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Insurance while abroad - info.

  • 17-09-2010 11:43pm
    #1
    CiniO
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,069 ✭✭✭✭


    I can see threads about it on this forum at least once a month or ever a week.
    People ask about their cover while they drive Irish registered car abroad, about green cards, and how long they insurance company will cover them to drive abroad, etc...

    Obviously every insurance company can make their own rules about cover abroad, with one exception - third party cover within the EU. That kind of cover is valid at all times, no matter for how long your insurance company state they provide cover while driving abroad.

    Here's the regulation that I found accidently (I was looking for something completely different).
    http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2004/en/act/pub/0044/sec0034.html#partv-sec34

    Few quotations from it:



    “56.—(1) A person (in this subsection referred to as the user) shall not use in a public place a mechanically propelled vehicle unless—


    (a) either a vehicle insurer or an exempted person would be liable for injury caused by the negligent use of the vehicle, by him or her at that time, or


    (b) there is in force at that time an approved policy of insurance whereby the user or some other person who would be liable for injury caused by the negligent use of the vehicle at that time by the user, is insured against all sums, subject to subsection (2) of this section, without limit, which the user or his or her personal representative or such other person or his or her personal representative becomes liable to pay to any person (exclusive of the excepted persons) by way of damages or costs on account of injury to person or property caused by the negligent use of the vehicle at that time by the user.
    (3) An approved policy of insurance referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section extends to damages or costs on account of injury to persons or property incurred by the negligent use of a mechanically propelled vehicle by the user in any of the designated territories to the extent required by the law relating to compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of mechanically propelled vehicles of the territory where the damages or costs may be incurred, or to the extent required by this Part, whichever is the greater.
    (8) In this Part ‘designated territories’ means the European territories of the Member States of the European Communities (other than the State) and Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.


    So from what I understand from this part of Road Traffic Act, is that third party insurance is valid in any of the EU Member States, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, and if a there's a claims, it's only limited to the amount required in the country that the damage happened. That is requirement from this act in accordance to the policy. So any policy that wouldn't provide that kind of cover, wouldn't be road legal. So far I didn't see any single insurance policy that wouldn't fullfil that condition.

    So in other words, if you have a full comprehensive policy, and they tell you, that you can drive to EU only for 30 days, then even in case you stay longer in the EU, you are still road legal, as your third party cover is still valid. You don't need any greencards.
    Obviously fire, theft, and own car damage cover wouldn't apply then anymore.

    I wrote it, just to clarify the situation, because many people seems to ask about it.


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