Car insurance for U.K. vehicle for French resident

Cars / Motoring / Insurance
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Hello there. I wonder if you can help me please. I am a French resident with a British passport who has applied for a new French driving licence which is in the system with ANTS over the last couple of months. I understand I can drive with the attestation of application. All good. My problem is insurance. I still have an address in the U.K. and work there too. I am a named driver on a U.K. vehicle that my companion and I own and drive mostly on the Continent. Sometimes I will need to drive U.K. registered vehicles both in the U.K. and in EU. I won’t own a vehicle here in France. Can you help me understand how I go about insuring myself please. Many thanks. Francine.

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Just to be clear the U.K. vehicle lives in the U.K. and not in France and has an English number plate. Many thanks.

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@fabien
Hi Fabien… are you able to explain to @francine27 how this might be achieved, please…

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Hi Francine,

This is actually super simple. Here are the different scenarios and their “solutions”:

  • You drive a foreign registered vehicle that is parked in France for less than 90 days in a row => you need to be insured in the vehicle’s registration country
  • You drive a foreign registered vehicle that is parked in France more than 90 days in a row => you need to import that vehicle under French plates and be insured in France (we can help with both the import and the insurance)

In these first 2 situations the driver license is not an issue (at least from a French standpoint).

  • You drive a French registered vehicle and it’s your vehicle**=>you need to be insured in France under your name or be a named driver on the policy**
  • You drive a French registered vehicle occasionally and it’s not yours => you are automatically covered by the insurance of the vehicle’s owner as all drivers are covered under a French insurance policy (as long as they are legally allowed to drive in France). If you want to accrue discount in France then you need to be a named driver on that vehicle’s policy but it’s not necessary

Hope that helps?

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Thank you Stella and Fabien for your help. Really clearly explained Fabien. I may well come back to you in the future if importing my vehicle to France. Bonne journée. Francine.

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Fabien you explained so clearly the insurance issues as above and that was so helpful. Can you just clarify that I am clearly understanding my French driving licence being a French resident with a 5 year carte de séjour please. I do not own a car in France. I only drive at the moment a UK vehicle that is in France for less than 90 days at a time. I am on a UK insurance policy for this UK vehicle with a French licence. I also drive the vehicle in the UK with my French licence. Does this insurance cover me to drive in the UK and France with no worries please? Many thanks. Francine.

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I hope you never have an accident or need to make a claim. You probably need to decide whether you want to live in france or the UK, you can’t (legally) have it both ways as far as car ownership and insurance are concerned.

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If the car is owned and insured by a British resident and you are a named driver then you may be ok, but make sure that the UK insurance company is aware of all the facts, that the coverage they provide is sufficient for your needs, and that you comply with any necessary conditions.

If you are the registered keeper of the British vehicle then it’s a definite no-no.

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@francine27

It might be an idea to clarify who Owns the vehicle???

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  • I only drive at the moment a UK vehicle that is in France for less than 90 days at a time. => acceptable if indeed less than 90 days each time
  • I am on a UK insurance policy for this UK vehicle with a French licence. => Double check with your UK insurer that they are happy with your French license AND that they can cover you abroad for 90 days as the norm in the UK is usually 60 days - but from a French perspective it’s fine as long as your UK insurer is happy covering for that long abroad.
    *I also drive the vehicle in the UK with my French licence. => You should ask this to your British insurance company to double check they are happy with that.
    *Does this insurance cover me to drive in the UK and France with no worries please?=>Answers above
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I thought you had to be a uk resident to get uk insurance. The OP states french resident/CdS holder.

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I can’t advice on British insurance but I know it’s possible to have French insurance for non French resident (second home owners for example - as long as you have a valid permanent license in France).

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I think thats because its the car that’s insured in france, whilst in the UK its the person/ policy holder who’s insured.

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Thank you Fabien and everyone else that contributed for your replies. Food for thought that I will now build on in the next week or so. I think I now understand the questions I need to ask which is a very good start. Doesn’t look as if it will be that straight forward but you never know……

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Hi @francine27 , I would recommend you contacting Stuart Collins

As a French resident you can take a policy to cover a UK registered vehicle with annual use abroad.

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Thank you so much Sarah. I will look into that. Much appreciated. Francine.

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@fabien You mention you can assist with car import and insurance for France from UK. How can we reach you outside of this forum please? Contact details? Much appreciated, Sally-Ann

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@SAK click Insurance at the top of the page.

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Hi Sally-Ann, more than happy to help. As Karen was saying you can reach out directly here or send us an email on hello at fabfrenchinsurance dot com :pray:

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Much appreciated @KarenLot. I’ve just worked it out… I’ve sent Fabien a message via his website. Best wishes, SAK