Insurance Facts

Are you planning to purchase an imported car, or have you bought one already? Insuring an import often is a frustrating and expensive process—but it’s not impossible. Just be ready to do some research, ask questions, and probably contact several car insurance providers.

Keep in mind, while you can get a deal on importing a car, you may lose whatever money you save when you purchase insurance for the car.  That is why it’s important to get an car insurance quote before you import the car.  Shop around and get several insurance quotes in order to get a competitive rate. If your imported vehicle is a sports car, expect to pay more for insurance.  That’s because sports cars traditionally cost more to insure simply because they are more prone to accidents.

Most insurers will cover an imported car as long as they locate the VIN numbers. If they cannot locate this registration number, then it is up to you to see if they can find the exact model your car in their look-up table. If that doesn’t work, you will have to see an agent for another car insurance company.

Some insurance companies will only insure popular import models and will only insure the vehicles for the market value.  Other insurance companies will insure modified imported vehicles as long as the modifications aren’t substantial.  If they are substantial, then you will need to find an insurance provider that specializes in substantially modified import cars. Substantial means different things to different people, so this is yet another reason to obtain several quotes from different insurance providers.  One provider may rate the modifications substantial, while another provider may not.  It is important to ask questions when obtaining an insurance quote.

Some companies will not insure European versions of a UK car, but with left-hand drive. This is also something to keep in mind when importing your car and obtaining your insurance.

It is also very important to check your security fittings. These could have a great impact on your vehicle’s eligibility for coverage, not to mention the cost of the policy. Not having the right security fittings will either raise your premiums dramatically, or cause the company to reject your car for coverage altogether. Make sure you get detailed information on security fittings before you import your car.

It is very important to check your import’s security fittings. This could impact the vehicle’s eligibility for coverage, as well as the cost. Be sure to get detailed information on your vehicle’s security fittings before you import it.