[jessthedog]

I've never understood this "going to Europe" bit about British insurance. Britain has been in "Europe" for years and still is atm!

It could just be down to the higher risk of accidents on the Continent? The UK has less road related casulties than all but 1 country. More risk,
More in premiums.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jumartoo]

Higher premiums maybe, but not the limited time covered surely?

 

[The Nomad]

I've never understood this "going to Europe" bit about British insurance. Britain has been in "Europe" for years and still is atm!

It always will be.
Europe is a continent.
Britain is an island in the continent of Europe.

When people travel from Britain to France etc, they are travelling WITHIN Europe, not TO Europe.

(The European Union is not "Europe". It is just a political club composed of 28 out of the 53 countries that make up the continent of Europe).

 

[pyro]

Excellent thread, thanks for bringing this up.

(The European Union is not "Europe". It is just a political club composed of 28 out of the 53 countries that make up the continent of Europe).

That is correct

From my perspective, I was fooled into believing that any insurers who advertises "365 days a year Europe Cover" (Comfort) meant exactly that, when it transpired that your couldn't leave your vehicle unattended for more than 36 hours (could have been 48), even if it were parked in a secure compound, at your home etc. To my astonishment, they pointed out that this limitation applied if you ended up in hospital or stayed at an hotel or even at your overseas home.

To my shame, I believed the misleading advertising, and didn't check out every line of the contract. To their shame, they continued with the misleading advertising and breached their own refund policy

Technically speaking, if you are in any European country for more than 90 days, you are supposed to have a residency permit. This seems to apply in most countries, but for some idiotic reason, not the UK. It is very unlikely, but you could face a big fine if you ignore that.

Also, there is a general limitation applied by most countries about the length of time that you can use your vehicle in another country. In Portugal (and, I believe, in Spain) the limit is 6 months. I have known people who have ignored this, and had an accident, then having their vehicle impounded because it wasn't covered by the insurance requirement to meet all national laws.

My advice is to check your policy very carefully. If it doesn't offer full European cover on the same terms as the UK, then find another insurer

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[BreweryDave]

You will always have the legal minimum (3rd party) in any eu country with any uk policy as long as the vehicle remains legal in the country of registration.
The additional eu cover which you pay for extends your fully comp insurance to the eu for whatever time specified or asked for.
Use of any vehicle in the eu in any one country for 6 months or more is a bit of a grey area - and is really intended for ex pats running their uk cars for years on end and having no MOT etc. The Spanish police often have a purge when they know cars have been in the same town for years.
More difficult to prove against motorhomes as they are prone to move around anyway.

 

[StephandJohn]

Thanks for posting this we've checked with safeguard and we are insured fully comp but worth checking just in case.

 

[Glandwr]

Just checked my policy (AXA). It says 270 days in any one year for "travelling abroad".

Dick

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[peterc10]

When was the last time anybody had a green card for going to the EU? AFAIK they went out years ago. We do not need one for our motorhome or our Scooter. And both are covered fully comp in Europe.

 

[Tykatem]

When was the last time anybody had a green card for going to the EU? AFAIK they went out years ago. .

As I quoted in the Trop to Greece thread. Some insurance firms still issue a card as standard, and others are happy to provide one if requested.
Some insurers will instead print wording in the major European languages on the back of your certificate of insurance confirming that you have at least the minimum cover required. Saying something like:-

This certificate of Motor Insurance takes the place of an International Motor Insurance Card (Green card) and is evidence that the insurance extends to include the compulsory Motor Insurance requirements of:-

A. Any member country of the European Union.
B. Then will state which other countries your particular insurers cover.

An insurance company will issue you a seperate Green Card (and yes the A4 form is actually green) is for countries like Turkey, Macedonia and similar.

Pete

 

[The Nomad]

When was the last time anybody had a green card for going to the EU? AFAIK they went out years ago. We do not need one for our motorhome or our Scooter. And both are covered fully comp in Europe.

I think you may be getting a bit confused.
The United Kingdom is already in the EU (at least, for now!)
All motor insurances in the EU include the minimum required cover across all 28 Member States of the EU.

But the EU political club is only 28 out of the 53 countries in the continent of Europe.

The green card system is to prove minimum required insurance cover in European countries OUTSIDE of the EU.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[cruiser]

We had a long conversation with saga , they said full cover for the whole year.. No green card.

 

[peterc10]

I think you may be getting a bit confused.
The United Kingdom is already in the EU (at least, for now!)
All motor insurances in the EU include the minimum required cover across all 28 Member States of the EU.

But the EU political club is only 28 out of the 53 countries in the continent of Europe.

The green card system is to prove minimum required insurance cover in European countries OUTSIDE of the EU.

That was the point I was trying to make, hence my specific reference to not needing a green card when in the EU, rather than any other part of Europe. And the EU, of course, includes the UK.

 

[pappajohn]

My car insurance covers fully comp in Europe automatically.
No need to ask or tell them.
Hastings direct.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[vwalan]

I think you may be getting a bit confused.
The United Kingdom is already in the EU (at least, for now!)
All motor insurances in the EU include the minimum required cover across all 28 Member States of the EU.

But the EU political club is only 28 out of the 53 countries in the continent of Europe.

The green card system is to prove minimum required insurance cover in European countries OUTSIDE of the EU.

or other countries not in the eu. many in africa require green cards .

 

[The Nomad]

My car insurance covers fully comp in Europe automatically.
No need to ask or tell them.
Hastings direct.

Are you quite sure about that?

According to Hastings Direct, their overseas cover (for up to 90 days) is only "any country that is a member of the European Union; plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra and Serbia".
That's not all of Europe, that's only 34 out of the 53 countries in/partly in Europe.
Those may of course be all you need/want full cover for, but it's easy to fall into the trap if travelling internationally to assume our vehicle insurance covers all of "Europe".

https://www.hastingsdirect.com/documents/Policy_documents/Car/HD-PC-CPW-07-14.pdf

 

[ramsthom]

I've never understood this "going to Europe" bit about British insurance. Britain has been in "Europe" for years and still is atm!

Bit off topic but this ( Europe ) is a grey area. A friend of ours bought a sat nav in France due to his old one expiring. It stated it had full European Mapping. Worked ok in France and Spain but when returning to Dover he could not plan a route as it did not have any UK maps. He contacted the sat nav manufacturer who indicated the UK was not in Europe but they gave him a free download for UK maps.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[normanandsue]

It is a pity this thread has gone so off track. I only posted this thread because I felt like me many Funsters and others could be driving on the continent of mainland Europe on the false assumption they were covered fully comp as they are in the UK

 

[gus-lopez]

When was the last time anybody had a green card for going to the EU? AFAIK they went out years ago. We do not need one for our motorhome or our Scooter. And both are covered fully comp in Europe.

We had a long conversation with saga , they said full cover for the whole year.. No green card.

Yes I asked the question of the EU some years back to be told that " all comprehensive policies remain the same when used in any European Union stat & offer the same cover, BUT companies in individual countries can, if the wish ,insist on a time limit & the requirement to be notified & to issue what was formerly called a
'green card' " .
Seemed a bit self-defeating to me.
I only asked because both my spanish companies insists on a full A4 green sheet stamped ,dated & signed by the agent . I just get a new one on renewal.
Actually thinking about it ,it does make sense here as with most Spanish companies you only get the first insurance certificate when you take it out & each renewal is automatically taken from the bank & as you have to carry the payment receipt from the bank , that has full details on it of policy, vehicle registration, amount, period from/to ,etc; it does make sense as a UK copper isn't going to understand that we rarely ever get a new certificate & it is the dated payment receipt that confirms that the original is in force.
So that's why a spanish vehicle needs one.
Oh & my 'green card' covers most of european union including Bosnia-Hertzogovinia , & all those other odd places that UK ones won't touch & you have to buy at border.

P.S.
Just checked my green sheets 6 both vehicles are covered for all 45 listed countries under the scheme including Morocco, Russia ; Ukraine,Tunisia,Iran Turkey everyone.Worrying

 

[Gorse Hill]

It is a pity this thread has gone so off track. I only posted this thread because I felt like me many Funsters and others could be driving on the continent of mainland Europe on the false assumption they were covered fully comp as they are in the UK

Actually I thought the thread was very informative and glad of the advice, I didn't think it had gone off topic overall
Thks for posting

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[sdc77]

Yeah good thread .. bought up some good poit's. . Nice one @normanandsue

 

[The Nomad]

Gus - the requirement in Spanish law to carry proof of payment of your Spanish insurance in Spain was removed about 5 years ago now, as a result of the national computerised insurance database here. But you do need to carry the current year's certificate when travelling outside of Spain....so for ease I do still just keep it in the applicable vehicle anyway, as we are regularly abroad in MH with scooter or car.

 

[gus-lopez]

Gus - the requirement in Spanish law to carry proof of payment of your Spanish insurance in Spain was removed about 5 years ago now, as a result of the national computerised insurance database here. But you do need to carry the current year's certificate when travelling outside of Spain....so for ease I do still just keep it in the applicable vehicle anyway, as we are regularly abroad in MH with scooter or car.

Yes I did know but I just keep it all in the vehicles same as before. As you say it saves having to locate it when travelling out of the country.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}