Insurance for ex-Pat

[Gilbertd]

Slightly odd one this. A friend lives in France and has done for over 25 years. He's got a number of cars over there, some French, some UK registered, all insured with French insurance companies. He's got pissed off with hotels and hire cars whenever he comes over here so has bought a house and car to use when he is over on business. He could insure the car with his French insurers as they issue a permanent green card so would cover him over here but he'd spend more time explaining to plod that it is insured really as it wouldn't show up on MID and would be flagged as uninsured by ANPR. So he wants to insure it with a UK company. But they probably won't accept that he has any no claims entitlement as it is all with his French insurers. As the car he has bought is Thatcham insurance group 48 out of 50, paying the full premium is likely to cost as much as the car, if not the house.

Anyone got any ideas on brokers or schemes that may be sensible money? Bear in mind that the car will probably spend at least 10 months of the year locked in the garage of the house.

[c2mike]

Try Aviva. They were very helpful when I moved to the UK over 10 years ago and much more recently when adding my father in law as a temporary named driver (he does not live in the UK). For me back then they offered a big new customer discount, which basically off-set the no-claims bonus - this was a long time ago, but worth a call.