Just like at home in the UK, you’ll need car insurance for driving abroad. Whether you hire a car when you’re out there, or taking your own vehicle with you, make sure you’re covered so you can avoid any nasty surprises in the unfortunate event that you might need to make a claim.
You might already be covered… sort of
If you’re taking your own car abroad and you’ll still be within the EU, then your normal insurance will automatically cover you for the minimum legal requirement for each country.
Check your policy documents and then contact your insurer directly to be sure of what your cover will include. Most policies will offer only basic cover when driving abroad, so even if you have a fully comprehensive policy in the UK, you may find it only gives you third party cover whilst travelling. So speak to them about extending your policy to include damage and theft if you want that extra peace of mind.
How long are you covered for?
Be sure to check with your insurer how long your policy will cover you for outside of the UK. Some policies will have a limit, either continuous (e.g. 21 consecutive days) or a total allowance within a one-year period.
Really check the details when it comes to your allowances, as sometimes even if you are given a total yearly allowance, you cannot take all of this as one consecutive block of time (e.g. there may be a limit of 28 consecutive days).
Also, be sure to check and daily mileage limits – as you may only be covered for travelling a set amount of miles per day.
Do you have to tell your insurer?
Some insurance companies will require you to notify them if you are travelling abroad, and which countries specifically you’ll be travelling to – whilst others will not require you to notify them at all.
There are also some insurers that may not require notification if you are travelling abroad for a short time (e.g. one week), but will require you to notify them beyond that. Either way, it’s best to check as it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
It’s also worth noting that if you live in Northern Ireland, some insurers class the Republic of Ireland as ‘abroad’ and will only provide basic cover should you choose to visit the South – so check your policy before you leave.
What is a Green Card?
A Green Card is a document that used to be obligatory for motorists to carry when driving abroad in order to prove that they had the minimum level of insurance required to drive in that country.
It is no longer needed in many countries, but can still be required in certain circumstances – and you may still be asked to present it by local authorities even if it isn’t required in their country. So be sure to do your research into Green Card requirements for the countries you’ll be driving in, and prepare for any eventuality.
The card itself is free, but sometimes motorists get confused as some insurance companies refer to their European cover as ‘Green Card cover’ (which they charge extra for). Some insurers will provide the card as standard, whereas others will provide one on request. Others will have wording printed on the back of your insurance certificate confirming that you have the minimum level of insurance legally required – be sure to take this document with you when you travel
What if you break down?
You should also consider getting a separate breakdown cover, so check the details of your current breakdown cover to see if it extends beyond the UK. Most policies don’t cover breakdown in the EU as standard, but offer it as an optional extra. However, many policies don’t off breakdown cover on the continent at all, so you’ll need to take out separate over anyways.
What if you’re hiring a car abroad?
There are many websites you can use to book car hire – auto-huren-kreta.nl for example. When booking, be sure to first check what is included in the car hire. Depending on where you are, you’ll usually have the legally required cover included as part of the hire cost. This can be cover for theft, damage, or 3rd party injury or property damage.
When picking up your hire car, you’ll usually be required to provide your credit card details and asked to ‘pre-authorise’ payments. This gives the company the right to take payment from your card without getting your permission – potentially allowing them to charge you excessive amounts even for small scratches to the car.
Check the car thoroughly and record every nick and dent – then get the company to sign and record each mark so there is no confusion about what condition it was returned in.
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