# Cost of car insurance



## Wannabe Expat

We are thinking of moving to Spain next year and I am trying to work out some sort of budget, as we will both be retired and on a fairly tight budget. My sister has a flat in Galicia (a holiday home not permanent residence) and she has just bought a second hand Seat Ibiza about 3 years old and has paid 470 Euros for the insurance premium. She has over 5 year's no claims bonus in the UK and is in her early 60s, but said that the premium was the cheapest she could get on a comprehensive basis - it was with Allianz. Is car insurance really that dear in Spain? We only pay about £275 a year in the UK for the same cover at the moment - although I realise this is likely to go up after the recent EU ruling disallowing preferential rates for women drivers!

Also can anyone give me an idea of approximately how much the annual car tax would be in Spain for a very small fairly 'green' car?


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## leedsutdgem

Wannabe Expat said:


> We are thinking of moving to Spain next year and I am trying to work out some sort of budget, as we will both be retired and on a fairly tight budget. My sister has a flat in Galicia (a holiday home not permanent residence) and she has just bought a second hand Seat Ibiza about 3 years old and has paid 470 Euros for the insurance premium. She has over 5 year's no claims bonus in the UK and is in her early 60s, but said that the premium was the cheapest she could get on a comprehensive basis - it was with Allianz. Is car insurance really that dear in Spain? We only pay about £275 a year in the UK for the same cover at the moment - although I realise this is likely to go up after the recent EU ruling disallowing preferential rates for women drivers!
> 
> Also can anyone give me an idea of approximately how much the annual car tax would be in Spain for a very small fairly 'green' car?


That seems very expensive to me. Its worth shopping around.

Car tax depends on the area you live in, i live in torremolinos and pay 80€ a year for a picasso. Friends of mine in mijas pay 120€ for the same car.


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## gus-lopez

Wannabe Expat said:


> We are thinking of moving to Spain next year and I am trying to work out some sort of budget, as we will both be retired and on a fairly tight budget. My sister has a flat in Galicia (a holiday home not permanent residence) and she has just bought a second hand Seat Ibiza about 3 years old and has paid 470 Euros for the insurance premium. She has over 5 year's no claims bonus in the UK and is in her early 60s, but said that the premium was the cheapest she could get on a comprehensive basis - it was with Allianz. Is car insurance really that dear in Spain? We only pay about £275 a year in the UK for the same cover at the moment - although I realise this is likely to go up after the recent EU ruling disallowing preferential rates for women drivers!
> 
> Also can anyone give me an idea of approximately how much the annual car tax would be in Spain for a very small fairly 'green' car?


I found insurance to be about 3x the uk rate when I first arrived. Even taking into account 19 years ncb ! 
It appears now not to be as dear as uk vehicle insurance has risen quite drammatically over the last 10 years.
The same vehicle that I had insured before I moved here for£155 would now apperntly cost me £422 !

Spanish car insurance covers the vehicle , regardless of who is driving as long as they are over the minimum age limit in the policy which is usually 25/6 or can be 30.
If you purchase a new vehicle & it is written off within the 1st two years it will be replaced with a nother new vehicle. 
Many spanish companies will not offer full comp. ( Todo reisgo) on a vehicle over three years old , if a new customer but will maintain it if you've been with them from when it was new. 
Many spanish brokers will always ask why you want full comp. on an older vehicle.Trust me I've had the conversation on numerous occasions & they can't understand why & we can't understand why not!

Some friends purchased a new C3 picasso last week & asked could they keep the old car covered for the same day so that it could be driven home , they were keeping it, by me. In addition they wanted to change it to 3rd party from next month just to use as a back-up. 
Theanswer was the new ones full comp. with full ncb off the old one, & we'll continue the old one at fullcomp with full ncb at half the old price !! They also said that if they went to 3rd party only it would be dearer !

You don't have to show an ncb to obtain discount with many companies as a current policy will suffice. Also be aware that many spanish companies still adhere to an old ncb having a life of 1 month, unlike the uk , where it is 2 years.

Car tax varies , not only from region to region , but from local council to local coucil & hugely. A Ford focus that in Owdoggys (Poster on here in Andalucia) area will cost around 50€ , will cost about 140€ where I live.


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## thrax

Try Abbeygate and Linea Directa (Direct Line). We found them both to be cheaper than car insurance in UK.


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## Wannabe Expat

leedsutdgem said:


> That seems very expensive to me. Its worth shopping around.
> 
> Car tax depends on the area you live in, i live in torremolinos and pay 80€ a year for a picasso. Friends of mine in mijas pay 120€ for the same car.


Thanks but not sure I've understood your response - is that 808 Euros and 1208 Euros? If so, it's even dearer than the premium paid by my sister. I am in the UK at the mo but am planning to move to the Oliva/Gandia area next year.


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## mrypg9

We pay under 400 euros with Linea Directa for our LandRover Discovery. As we have been with them for four years we were given a fully comprehensive policy at no extra cost as a loyalty reward.
I think that is cheaper than the UK, especially when you consider that in Spain the car is insured and that therefore there are few restrictions as to who can drive it.


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## Wannabe Expat

*Cost of Car Insurance*



mrypg9 said:


> We pay under 400 euros with Linea Directa for our LandRover Discovery. As we have been with them for four years we were given a fully comprehensive policy at no extra cost as a loyalty reward.
> I think that is cheaper than the UK, especially when you consider that in Spain the car is insured and that therefore there are few restrictions as to who can drive it.


Thanks - we would have a much smaller cheaper car than that, so gives me a good idea. I think my sister has been done at 470E for a Seat Ibiza!


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## snikpoh

Wannabe Expat said:


> Thanks but not sure I've understood your response - is that 808 Euros and 1208 Euros? If so, it's even dearer than the premium paid by my sister. I am in the UK at the mo but am planning to move to the Oliva/Gandia area next year.




NO! read it very carefully - there was a problem with the euro symbol ( € ).


This makes the & look like an 8 but the quotes were 80 and 120 only.



I tries Linea Directa and found them to be far more expensive than other insurance companies here. We now use IBEX through a broker - they keep the prices down by insuring you and NOT the car. 

I have also found that Zurich have some good deals if you are prepared to haggle.


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## xabiaxica

Wannabe Expat said:


> Thanks but not sure I've understood your response - is that 808 Euros and 1208 Euros? If so, it's even dearer than the premium paid by my sister. I am in the UK at the mo but am planning to move to the Oliva/Gandia area next year.


it's 80€ & 120€


sometimes keyboard shortcuts to get a '€' symbol don't quite come out right from a non-spanish keyboard


eta - note to self...read whole thread before replying ......................


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## gus-lopez

I don't think your sister has been done. 

Try using this;
Seguros de Coche Baratos - Comparador de 30 Seguros - Acierto.com

I've just tried using a seat ibiza & using as much detail as you supplied & guessing the rest & the cheapest is 464€.
Here:
Comparador de seguros de coche - Calcular precios 20 aseguradoras
Click on 'recuperar' & just close the window that pops-up .'Cerrar'.

Now remember that these online comparisons are just that , but at least they give you a close comparison if you are going to use a local agent.

Another thing to remember is the excess here ( franquicía) has a bearing on the final price. Try asking for no excess ! :lol:

My new Ford Tourneo connect ( which as Iposted on another thread at the time was classed as a commercial vehicle ), cost 702€ from new full comp.
The lowest it ever got was 660€ after 6 years. One year I went to 5 other companies thinking I was paying too much & found that 4 were cheaper but by so little it wasn't worth the aggro of changing , including linea directa & the age to drive using them would have gone up to 30 which wasn't any good as my daughter was only 26, & 2 were dearer , including Ibex.

My Current Kia Carnival seats 7 & costs 505€ full comp.
Also bear in mind that all spanish companies cover recovery , except for some oversize vehicles, & you are also covered for full comp. anywhere in europe.


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## Wannabe Expat

*Cost of Car Insurance*



gus-lopez said:


> I don't think your sister has been done.
> 
> Try using this;
> Seguros de Coche Baratos - Comparador de 30 Seguros - Acierto.com
> 
> I've just tried using a seat ibiza & using as much detail as you supplied & guessing the rest & the cheapest is 464€.
> Here:
> Comparador de seguros de coche - Calcular precios 20 aseguradoras
> Click on 'recuperar' & just close the window that pops-up .'Cerrar'.
> 
> Now remember that these online comparisons are just that , but at least they give you a close comparison if you are going to use a local agent.
> 
> Another thing to remember is the excess here ( franquicía) has a bearing on the final price. Try asking for no excess ! :lol:
> 
> My new Ford Tourneo connect ( which as Iposted on another thread at the time was classed as a commercial vehicle ), cost 702€ from new full comp.
> The lowest it ever got was 660€ after 6 years. One year I went to 5 other companies thinking I was paying too much & found that 4 were cheaper but by so little it wasn't worth the aggro of changing , including linea directa & the age to drive using them would have gone up to 30 which wasn't any good as my daughter was only 26, & 2 were dearer , including Ibex.
> 
> My Current Kia Carnival seats 7 & costs 505€ full comp.
> Also bear in mind that all spanish companies cover recovery , except for some oversize vehicles, & you are also covered for full comp. anywhere in europe.


Thanks for all the info - my (twin) sister will be glad to hear she hasn't been done! I've just renewed my car insurance here on a fully comprehensive basis and it cost only £225!


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## VFR

You also need to bear in mind that here in Spain the insurance also includes breakdown cover !


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