Got both our cars insured fully comprehensive via our bank here in 47.
Am I correct in think that any legal driver can driver them with our permission?
Thanks, will dig out the small print.
Isn’t there an interdiction against foreign based (resident) drivers driving French insured cars? Or have I dreamt that?
Interesting question, David. I’ve just read through my insurance documents (at least until I dozed off…) and could not find an answer.
Perhaps @fabien could enlighten us?
My insurance covers any driver but my partner’s apparently only covers him and me, so I don’t think “all drivers” is a given…
perhaps they know something we/you don’t 
Hi David, Brian invited me to respond to this so I’ll do my best 
There isn’t such a restriction, at least not directly. Insurers don’t restrict the usage based on the driver’s origin or his/her license. Instead the restriction can be at the country’s level. One need to be legally allowed to drive to be potentially covered. That seems obvious but sometimes you are an illegal situation without being aware of it, like an American driving in France (let’s consider a Texan we have a different set of rules for each state), if he is a resident here he can drive for the 1st year basically without much trouble (considering he also has an international driver license) but from the 2nd year it’s highly likely that he is no longer allowed to drive in France. He may not even now about that and may think it’s ok to drive a vehicle… whilst it was for a while and is no longer.
Hopefully that answers your question?
1 Like
Hi Angela, about that this is quite unusual. The default setting is the “all drivers are covered” so when that’s not the case it means that’s a very specific type of policy (like the increased risk policy, vintage car insurance, temporary insurance, or other exotic contracts like “group policies”, etc.).
Or maybe the advise they gave your partner is not accurate (wouldn’t be the first unfortunately)
1 Like
Thank you, Fabien. A clear and useful explanation - I wish all insurance advice was as easy to understand as yours!
1 Like
Yes thank you Fabien, I don’t know where I heard it but it was probably part of a discussion about the illegality of French registered cars pulling foreign registered trailers/caravans, and vice versa. Strange thing is though that it emerged that the hiring of French hire cars by foreign drivers was permitted. Which seemed to suggest that ordinary cars would not be.
I immediately raised the question of foreign artics with different tractor/semi trailer registrations, a very widespread practice for many years. Apparently that is an exception to the rule. Good thing for the Romanian driver of a Slovakian tractor pulling an Italian trailer which ran me off a mountain road a couple of years back. 
Most of Europe (& I think now the UK) requires commercial trailers to be registered as a separate vehicle in its own right so provided the trailer is “road legal"in Europe with its own registration number it can be towed by any tractor unit.
With regard to foreign drivers, europa.eu has this - " If you are temporarily driving around in your new EU country, you should not lend or rent your car (still registered in another EU country) to a resident of that EU country. This is because the person could become subject to a fine. You may, however, lend your car to visiting friends or family members as long as they do not have their residence in that EU country.”