Euro insurance woes...

RJP

RJP

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Hi all, after my great recent ride I'm now in Italy and will be coming & going until 2022. I recently spoke to my insurance who have stated that if I'm working over here then I'm not covered. :blast

Obviously I should have thought this through further before riding the bike over but hey, I'm here now. So I have spent the best part of a week talking to multiple UK insurance companies and brokers, all with the same answer... which is essentially if you're working in Europe and out here for an extended period your not covered. I suppose it makes sense in one way, however all the Italians I've spoken to are surprised as with Italian insurance you are free to travel wherever you want, however that what they say:rob, not what an insurance company says!

So my conclusion has been to put the bike on Italia plates and have Italian insurance, I think it makes sense as I'm going to be here for a couple of years and even though I will be returning to the UK regularly, I intend to leave the bike here in Italia.

Can I just ask before I pull the trigger on this... does anyone else have experience in a similar situation and are there any pitfalls I am likely to come across? I have a local agent who is going to help me with the registration as my current Italian is pretty much limited to food & beer!!
 
If you have the bike on UK plates for more than six months in Italy then it should be registered and insured in Italy because you're an Italian resident.
 
stolzy said:
If you have the bike on UK plates for more than six months in Italy then it should be registered and insured in Italy because you're an Italian resident.
Click to expand...

and need to convert your driver's licence to an Italian one - this might be a lot easier to do before Dec 2020 than after...
 
....all with the same answer... which is essentially if you're working in Europe and out here for an extended period your not covered. I suppose it makes sense in one way, however all the Italians I've spoken to are surprised as with Italian insurance you are free to travel wherever you want, however
Click to expand...

Leaving aside that, when taking out your insurance policy with your UK insurer, you probably declared that the bike was kept in the UK, when in fact it is to be kept in Italy. UK motor insurance is sold cheap and is designed to cater (not surprisingly) for the vast bulk of customers who live their lives in the UK, with the occasional foray abroad for their holidays, say of up to a maximum of 30 days at any one time. You are no longer representative of the regular customer base, as you are now living and working all but permanently in Italy.

I do not know about the niceties of Italian motor insurance but (other than I think the EU wide demand to re-register vehicles if the stay in a foreign country is longer than six moths) I do wonder if there is bit that might maybe have got lost in translation? If you asked me, I would say the my UK insurance policy insured me to drive throughout Europe, which it does. If the conversation went no further than that, someone might think this was all day, every day for the annual duration of the policy, when it's very obviously not. Maybe Italian motor policies do allow their customers to insure their vehicle in Italy and then to go to live for the better part of the year in London, Helsinki or Lisbon? I would be pleasantly surprised if they do.
 
Their must be a policy that you can have that allows you to live in one country and work in another what if you live on a boarder ie France/ Germany/ spain etc
 
Wapping said:
Leaving aside that, when taking out your insurance policy with your UK insurer, you probably declared that the bike was kept in the UK, when in fact it is to be kept in Italy. UK motor insurance is sold cheap and is designed to cater (not surprisingly) for the vast bulk of customers who live their lives in the UK, with the occasional foray abroad for their holidays, say of up to a maximum of 30 days at any one time. You are no longer representative of the regular customer base, as you are now living and working all but permanently in Italy.

I do not know about the niceties of Italian motor insurance but (other than I think the EU wide demand to re-register vehicles if the stay in a foreign country is longer than six moths) I do wonder if there is bit that might maybe have got lost in translation? If you asked me, I would say the my UK insurance policy insured me to drive throughout Europe, which it does. If the conversation went no further than that, someone might think this was all day, every day for the annual duration of the policy, when it's very obviously not. Maybe Italian motor policies do allow their customers to insure their vehicle in Italy and then to go to live for the better part of the year in London, Helsinki or Lisbon? I would be pleasantly surprised if they do.
Click to expand...

French policies certainly do (or at least did five years ago). UK policies give you cover for legal risks in EU+ countries, unless that has changed since/will change after Brexit.
 
Sounds to me like it would be better to just buy another bike in Italy and insure it over there. It should cover you for the odd jaunt back to England.
Might be easier than changing your registration over to Italian plates.
 
Thanks for the comments, I think I'm going to go down the Italian plate option, we'll see how it goes, I'll let you know! The main difference seems to be if you're working in that country. I'm going to be here a while so it seems best to "Go Native". Hopefully it will be easier in the long run. I'm not changing licence though as I still spend half my time in the UK, it's just the bike that needs the Italian flavour with luck.
 
stolzy said:
French policies certainly do (or at least did five years ago). UK policies give you cover for legal risks in EU+ countries, unless that has changed since/will change after Brexit.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have friends who have a main home in Alsace just 15 miles west of Basel in Switzerland. They both worked for Roche in Basel whilst mostly living in Alsace. They have always had a home in Switzerland so they can be registered for income tax there. Initially a flat in Basel, then after semi-retirement a flat in a ski resort. Now, as they have both qualified as ski instructors, they have bought a large property in Morgins to run as holiday lets with ski instruction, turning a hobby into a business.

As you say, the way insurance is organised is very different. Policies seem to be based on a vehicle so as a visitor, you can just jump into one of their cars and pop to the shops. They have no restrictions on the amount of time spent in France or Switzerland. I think one of their cars, the expensive one, was bought in Switzerland and the other is on French plates. So many people live cross border lives as working in Switzerland and living in France is very cost effective, especially when the Euro tanks against the CHF. French is Swiss insurance has accommodate this.
 
stolzy said:
French policies certainly do (or at least did five years ago). UK policies give you cover for legal risks in EU+ countries, unless that has changed since/will change after Brexit.
Click to expand...

That is true but they do not provide cover for the Brit who tells his UK insurer, yup I live in Glossop, where the bike is garaged when I’m not riding it.... oops, I forgot, I am now living my life in Brindisi and the bike lives out on the street. I take the OP at his word that an Italian motor policy allows it.
 
registering a uk bike in italy is a real ball-ache , 400euro / bike , according to a friend who has moved there. not as easy as here.
 
Zx9man said:
Their must be a policy that you can have that allows you to live in one country and work in another what if you live on a boarder ie France/ Germany/ spain etc
Click to expand...

There very probably is no restriction, just as there in none for us. But a penny to a pound says, that the local insurer may well still require the policy holder to be honest as to where the car is registered, their home address and where it lives, so to speak. French insurance is different to ours, in that it is the vehicle that is insured, not the driver.
 
Thanks for all the comments. Much appreciated.


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