# Insurance in England on Irish car



## butterfield (17 Aug 2012)

Son wants to use Irish car in England - he lives there (student) .  Anyone know if it better to get English insurance (is this possible)?   Or insure it in Ireland and use it in England ?
Any information appreciated.


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## DrMoriarty (17 Aug 2012)

If he can get insurance in the UK it will certainly be far cheaper than here, but he'd have to apply from a UK address and probably provide proof of residence.


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## Ann1 (17 Aug 2012)

We moved from the south to Northern Ireland for work reasons. Our motor insurance company down south gave us only 3 months insurance cover to drive in Northern Ireland. We had to register the car here then to get insurance cover ..full MOT required with change of number plates etc.


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## bluemac (17 Aug 2012)

Uk police will make him reg the car in the UK if its there for a few months and hes pulled over, up side to that is the saving in road tax


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## Tired Paul (17 Aug 2012)

He will need to register the car in the UK and have MOT done before a UK insurance company will take him.
My brother was in the same position last year and has to re-register.


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## ALEXA (17 Aug 2012)

Would he not be better off selling his Irish reg car and buying an English reg one when he goes over? When he is due to return to Ireland he could either sell it over there or bring it back to Ireland. He would be entitled to re-register it here without paying VRT providing he can prove to Revenue that he has lived permanently in UK for over 6 months which he should be able to do if he is based there as a student. He will probably be able to get a better car for his money over there too.


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## Mrs Vimes (17 Aug 2012)

ALEXA said:


> Would he not be better off selling his Irish reg car and buying an English reg one when he goes over? When he is due to return to Ireland he could either sell it over there or bring it back to Ireland. He would be entitled to re-register it here without paying VRT providing he can prove to Revenue that he has lived permanently in UK for over 6 months which he should be able to do if he is based there as a student. He will probably be able to get a better car for his money over there too.




Revenue explicitly disallow this relief for students - see this link (scroll down to "you do not qualify..."


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## butterfield (17 Aug 2012)

Thanks for all the replies and after some further enquiries myself looks like it would be better to insure in Ireland. 
He only plans to use the car for a few months while he is outside London. So for the short term use it would seem easier not to have to register the car in Uk and get Irish insurance instead.

Many thanks to everyone


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## Ann1 (17 Aug 2012)

Hi butterfield...Your son will have to tell his Irish insurance company that the car is being driven in the UK....if he fails to disclose this fact and the car is involved in an accident they will not cover him. They can check if he is resident in the UK in a matter of seconds.


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## Time (17 Aug 2012)

Irish insurance companies must by EU law cover all 3rd party risk within the EU for the full duration of the policy. They cannot get out of this.


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## butterfield (18 Aug 2012)

I have wondered about him using the car there and the insurance implications.  The car is owned by me and he is a named driver, the insurance company ask you where the car will be mostly driven ?

In reality I am proposing to insure the car and he will use it ??   Would it be better if he is the main insured driver?? He is 25.

Thanks again.


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## Ann1 (18 Aug 2012)

Time said:


> Irish insurance companies must by EU law cover all 3rd party risk within the EU for the full duration of the policy. They cannot get out of this.


That's interesting...when we moved up north our insurance company only gave us 3 months cover (green card) because the car was being driven mostly in the North of Ireland. They gave us a refund of the premium already paid..


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## peteb (18 Aug 2012)

Yes it wouild be correct if he were the proposer.  You can't say you are the main user of the vehicle if he has it over in England.  If there was a theft claim, etc you could have a problem as his use should only be casual.

In relation to EU directives, as pointed out previously they will only provide the minimum cover required by law which is Third Party only.  So again if the car was stolen and you hadnt told the insurers it was going to be in the UK beyond a month you may find yourself with no cover.


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