Temporary export insurance

Arnout

Good morning all, I have a car for sale which is quite rare and left hand drive. Therefore I've advertised it internationally, and someone from Italy has shown interest. Now there are a number of options for him to get the car from Ireland to Italy, one of which would be driving it. The only problem then is: he needs to insure it.

Most countries issue temporary export registrations and those come with an insurance or at least you can buy an insurance based on said export reg.

It's my understanding however, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Ireland doesn't issue such temporary export registrations (anymore, anyway, the ZZ series seems to be discontinued), and instead I just have to give my VRC to the Italian guy with which he can get it registered in Italy, and I have send a copy of the VRC to Shannon with a note that the car is being exported. That's fine, but that still leaves the insurance.

I've contacted Axa, where our cars are insured, and they say they can't help me (or more specifically the Italian guy) with this. Does anyone here have any suggestions how to go about this?

Just to note: I'm not looking for a VRT refund on this car, as no VRT was ever paid on it (exemption due to me bringing it with me into Ireland when I moved here, three years ago).

Also to note: the car has a valid NCT (until June 2026).

Final note (for now): no I'm not adding a complete stranger as a named driver to my policy

easygoing39

Its up to the new owner to get car insurance for themselves.Nothing for the seller to be worried about once the funds clear into the bank account

SodiumCooled

Why would he not just get it insured with an Italian insurance company - at the end of the day insurance is his responsibility not yours so not sure why you would be asking your insurance company about it. If you were importing a car from England and driving it over you would be insuring it under an Irish company for its trip over this is no different (for the potential buyer).

Arnout

It's my worry insofar that if he can't get it insured he might decide against buying the car. Also I'm a nice guy and it doesn't hurt making some inquiries on his behalf.

Insuring it in Italy appears to be difficult too. When I bought this same car, I bought it in Germany, and the local insurance only came with third party coverage. I did manage to also insure it in the Netherlands, where I lived, based on the VIN, because I wanted comprehensive cover even for the drive home (and would continue that policy anyway - and I did - after obtaining the Dutch reg). But there's no obligation on any insurance company to accomodate that.

coylemj

The buyer will have to organise insurance in Italy, from an Italian insurer. There isn't really anything you can do at this end, no Irish insurer is going to issue a policy for someone who lives in Italy.

While I see that you ruled it out, I'd still point out that adding him as a named driver to your policy is not an option. Because, once you sell him the car, your policy is void as you no longer own the car.

Arnout

Thanks for your reply as well.

Just to confirm, there's no such thing as an export reg anymore, correct? https://olavsplates.com/ireland.html has a photo of one, but I can't find anything else on the subject.