Third party liability car insurance cover

[Masca]

liketheroman, thank you very much. This information, albeit, slightly disappointing, is what I was looking for. It looks like it is again down to those magic 90 days... Thanks again.

[Marc]

I do agree with you, Masca, that either the insurance companies are being evasive about this point, or that their telephone operators are not trained to cope with the question. As you say, reading my policy (Direct Line), it is clear that the minimum legal cover applies throughout Europe without a time constraint, but that the option to extend the cover to other drivers and for Fire, Theft or Fully Comp exists for up to 90 days and at extra cost.

From a practical point-of-view, I can see that if you were to move abroad permanently for a number of years, they would be within their rights to claim that you had not informed them that the place where the car is normally kept was not as described when the policy was taken out. On the the other hand, if your use of the car involves going-to-and-fro for a number of months, then I wouldn't worry too much. After all, they have no way of knowing where your car is at any particular time do they?

[liketheroman]

But note the point about contractual freedom in the exert I posted. The insurer can treat the contract at an end after the stipulated time and refund your premium - not worth the risk.

[Marc]

Fair enough, but my contract has no time stipulated.

[liketheroman]

Marc you will of course have a Directline.it policy. European policies have a tradition of broader coverage which I think is the issue. UK policies seem to be more parochial

[Marc]

No, this was a UK Direct Line policy, for a car I brought over when I first came to live in Italy.

[liketheroman]

You are absolutely right, the wording is very simple, clear and unambigous

Seemed to good to be true but unfortunately when I called them they told me without hesitation 90 days

[sueflauto]

Insurance policies obviously vary as when I moved over I was told that I had up to 364 days cover - i.e. virtually a year or until the end of my contract. I didn't use this fully as I returned my banger to the UK and sold it rather than pay €400 for voltura.

I'm certainly not sure on the legal obligations of insurance co's, but there is certainly always the obligation to be open about changed circumstances. You will certainly have to declare those circumstances and specifically ask for what you want, but you may need to speak to the right person. Good luck!

[Masca]

Originally Posted by liketheroman

You are absolutely right, the wording is very simple, clear and unambigous

Seemed to good to be true but unfortunately when I called them they told me without hesitation 90 days

Again, I suspect that the 'scripted' customer sales line response is relating to the time limit for fully comp/fire & theft, etc., and not third party liability. Unfortunately, from my experience, this seems to be the only response you get when you contact any of the insures, and the response does not match the policy wording at all.

It seems that the only potential problem lies with proving that your residence is still in the UK, and not Italy, and until you are in the unfortunate position of having to make a claim, I don't think this point will be proven.

[Masca]

Hi! Unfortunately, it's that time of the year for us again! Further to the discussion above, I thought that the following extract from the fifth Motor Insurance Directive 2005/14/EC my be of interest to people:

"Some insurance undertakings insert into insurance policies clauses to the effect that the contract will be cancelled if the vehicle remains outside the Member State of registration for longer than a specified period. This practice is in conflict with the principle set out in Directive 90/232/EEC, according to which the compulsory motor insurance should cover, on the basis of a single premium, the entire territory of the Community. It should therefore be specified that the insurance cover is to remain valid during the whole term of the contract, irrespective of whether the vehicle remains in another Member State for a particular period, without prejudice to the obligations under Member States’ national legislation with respect to the registration
of vehicles."

I have spoken to the Dept. of Transport and they have confirmed that third party liability cover applies throughout the period of cover (i.e.: the whole year). However, as per my last posting above, the problem is finding an insurer who does not mind whether you are a UK or EU resident, in the event that this position might change (or be deemed to have changed) within the policy period. In my case, my cheapest quote for UK insurance is GBP110 vs GBP350 for an Italian policy. Quite a difference!