Car Insurance

housands of drivers choked the roads to the south coast last weekend, on the first day of the school holidays, and similar delays are expected today. But if you’re heading for the Continent in your car this summer, beating the traffic jams should not be your only worry ” have you checked whether your motor insurance and breakdown cover are in order?

The good news is that if you are driving in the European Economic Area (the European Union plus a handful of non-member states, such as Switzerland), you no longer need a ‘green card’, the international certificate of insurance. By law, your British motor insurer must cover you when driving in the EEA, to at least the minimum legal requirement in the country you’re in.

However, Graeme Trudgill, technical services manager at the British Insurance Brokers Association, is worried this may wrongly encourage people to be complacent. ‘You won’t necessarily have complete protection,’ he warns. ‘While some insurers will give you the same comprehensive cover you enjoy at home when you’re abroad, the cheaper companies may only offer third- party insurance.’

According to the AA, at least a third of insurers require motorists to pay extra if they want their comprehensive cover to apply in Europe. It believes many drivers have no idea they only have third-party insurance while abroad. Up to 250,000 British motorists set off on holiday each year without realising they are not fully covered, the AA says.

Drivers with third-party cover will not be entitled to reclaim repair costs if they’re involved in an accident that is not entirely the responsibility of another motorist. They may also have to shell out to cover the cost of getting a damaged vehicle back to the UK.