car insurance

Information and questions about driving in Andalucia, buying or importing cars and motorbikes plus legal issues surrounding taxes and licenses.
yank
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car insurance

Postby yank » Sat Jan 21, 2006 5:38 pm

anyone know of insurance company that will insure english registered vehicle

Beachcomber
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Postby Beachcomber » Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:09 pm

It is illegal for legitimate Spanish insurance companies to register foreign plated vehicles.

You will probably find some dodgy broker on the coast who will arrange it through a Gibraltar based company but this is not recommended.

Bear in mind that the vehicle must be road legal in its country of origin and that an expired or otherwise invalid MoT certificate will render any insurance null and void.

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safeashouses
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Postby safeashouses » Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:33 pm

Read this before bringing your UK car to Spain.

http://www.andalucia.com/living/vehicle ... plates.htm

Niki Harrison
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Motor Insurance

Postby Niki Harrison » Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:10 pm

SecInsure will insure UK registered vehicles fully comprehensive or third party only no matter what the age of the vehicle. Go to www.secinsure.com and complete their online quotation form. I used them to insure my car.

Regards

Niki

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safeashouses
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Postby safeashouses » Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:39 pm

Yes they may be happy to take your money from you for insurance BUT once the MOT has expired the car is not insured.

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keddyboy
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Postby keddyboy » Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:26 pm

ExPat Insurance in Fuengirola insure British cars. I insured my 4x4 on British plates with them.
Keddyboy
Never do today what you can leave until tomorrow.

Beachcomber
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Postby Beachcomber » Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:48 pm

Could you let us know what happens if you have to put it to the test, Keddyboy, especially if you do not renew your UK MoT test certificate every year.

Niki Harrison
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MOT Certificate

Postby Niki Harrison » Sun Jan 22, 2006 9:58 am

Hi Beachcomber

I think you will find that when a UK MOT certificate expires you can go to your nearest ITV centre and they will do all the relevant checks and if the car passes they will then issue you with a document saying that the car is road worthy. Your are then still covered for your UK reg vehicle by your insurer.

Niki

Bongtrees
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Re: MOT Certificate

Postby Bongtrees » Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:12 am

Niki Harrison wrote:Hi Beachcomber

I think you will find that when a UK MOT certificate expires you can go to your nearest ITV centre and they will do all the relevant checks and if the car passes they will then issue you with a document saying that the car is road worthy. Your are then still covered for your UK reg vehicle by your insurer.

Niki
It is not possible to tax the car in the UK with a Spanish ITV.

I have heard that ITV stations on the Costa Blanca will no longer do this test on an English Reg car.

Beachcomber
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Postby Beachcomber » Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:05 pm

A Spanish ITV on a foreign registered car has no validity whatsoever other than proving that it was roadworthy (according to Spanish standards) at the time of the inspection. It does not take the place of a UK MoT, does not make the vehicle road legal in its country of origin neither is it valid for insurance purposes.

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costakid
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Postby costakid » Sun Jan 22, 2006 3:27 pm

Under the EU 4th directive it is illegal for an insurance company to insure a vehicle in any other country than the one it is registered in. I.E uk registered cars can only be insured by uk insurance companys. The Spanish ITV would be useless in the event of a claim.

Daveyboy
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Postby Daveyboy » Tue Jan 24, 2006 2:56 pm

I would strongly urge you all to listen to what Beachcomer has to say. He is absolutley right.

A UK reg car cannot be used for more than 183 days of the year in Spain, in a ny one year.

Once the MoT is out of date you are no longer insured and as for companies here insuring UK reg cars, again he is right, they will but woe betide you should you have to file a claim without a valid MoT. The claim will not be met.

Before thinking of going down that route I spoke to the broker who said all would be well. They even said a Spanish ITV cert would be fine. The ITV will not give you a proper cert if the car is not on Spanish plates. They will give you a cert of roadworthiness which will be useless in the event of a claim. After talking to the broker I e-mailed the company and asked them to confirm what he had said. They did not even do me the courtesy of repying.
If you're long terming, get Spanish plates!!
Don't join the 100s of illegal UK reg cars which run the gauntlet every day!


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