Car insurance.. 6mths in a Spanish Marina

L

Leslie frank

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Hi.
We no longer live aboard but we do try to spend 6mths on the boat from April to October.
This year we plan to take our car down Spain (simplest way to get our dogs there) and I have arranged to leave the car securely at the marina until we come back in October. I just found out that my car insurance wont cover this even though I just want 3rd party cover so they have no exposure to the risk of theft.
Does anyone do anything similar and who do you insure with?
Cheers
 
How long can you take the car to EU/Spain for before you should/must register it as Spanish? IIRC coming the otherway the official position in 6 months (although many don't).
 
ylop said:
How long can you take the car to EU/Spain for before you should/must register it as Spanish? IIRC coming the otherway the official position in 6 months (although many don't).
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Depends on if you're an EU resident or not - non-residents can temporarily import for 6 months.
 
Out of curiosity, what requirements does the insurance have? I had thought that as a minimum continuous 3rd party cover was required on all UK car insurance (or that certainly was the case before 2016). It's commonly sited that insurance only provides 30/90/180/etc. days usage abroad cover for example, but in fact (or at least as far as I'm aware) that's at fully comp level, with 3rd party cover being mandatory for the full 12 months.
 
I thought a UK car could only live in EU for a maximum of 6 months before matriculation or exit from EU becomes mandatory. Thinking about it that's similar to a uk registered boat isn't it.
Every UK insurance company I tried in the distant past to insure my uk car in Europe would only give cover if I was in that country with the car. As soon as I flew back to UK the cover was void.
The only option I found who would give cover was a company called Abbeygate from Spain. They used to give cover to loads of expat uk registered cars here in Portugal. Not sure after Brexit what their position is. Worth a ring though.
 
greeny said:
I thought a UK car could only live in EU for a maximum of 6 months before matriculation or exit from EU becomes mandatory. Thinking about it that's similar to a uk registered boat isn't it.
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The car rules are very different from boats.

A UK registered boat (ie UK flagged) can potentially stay in the EU indefinitely without re registration being required. And if was in EU before Brexit day it can stay indefinite without any VAT or certification/RCD issues.
Even if it arrived in EU now, it is only after 18 months when the VAT etc issues start to arise, not 6 months.
So not similar at all.
 
dunedin said:
The car rules are very different from boats.

A UK registered boat (ie UK flagged) can potentially stay in the EU indefinitely without re registration being required. And if was in EU before Brexit day it can stay indefinite without any VAT or certification/RCD issues.
Even if it arrived in EU now, it is only after 18 months when the VAT etc issues start to arise, not 6 months.
So not similar at all.
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AFAIK the car rule is 6 months after which it has to be registered in the country it's in. https://www.eurococ.eu/en/blog/driving-uk-registered-car-in-europe/
 
dpb said:
LV cover up to 6 months in europe by default.
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AFAIK, that's actually 6 months fully comp and 12 months 3rd party. Unless rules have changed in recent years (which I doubt, otherwise Brits would need green cards in the EU), then EU 3rd party cover is mandatory throughout the policy period.
 
PlanB said:
That didn't satisfy them.
This was pre Brexit, so things may have changed.
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I belive a Spanish address is only valid if you are legally registered living at that address.
"The padrón (or empadronamiento) is an essential municipal register in Spain
 
syvictoria said:
AFAIK, that's actually 6 months fully comp and 12 months 3rd party. Unless rules have changed in recent years (which I doubt, otherwise Brits would need green cards in the EU), then EU 3rd party cover is mandatory throughout the policy period.
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The main rule was an end to passporting, so a UK company couldn't sell financial services in to EU residents and vice versa. The only way they can do it is if they have a local office they can sell via.
 
st599 said:
The main rule was an end to passporting, so a UK company couldn't sell financial services in to EU residents and vice versa. The only way they can do it is if they have a local office they can sell via.
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Sorry, I think my wording may have caused confusion. "then EU 3rd party cover is mandatory throughout the policy period" would have been better phrased as "then 3rd party cover within the EU is mandatory throughout the policy period". I was referring to UK policies (and using car in the EU).
 
I seem to recall from historic posts/investigations that there were similar posts about taking a Uk registered car down to Tenerife and leaving it there for use when visiting . It didn’t seem the idea was practical even where you might have a cheap uk car spare being surplus to uk needs. It might be that a uk broker which insures Tenerife properties for uk residents might have a car offering however I think leaving aside the regulation issues there is the risks associated with leaving the car in a marina car park unattended . Whether if you had secure garaged parking it might change don’t know - it was a concern in Tenerife in leaving in a community car park . Theft is high in Tenerife and vandalism etc hence bars on the windows etc.
 
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