If you're planning a foreign driving holiday, should you hire a car abroad or take your own? Rental car insurance can be confusing, and nothing can spoil a break quite like a hefty bill.
So if you drive your own car, it's important to know the limitations of your insurance.
Territorial limits
Your car insurance policy refers to 'territorial limits', which are the home countries where your insurance is valid.
For AA customers, the Car Insurance Policy Booklet lists the territorial limits as:
Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland including transit by sea, air or land within and between these places.
What about my car insurance abroad?
As well as the territorial limits, most car insurance policies provide cover for driving abroad. This will be either compulsory cover or extended cover.
Compulsory cover is where the insurer provides the minimum legal cover that allows you or a permitted driver to use the insured car in Europe.
Our car insurance provides extended cover within the EU and other European countries, which is the same level of cover that you have in the territorial limits.
The Gold and Platinum levels of AA comprehensive car insurance cover you for up to 90 days during the 12 months of your policy. The Silver level covers you for 30 days.
The number of days can be taken as a single trip or a combination of trips. The cover starts when you enter one of the European countries.
British citizens can visit the EU or countries in the Schengen area for a total of 90 days in a 180-day period without a visa.
We also cover your car while it's being transported between countries by sea, air or rail on journeys lasting no more than 65 hours.
If you do have to make a claim, the cost of delivering your car back to a UK address will be covered by us when repair has been completed.
The duration of compulsory or extended cover differs among insurance providers. Some may offer no extended cover at all. So always check your policy before travelling.
We've got heaps of info on driving abroad, from the documents you'll need to tips on keeping safe.
Author: The AA. Published 20 July 2018. Updated 12 June 2024.