Presumably no cover for travel by helicopter…
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I will look them up. Thanks
Hi, actually most EU countries are using the “Vienna driving convention” (convention de Vienne sur la circulation routière) (from the 8th of Nov 1968 - part of the French regulations since 1977) which states that there are only 2 scenarios:
- Either you are a French resident or considered as such => When driving for a foreign registered vehicle, you are supposed to have started the import process at max after 30 days.
- Or you are not a French resident and therefore you don’t have such an obligation although there is a maximum limit of 1 year after which you are supposed to have imported it anyway or leave the country.
The “problem” with the second option is that you also will “face” other legal issues, the most important one is in regard to residency and/or taxes. Should you stay in France for more than 6 months (183 days) you would be “de facto” a French resident and therefore would revert to option 1. Should you stay in France for more than 90 days you may require a visa or a residency permit depending on which country you’re from and this may have consequences about your insurance policy.
Most of the time French insurers will covered abroad for up to 90 days in a row and potentially as many times as you’d like so could “similar” to the thing mentioned (180 days abroad) although not “in a row”. Because it’s not only about insurance but also legal and residency implications and insurers don’t want to be mixed into that so dig a bit deeper with LV and I’d be surprised if they can allow for more than 90 days in a row although it may total to 180 days per annum without a problem as you could be on and off and various countries. Most of our clients coming from the UK (including some with LV) have a 60 days in a row allowance in France so even less than the 90 days we’re used as the “by default” in France.
Whatever the situation make sure you asked your insurance company for “how many days in a row” am I insured abroad and you’ll be on the safe side 
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Been with LV on and off over many years.
Foreign/continental cover used to be available as standard then became an option for £26 but now appears to be included in comp cover again following the takeover by Allianz in 2019
All my insurance has included continental cover for more than (no pun intended) 50 years, mostly inclusive, occasionally optional.
Yes but not a Swiftcover policy who are owned by AXA
I see almost all replies here are talking about UK insurance for trips to europe. We live in France and have our Hymer motorhome insured with AXA in France. We hit a flock of sheep in Morocco 3 weeks into our 2 month holiday This damaged the front end including radiator and lights rendering the vehicle not driveable. AXA has paid for recovery from Morocco back to Hymer in France and is paying for the repair at 48,500 euro. It’s wise to get the best insurance, especially on an expensive vehicle.
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Thanks, agree many of the responses are from people bringing cars from the UK to EU, whereas my original request was for experience going the other way.
Your experience with AXA is very interesting, perhaps they have different treatment for previous colonies and the UK . Agreed with taking out the best insurance, that is what I thought I had done with AXA fully comprehensive, it appears to only apply in France in my case and not in the UK.
If anyone else has any useful lessons learned for insuring a french car to be driven in the UK it would be welcome.
I have used MATMUT for 15 years plus and am covered fully comp in the UK . You get what you pay for I believe?
No you get whats in the fine print.
At last a resolution.
I contacted my AXA agent last night, asking for confirmation of the cover for my car whilst in the UK.
This time a different response. The answer was no cover, since Brexit I was informed that i would need to insure my car in England whilst I was there.
AN immediate visit to their office, me fuming, demanding to see the head honcho, who confirms, the insurance policy whilst in the UK is fully comprehensive including breakdown cover and return to home.
I asked for him to put this is in writing which he did and highlighting in the bowels of the french policy document the said clause.
So the moral of the story is read your policy document - blindingly obvious - and dont accept the first response you get from someone on the front desk if you do not like their resonse.
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Does anyone know if the UK still offers “any vehicle” driver policies? does France?
I am looking at a type of work opportunity that might involve driving unpredictable vehicles, could be restricted to cars not company vans, and I’m not totally confident I would feel comfortable without my own insurance.
Ha ha - is this involving testing Tesla self driving cars? 
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Good result!
I’ve just had an almost identical experience with my motorcycle insurance brokers. I noticed in the small print of my policy that they require me to notify them of any trips abroad, so I emailed them to let them know I am coming to France in early June.
In view of this thread, I also asked if my comprehensive cover would still apply while in France, and was astonished to be told “no, you get the basic cover mandated by French law, that’s your lot.”
I phoned up the broker, and the first herbert I spoke to repeated this line - basic third party cover only.
After a bit of toing and froing he put me through to the customer services department, where common sense prevailed - I spoke to the bloke who had actually issued my policy and he assured me that my cover would be fully comp in France as well as the UK.
So you’ve got to double-check everything with these pillocks - half of them don;t seem to know the details of what they are selling…
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Not self driving
@fabien, we are considering a 1 year visa to allow us to stay in France for a fair time, more than 183 days, obviously I need to sort my UK insurance to allow a longer stay than what is currently allowed in the std policy. I cant consider being a french resident and having to register the car or myself as French resident.
If you could clarify please
Hi @Corona , many factors come into play so it’s best if we can have a one on one discussion, I’m copy/pasting a link to my calendar so that you can book a time with me and I’ll advise => Book a consultation with Fabien
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You would not need to become a resident - if that is, your visa permits you stay longer - the regulaion you will fall foul of is that a foreign car cannot remain France, or the EU, more than 6 months.
I wonder if this regulation has ever been enforced? Certainly not down my way where the plethora of old UK builder’s vans continues to plague the roads.
But not a huge problem for you - ask your insurer if the y will insure the same car but with different registration, then sorn your car and register it here. Dead easy.
Are you sure about that part 
It’s a lot more difficult post-Brexshit
SORN is only valid for cars physically located in the UK.
And this, if successful, would automatically declare it exported in the UK.
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