European Driving

There are many thousands of UK motorists that choose to travel to Europe in their cars to enjoy a well-earned holiday. Most journeys are either made by ferry or using Eurotunnel and there is an excellent road network once you arrive in the likes of France.

Don't assume that you have fully comprehensive car insurance whilst driving your own car in Europe - check your policy document.

Driving in France

However, car accidents do happen no matter whether you are in the UK or overseas, so what is the position as far as your car insurance is concerned?

Well, many people probably just assume that, whilst driving their own car in Europe, they are covered for fully comprehensive car insurance purely because that that is the level of cover that they have when driving in the UK. Regrettably, that may not be the case with some car insurance providers so it is better that you check with your insurance company.

Yes, some will provide fully comprehensive car insurance whilst you are driving in EU countries for anything up to 90 days for no extra charge but some may not and, to include this level of cover, may charge an additional premium or may not even be prepared to offer that level of cover.

If it is the latter, or you only have third party or third party, fire and theft car insurance in the UK, you would be covered for the minimum legal requirement that the EU country you are travelling in provides which is often just third party.

Although there may be some UK car insurance companies that do not require you to notify them of your intended European trip there are some that may do, so you should check your policy document.

Can you imagine the potential additional costs of being involved in an accident whilst on holiday in Europe if you don’t have fully comprehensive cover? For instance, you could be faced with significant costs to get the car back to the UK plus hotel bills.

You should also give serious consideration to making sure that you have European breakdown cover for additional peace of mind in case you break down.

Enjoy your next driving holiday in Europe but make sure that you have adequate cover.