HolaOlvera

Have to agree with Mitzyboy. If you contact your UK insurance company, asking them if they will cover you in Spain during transit to your new place of residence, the answer will be NO. I am currently with SAGA and their terms and conditions clearly state that cover in Europe is only available if you are touring abroad and intend returning to your residence in the UK.
I have asked the same question of Direct Line, Budget, RAC and Bell insurance and the answer is also no.
So please be aware that in the unfortunate event of an accident, where you have not got a UK residence, your insurance may not be valid.

Alan

scampicat

Ah! But we HAD (and still have) got a UK residence - our family home, where our son still lives - as well as our home in Spain. Also, initially, we were going back to the UK every three months for a short while for my husband to finish medical treatment that he had started in the UK. We didn't become resident in Spain for about a year. Saga told us we had unlimited foreign travel, so obviously returning periodically to a UK address makes a difference.

mikelincs

EXCEPT... A UK registered car would need to be ITV'd to ensure that it's lights etc were correct for the country it is being kept in. This does not apply to cars from any other EU country as thier lights are automatically correct, the same would apply to people from other EU countries moving to the UK, they would need some sort of validation that their lights would not be a danger to other road users, so there are requirements for cars to be MOT'd ITV'd before registration. There are also stricter rules regarding modifications made to a car here in Spain, and these would need to be checked. I admit that there are probably a number of German, French etc cars also illegal in Spain, but they don't stand out a much as the driver is sat on the same side as locally registered cars, also we are UK ex pats and don't, usually, know which other non Spanish car is taxed etc.

Mitzyboy

I think the moral is that every individual in these situations needs to ask their insurance company ..... the last thing you want is to end up in serious financial problems because you aren't insured and someone sues you for damages

rugbymatt

so can someone actually sum up what you ACTUALLY need to do if you want to take a car to Spain on British plates? Because every time I read the thread I leave more confuddled than when I started!

Rosemary

Not everyone experiences this sort of difficulty though. Ours was LHD, UK registered too.

Whole process took just over two weeks.

Maybe we were just lucky.

Rosemary

Lionda

Just so long as you don't say you are going there to live then your insurance company should cover you for 30 days but only third party fire and theft.

Lionda

Thanks Scampicat I just hope that it isn't too long and difficult a process to re-register our car

rugbymatt

you see there is where I have a bit of conflict, because my insurance company says that I have European cover for the length of my UK cover.

Fred James

As I previously said, that's exactly what I have on my Spanish (Linea Directa) policy.

The only problem I can foresee by spending more than 6 months away is that my statement about where the car is "normally" kept could be considered to be invalid.

rugbymatt

sorry, but there were sooo many conflicting views I was having a hard time working out what was going on.

Thanks.

jdr

You will find it is only as a tourist though.
My broker said the maximum cover for anyone with the intention of moving to another country is 30 days, then you will have to insure in your country of residence.
The problem is all UK registered cars that are insured with a Spanish policy cannot really be covered because they are in Spain illegally, oh yes they will take your money ok, but beware of a claim.
I cant believe all this crap, if you live in Spain and you love your car, then be legal and get it re-registered or buy a Spanish one, problem solved.

rugbymatt

couldn't agree more, if you use something you have to pay for it!

mikelincs

Fully agree with you there jdr, why people want to run around, risking all in an illegal car beats me, just imagine how they would feel if they had a legal car, and were involved in an accident, no fault of their own. with a car not legally registered in Spain. If they had comp insurance then they would at least be covered, but if they didn't....

Lionda

Ah - now, you can pay extra for European cover, maybe that is what you have(?) We just have a fully comprehensive which does not include European cover but we get 30 days European cover for travelling abroad Still confused