European Car Insurance – Driving in the UK

If you are buying or holidaying in Europe and you want to be driving while you are there; then you will need European car insurance in order to do so safely and legally. If you are a resident of the United States, Australia or another country outside of Europe then the chances are that your current insurance will be void when you visit there. This is particularly the case if you will not be using your usual car where you will definitely need separate European car insurance.
If you are heading to the UK then, your European car insurance will need to be with a company that operates within the UK. If you are only renting a car however to use on a holiday or for a short period of time, then bear in mind that this will normally come with insurance provided by the lenders of the vehicle. Ensure you enquire about this when speaking to your car rental provider. This should be the case with all European car insurance, but it is your responsibility to check and if you are driving without adequate insurance then you are breaking the law regarding European car insurance.
This European car insurance will then cover you for any accidents you may encounter and will repay you for any damage you cause to third parties. UK car insurance and most European Car Insurance normally then offers you the option to additionally cover yourself for any damage to your own vehicle too for a little extra. This is the difference between ‘fully comprehensive’ cover and ‘third party’ cover, where fully comprehensive will pay out for repairs to your own vehicle while third party will only repair damage to the other people’s property. A third option for your European car insurance is ‘third party fire and theft’ which will give you cover for your car being stolen or set alight, but will otherwise only cover you for damage to third party vehicles and belongings.
In some cases it can be cheaper to be added to someone else’s European car insurance than to get your own out separately. For example, if you are travelling to the UK to visit a friend or family member, then rather than take out specific European car insurance, you can simply be added to their insurance in order to drive their car (if they will happily oblige you).
Unlike the US all UK car insurance companies (and most European car insurance companies) will insure individuals under the age of 21, beginning from the age of 17. However, as in the US more experience driving (along with a cleaner license) will be reflected in a cheaper quote.