New car drivers urged to check insurance before driving abroad

Motorists should check their car insurance policies before taking their vehicle abroad, AA Insurance advises.

The motoring body says that some comprehensive policies on new and used cars will only provide third party cover if drivers take their car to Europe.

It urges all motorists to check what is covered in their policy before they leave for the continent.

Spokesperson Ian Crowder warns that comprehensive UK insurance providers have varying approaches to driving on the continent and drivers could be misled into thinking that their policy will also give comprehensive cover abroad.

"If you are taking your car out of the UK it's very easy to just assume that if you're covered in the UK you are going to be covered elsewhere in Europe and to a certain extent that's true," he comments.

"Check your car, check your policy, check that you are covered while you are out there."

He adds that in the event of an accident, many insurance companies would meet the costs of the third party but the driver would need to pay for the vehicle's recovery and repair plus the price of any rental vehicle they may need to hire to continue their journey.

According to Sainsbury's Car Insurance around one in five (17 per cent) of UK motorists are planning to take their cars abroad in the next year.

Nearly half (48 per cent) say they will be driving more than a thousand miles on foreign roads.

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