Importing from the UK - definitive guide (Q&A)

Road-Hog

Kotek Besar wrote: »

You are confusing Irish and UK vehicle registration certificates.

Irish versions of the document detail the registered owner, but not the keeper.

The V5C in the UK details the registered keeper, not the owner. Due to the fact that the DVLA are not able to list a non-UK resident as the registered keeper, it is entirely possible for a vehicle registered in the UK, but physically outside of the UK, to be in the legal possession of someone other than the person listed on the V5C and that person may or may not be the legal owner.

So does this mean that my insurance co will not cover me during the 30 days that you are given in which to get licencing cert etc sorted on an imported car and that you are technically driving around without insurance, I called up my insurance co the day before the car arrived, told them it was from uk and would be a couple of weeks before I had an irish reg plate, they said no problem they would accept the UK reg for the interim period and that I should froward them the new Irish reg once everything was sorted, I also paid the extra premium required for the upgarde on the insurance. Seems odd that they would even consider swapping over insurance to an un-registered car if in the event of an accident prior to the re-registration the policiy is not worth a crapp

Kotek Besar

Road-Hog wrote: »

So does this mean that my insurance co will not cover me during the 30 days that you are given in which to get licencing cert etc sorted on an imported car and that you are technically driving around without insurance, I called up my insurance co the day before the car arrived, told them it was from uk and would be a couple of weeks before I had an irish reg plate, they said no problem they would accept the UK reg for the interim period and that I should froward them the new Irish reg once everything was sorted, I also paid the extra premium required for the upgarde on the insurance. Seems odd that they would even consider swapping over insurance to an un-registered car if in the event of an accident prior to the re-registration the policiy is not worth a crapp

It would depend on the specific insurer and what they are willing to provide cover on, and on what basis. Perhaps your insurer is aware that UK V5Cs don't show the owner of the vehicle in any case and, that being the case, you're the "owner" of the vehicle once you've paid in full and title of the goods (vehicle) then passes to you.

Or perhaps your insurance company provides cover for vehicles registered to someone other than the policyholder, either by default or as an exception.

Kotek Besar

Kotek Besar wrote: »

So you're saying that, in Irish law, one can only purchase insurance for a vehicle if it is in the purchaser's name?

MidlandsM wrote: »

why do you think they'll ask "are you regsitered owner etc" , and "where is the vehicle kept etc"on the declaration? you can buy "willy nilly" insurance for cars all day long, they'll not care about your lies as they'll take your cash, but its when a claim happens the investigations ensue from the insurance co's.

Kotek Besar wrote: »

If you could just answer the question.

MidlandsM wrote: »

lol ....... do you think you are a barrister....... lol

look, you seem to think you know it all, so work away..... :pac: There is an old say......Fools and their money are easily parted.....

You might find this thread interesting.

MidlandsM

None of any of this matters until you have a claim, and your/or any insurance you it against you that the car is not registered to you.........and you are fooked......with no comeback...

Kotek Besar

MidlandsM wrote: »

None of any of this matters until you have a claim, and your/or any insurance you it against you that the car is not registered to you.........and you are fooked......with no comeback...

You still insist that a person can't hold an insurance policy for a car that is someone else's name?

Marcusm

Even in the UK the v5 would not be updated/reissued immediately; I am still waiting 3 weeks after changing my car. The OP is the legal and beneficial owner of the vehicle and and has a clear insurable interest. The absence of formal registration should not alter this.

MidlandsM

Marcusm wrote: »

Even in the UK the v5 would not be updated/reissued immediately; I am still waiting 3 weeks after changing my car. The OP is the legal and beneficial owner of the vehicle and and has a clear insurable interest. The absence of formal registration should not alter this.

incorrect..totally....and erronious for you to suggest.

Kotek Besar

MidlandsM wrote: »

incorrect..totally....and erronious for you to suggest.

You keep saying things like that on this thread. Are you just voicing opinion or do you have any facts?

MidlandsM

Kotek Besar wrote: »

You keep saying things like that on this thread. Are you just voicing opinion or do you have any facts?

experience......unlike yourself because you keep posting erronious stuff on this subject.

Kotek Besar

MidlandsM wrote: »

experience......unlike yourself because you keep posting erronious stuff on this subject.

You've experience of never insuring a car that's not in your name, and therefore it's illegal for anyone else to experience the opposite?

Marcusm

MidlandsM wrote: »

incorrect..totally....and erronious for you to suggest.

Is my entire post erroneous or only the final sentence?

Kotek Besar

Marcusm wrote: »

Is my entire post erroneous or only the final sentence?

Apparently, everything posted is erroneous unless MidlandsM has experienced it.

Marcusm

MidlandsM wrote: »

if that was the case, the insurer would have paid out for the lad with the A4. It not the case and not protocall or insurers to pay out for a car thats not registered to you.

It's not possible to determine the reasoning of the insurance company based on the information you have provided. If your assertions are accepted then no one is insured on a newly purchased car (whether second hand or new) until such time as the registration process is complete and the certificate is issued; can't you see how unlikely that is? Generally, in my experience, insurers gather information as to whether the vehicle is registered to the proposer (generally on renewal or seeking new quotes) or is to be registered (in circumstances where the car has not yet been purchased). It is entirely possible that the insurance company in your A4 case sought to avoid liability on the grounds that he had not ultimately had it registered in his name. Avoiding liability in that case would have been on the basis of misrepresentation rather than his interest in the vehicle. Who knows what would have happened if he pushed te issue r proceeded to court.

Sobanek

I've got a question:
I seriously am considering to import a car from the UK (a 2001 MK4 Golf 1.9 TDI - purely for the nicer specification). I wouldn't drive there with a flatbed, but fly over and drive back to Ireland. What happens with the insurance?? Does it have to be bought here, or there? What's the shortest period you can get insured for in the UK?

awec

Sobanek wrote: »

I've got a question:
I seriously am considering to import a car from the UK (a 2001 MK4 Golf 1.9 TDI - purely for the nicer specification). I wouldn't drive there with a flatbed, but fly over and drive back to Ireland. What happens with the insurance?? Does it have to be bought here, or there? What's the shortest period you can get insured for in the UK?

Insurance bought here. Your insurer will give you ~30 days cover while it still has a UK reg.

Call your insurer and ask them to change your policy over to your new UK reg on the day you are due to fly over.

Bring it back, VRT it, phone them up again and get the reg changed to your new IE reg.

Wait 24 hours then tax it online.

And then wait a few days and book your NCT.

awec

MidlandsM wrote: »

incorrect..totally....and erronious for you to suggest.

So how come when I bought my cars in the UK I was able to be insured to drive it away from the dealer I bought it from?

By your logic I couldn't get insured until the new logbook arrived in the post?

Marcusm

awec wrote: »

Insurance bought here. Your insurer will give you ~30 days cover while it still has a UK reg.

Call your insurer and ask them to change your policy over to your new UK reg on the day you are due to fly over.

Bring it back, VRT it, phone them up again and get the reg changed to your new IE reg.

Wait 24 hours then tax it online.

And then wait a few days and book your NCT.

Beware that most UK dealers won't let a car drive away without a current tax disc (which in turn requires an insurance cert). Do a quick search or read earlier in this thread and you'll see some of the issues people have faced with that.

MidlandsM

awec wrote: »

So how come when I bought my cars in the UK I was able to be insured to drive it away from the dealer I bought it from?

By your logic I couldn't get insured until the new logbook arrived in the post?

you can insure it alright, but will your insurer pay out in the event of a claim........nope. Third party cover only.

@Kot bear - you're now being childish and talking bollox.:pac::P

awec

MidlandsM wrote: »

you can insure it alright, but will your insurer pay out in the event of a claim........nope. Third party cover only.

@Kot bear - you're now being childish and talking bollox.:pac::P

I'm not so sure this is true.

I'm pretty sure this would be more of a known issue if people were paying for comprehensive insurance, being told they have comprehensive insurance but not actually having comprehensive insurance.

In fact, insurers would surely have to inform you that even though you are paying for comprehensive insurance that you won't actually have it until the logbook is in your hand?

Our man in Havana

Once you have 3rd party insurance they must pay out. They cannot weasle out of that.

As regards comp who knows. It is something that has never bothered me in 20 years of driving in that I have never had it.

Road-Hog

Just to let you know that i received the above in post yesterday from Swansea having filled out form and faxed it to them only last Tuesday which is an 8 day turnaround for something that their web site says can take up to 4 weeks and sometimes longer. I rang them twice once to make sure that my form had been received and again last friday to check on the status and they told me that it had been issued and posted. I did explain during my first phone call to them that I needed the cert asap but I was given no guarantee that I would get it any quicker than the time frame quoted on the web site ie between 4 and 6 weeks. I booked an appointment with the NCT yesterday and got one for tomorrow to sort out the VRT so I should have my new irish plates also tomorrow, just within the 30 day period.

Our man in Havana

Well done!

robbie99

When I was collecting my car July 2008, I had transferred my FBD comprehensive insurance over to my new car and needed FBD to fax the UK dealer to confirm that I was insured. An hour into the motorway journey on the way home I hit some debris damaging the front bumper. €3k repair bill and FBD paid out. Even though at the time of the accident I was yet to reach Ireland to register the car and the dealer probably hadn't even posted their section to the DVLA yet, there was no question from FBD about ownership or registration.

MidlandsM

robbie99 wrote: »

When I was collecting my car July 2008, I had transferred my FBD comprehensive insurance over to my new car and needed FBD to fax the UK dealer to confirm that I was insured. An hour into the motorway journey on the way home I hit some debris damaging the front bumper. €3k repair bill and FBD paid out. Even though at the time of the accident I was yet to reach Ireland to register the car and the dealer probably hadn't even posted their section to the DVLA yet, there was no question from FBD about ownership or registration.

The dealer needed to send no section on the V5 to swansea? The amount of bad informed comment here on this thread is so misleading.
glad to hear your experience worked out, but yours was the experience from 1 insurance co and 1 policy holder ... not representative of the whole industry practice out there in the event of a claim with a uk reg car not in the "policy holders" name.

aujopimur

V5s, VRCs, registered owner are irrelevent where insurance is concerened, once you are the legal owner by what ever means be it by purchase, gift, inheritence etc, insured interest is what matters.

MidlandsM

aujopimur wrote: »

V5s, VRCs, registered owner are irrelevent where insurance is concerened, once you are the legal owner by what ever means be it by purchase, gift, inheritence etc, insured interest is what matters.

nope

L-M

MidlandsM wrote: »

nope

In the eyes of Liberty (Quinn) once you have paid for it you can considered to be the owner of it, irrelevant to the logbook.

MidlandsM

Limerick man wrote: »

In the eyes of Liberty (Quinn) once you have paid for it you can considered to be the owner of it, irrelevant to the logbook.

my point is this, and this is my final word on it on this thread,it is all well and good, they'll take ur cash, but in the event of a claim, you need to be 100% sure they will pay out on a comprehensive policy on a car not in your name, registered to you.

Some insurers will, some will not. That is all.

Our man in Havana

Any if you don't have comp none of this matters as they cannot shirk their 3rd party responsibilities.

MidlandsM

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Any if you don't have comp none of this matters as they cannot shirk their 3rd party responsibilities.

ohh good jebus......it has nothing to do with 3rd party extension (thats a given and which I never disputed)........its about personal property damage ie. you own car ...............:rolleyes:

to be honest,I give up on ye lot, you can't be informed........or some will not allow themselves to be informed........