10887 Car insurance...help!!

I'm buying a new (to us - it's 2 years old) car in January and driving to Italy for 8 months.
My insurance broker here in Ireland cant get the car insured as it will be out of this country for more than 1 month. Can I insure the car in Italy. It won't be Italian registered and I don't want to register it there as I will be bringing it home to Ireland in august.

If I can insure it in Italy, I will need cover to begin while I am still in ireland, to cover the drive down.

Any ideas?

Grazie.

Category
Legal

There is a broker in the area above(.........can't think of the name...Stuart somebody rings a bell!) who can get you the cover (I think thru AXA insurance),

somebody here will get the name...................car has to be UK registered?

This is the company Sprostini is referring to:
[url=http://www.stuartcollins.com/]Stuart Collins and Co European Motor Insurance and Annual Green Cards[/url]

Stuart collins &co swansea tel 01792655562 Will cover for 12 months out of the country
we have vw sharen cost for insurance £370

Depending on your age, Saga will insure for 364 days abroad.

[url=http://www.saga.co.uk/insurance/car-insurance/]Car Insurance | Motor Insurance | Online Quote | Over 50’s - Saga[/url]

Also might be worth talking to Italsure who insure UK registered cars in Italy.

[url=http://www.italsure.com]Italsure - Expatriate Insurance Solutions[/url]

Also - the AA have an extended overseas car insurance policy

[quote=Nielo;101888]Depending on your age, Saga will insure for 364 days abroad.

[url=http://www.saga.co.uk/insurance/car-insurance/]Car Insurance | Motor Insurance | Online Quote | Over 50’s - Saga[/url]

Also might be worth talking to Italsure who insure UK registered cars in Italy.

[url=http://www.italsure.com]Italsure - Expatriate Insurance Solutions[/url][/quote]

seconded on both suggestions. Got to be 50 or over for Saga cover

The AA's Newcastle office will insure an English reg car used in Italy. Covers whole year in Italy. The policy is with AXA.

Note.... those of you who have an Italian reg car insured in Italy, it really is worthwhile having a gentle argument with your Italian Insurance man, each time the policy comes up for renewal as often the car is over valued or some such. Have saved several hundred euros this year on both our cars.

Thank you all for the advice about trying to insure my new car. As I live in Ireland, Collins & Co wont quote me even though the car is a UK car. I have to be living in the UK for them to insure me. And mainland UK too...the last time I looked, the Union Jack was still flying in the 6 counties, but Collins & Co won't insure cars in the North of Ireland.
Italsure have not called me back yet.
Any ideas? In short, Irish resident buys Northern Irish car, to drive it to Italy without bringing it to Ireland at all. Nothing dodgy - it's just the route I am going once I collect the car.

HELP!!!

Have you tried the other suggestions in this thread? the AA, Saga?

Yup. AA won't do it as I'm resident in Ireland and SAGA cover over 50's. Red wine may give me that appearance, but my birth cert says otherwise!

Better chase Oliver at Italsure then, have you tried calling him?

Contact AXA direct they may be able to put you in touch with someone
my insurance in with them (but through stuart collins)
Or you could contact a local broker

Twice. I'm told he returns calls in the early evening so fingers crossed...

I have spoken to Italsure and found them helpful and competitive.
I think I am right in thinking they are an American based co, and thus do not need the car to be MOT,d as long as you can prove the vehicle has been regularly maintained, this removes the need to drive back every year to get the car tested.
However I do not know how the Italian authorities will like the lack of road tax (UK or Italian) on the car,

[quote=Giles and Sarah;102155]I have spoken to Italsure and found them helpful and competitive.
I think I am right in thinking they are an American based co, and thus do not need the car to be MOT,d as long as you can prove the vehicle has been regularly maintained, this removes the need to drive back every year to get the car tested.
However I do not know how the Italian authorities will like the lack of road tax (UK or Italian) on the car,[/quote]

Italsure themselves are brokers and UK based but the insurance they provide for cars in Italy is from an American company. I have never heard before that you do not need an MOT ..... can anyone confirm.

As far as the road tax is concerned, having just completed the import of our UK car into Italy we asked our Italian friends about road tax and they shrugged us off and told us not to worry about it. I was stopped last week by carabiniere (routine roadside check) and they looked at the car docs and my driving licence and never mentioned the lack of road tax. Wouldn't want to be stopped by the Guardia di Finanza though! Still trying to find out how to tax a newly imported car, the local post office won't do it because we don't have a bolletina.

When we had the English plates on the car we were very rarely stopped and on the odd occasion that we were they checked the registration plates against the documents and that was it. We did always have UK tax but they never seemed to look at it.

This is an earlier thread TB that might help. Our local guy arranged everything including the road tax, new documents, mot etc. There should be somewhere close to you that will do the same.

[url]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/cost-living-utility-services/9692-importing-uk-registered-car.html[/url]

Our local guy did everything bar tax the car. But we don't have all the final documents yet and have not paid him yet - so maybe when we see him next it will all be sorted

IWhen you have your papers go to your local ACI office, where you can then tax your car (now with Italian plates) for the first time. After that you can do it annually anywhere that sells lottery tickets (Lotto sign).

Sorry, misunderstood that you didn't have all the documents. Presumably, he has just given you photocopies of the documentation that has been submitted to satisfy the police, as if I remember rightly ours did, but it was 4 years ago.

[quote=Noble;102165]IWhen you have your papers go to your local ACI office, where you can then tax your car (now with Italian plates) for the first time. After that you can do it annually anywhere that sells lottery tickets (Lotto sign).[/quote]

Thanks.
Do we have to wait for permanent papers? We have a temporary document and the italian plates on the car ......

Is it possible to take out an Italian insurance policy on a non-Italian registered car, whilst in Italy, through an Italian broker or direct with an Italian insurance company?
My Irish insurance company will insure me for 2 weeks and issue me with an insurance Green Card, which will get me to Italy in January, but they say that I must take out an Italian insurance policy then.

Don't really know, but try [url=http://www.directline.it]Assicurazioni Direct Line: il preventivo assicurazione auto e moto online e al telefono[/url] - if you can insure through the Irish part of the company, they may subsequently allow you to have a policy with the Italian part of the company?

Tech - these 'temporary papers' will have a validity of either thirty or sixty days (to give the motorizzazione,... I think,) time to provide the permanent 'libretto di circolazione'. The PRA document (which is about YOU being the owner, rather than carrying the details of the vehicle) may or may not come to you. Usually it goes to the garage (or the agency) which has helped with the registration, and you (IMO) would be wise to ask to collect it.

As soon as (actually, it wouldn't do any harm to do it ahead of time) you have the pukka libretto, drop into your local ACI office and pay the car tax. If it happens that you are a month or so 'late', the fine is about €6, so don't panic!

DO NOT ASSUME that the next time you have to pay car tax is 12 months hence - it could be nine months hence - but the date of scadenza will be clearly shown on the receipt given to you by ACI. Do this at an ACI office, rather than the post office.

As to the question from Ronan, as far as I have discovered, it is NOT possible to insure a car on non-Italian plates with an Italian insurer. (I believe this is to do with the impossibility of cross border insurers ensuring that a double claim isn't being made. Working this one through, the only danger that the insurance company faces is on a Fire or Comp claim, and it is totally illogical for them to impose this restriction on third party cover - but they are a cartel....!)

Try
J. E. Thorpe
Lombardini & Associati S.r.l.
Via Fara, 39 - 20124 Milano - MI - Italy
tel. +39.02.36594000 - direct 02.36594004
fax +39.02.89697200

He has been very helpful to us over the years.

Good luck.

[quote=Ronan;102040]Thank you all for the advice about trying to insure my new car. As I live in Ireland, Collins & Co wont quote me even though the car is a UK car. I have to be living in the UK for them to insure me. And mainland UK too...the last time I looked, the Union Jack was still flying in the 6 counties, but Collins & Co won't insure cars in the North of Ireland.
Italsure have not called me back yet.
Any ideas? In short, Irish resident buys Northern Irish car, to drive it to Italy without bringing it to Ireland at all. Nothing dodgy - it's just the route I am going once I collect the car.

HELP!!![/quote]

There are EU conventions which do not allow you to drive a foreign registered car in your own country of residence and you are supposed to reregister. These rules are little enforced but are known to insurance companies. You must keep it simple. The best bet might be to take out insurance in Italy on the basis that you intend to reregister. This is easy in France and some keep doing it for years.

How are you going to be able to register the car in your name if you do not have a UK address? If it is not registered in your name how can you insure it?

The latest is...I will be using my Italian address on the car papers, driving the car to Italy and re-registering and taxing it. Question is...do I need UK road tax to drive it on UK roads for 12 hours to get to the Chunnell? I am trying to do all of this properly. Or is there some sort of a temporary tax document or release of tax document available?

Can't you tax it and then SORN it once over here, until you get it registered here? We did that with our van before returning it to the UK last week. Will you still have a UK address?

I'm pretty certain that it should be taxed [and insured] to drive on UK roads. With all the vehicle recognition cameras [around the UK ports], I would imagine you won't get far without being stopped if your road tax etc is not up to date. [Especially as you are coming from NI]

As MargaretM says - after it is out of the UK, you can cancel the road tax and get a refund on the unused portion [full months only]

.

You do have to return the tax disc though.

[quote=Ronan;103205]The latest is...I will be using my Italian address on the car papers, driving the car to Italy and re-registering and taxing it. Question is...do I need UK road tax to drive it on UK roads for 12 hours to get to the Chunnell? I am trying to do all of this properly. Or is there some sort of a temporary tax document or release of tax document available?[/quote]

You CANNOT register a UK car with an Italian address. If you register it in your name in UK it must have road tax and MOT(almost) and UK insurance, no foreign insurance will insure you whilst you are driving in UK.
You CAN drive that car in UK on UK/Irish insurance which you have on an existing car in Ireland under 'other vehicles' rules but ONLY if it does not belong to you at the time and then not in Europe where that system does not apply.
You CAN drive that vehicle in UK without road tax and MOT IF you are going to a prebooked MOT (in Dover, say) BUT you must be insured for liability.
There is a ferry to France from Rosslare which would avoid these problems but only in summer, I think.

Thank you all for all the advice & comments. I spoke to the DVLA in NI today and the following is going to work for me (apparently)...

I'll get the garage that I'm buying the car from to tax the car, therefore able to drive in the UK.
Then, I buy the car and put my name and address on the new owner certificate & apply for an export certificate (takes 2 days I'm told)
When I go to pick up the new car, I'll temporarily transfer my old car insurance (it's not sold yet) on to the new car, which allows me to drive to Italy.

Then, I apply for residency, re-register the car to get Italian plates, then go to insure it. Question is...can I find an Italian company to insure me while I wait on all this paperwork and resistration to happen?

Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

Thanks all for your advice...

I know that you CANNOT register a UK car with an Italian address...IN THE UK. That is not my intention. A UK issued Export Certifiicate means that I don't have to. My Irish insurance will insure me for 2 weeks whilst driving outside of Ireland and issue me with a "Green Card" for the car.

Re the comment that I CAN drive that vehicle in UK without road tax and MOT IF you are going to a prebooked MOT (in Dover, say) BUT you must be insured for liability...Doesnt count for me as the car does not need an MOT and I am exporting it from the UK.

I spoke to the DVLA in NI today and the following is going to work for me (apparently)...

I'll get the garage that I'm buying the car from to tax the car, therefore able to drive it in the UK.
I buy the car and put my name and Italian address on the new owner certificate & apply for an export certificate (takes 2 days I'm told)
When I go to pick up the new car, I'll temporarily transfer my old car insurance (it's not sold yet) on to the new car, which allows me to drive to Italy with the Green Card.

When in Italy, I apply for my residency, re-register the car to get Italian plates, then go to insure it. Question is...can I find an Italian company to insure me whilst I wait on all this paperwork/registration of the car to happen?

Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

If you have road tax driving in UK is no problem.
Export certificates are not usually issued nowadays, you just complete the export tear off on the registration papers. In your case it is more complicated as you are not yet the registered owner.
Many posters have already said that you will be able to insure the car in Italy on the basis of its reregistration.
Isn't bureaucracy wonderful?