Imported Car Insurance
Competitive Insurance Quotes for Imported Cars
- Specialist insurance for Japanese, American and other grey import vehicles
- Policies with leading UK insurance companies
- Cover for high performance vehicles
It’s not always easy to find affordable imported car insurance, but with many years’ experience of arranging specialist policies, we can help you realise your dream of importing a vehicle from overseas.
How Can Complete Car Cover Help with Imported Car Insurance?
At Complete Car Cover, we have been specialising in non-standard car insurance policies for over 45 years and our experienced and knowledgeable team works with some of the leading UK providers to find you the best quotes for your unique circumstances.
How do I import a vehicle into the UK?
Importing a car from another country has become increasingly popular over the last few years, as it can be considerably cheaper than buying in the UK and you’re likely to get a much higher-spec vehicle.
However, if you’re thinking about importing a car from another country to drive in the UK, there are some important things you need to know.
- Firstly, you will need to notify HM Revenue and Customs that the vehicle has arrived in the UK. You must do this within 14 days, and you may be liable to pay VAT or duty on the vehicle.
- Secondly, you will need to have the vehicle approved to show that it meets UK safety and emissions regulations. The process for this differs depending on whether it was initially registered inside or outside the EU. Cars imported from within the EU are known as parallel imports, because they have to meet the same minimum safety standards as those manufactured and registered in the UK. Those from outside the EU are known as grey imports. Japanese car imports and American car imports will fall in this category.
- Thirdly, you will need to register the car with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Once you’ve done all that, you will require car insurance and road tax as you would for any other vehicle. However, insurance for imported cars normally differs from those in the UK.
Why is imported car insurance more expensive?
Not all brokers will provide imported car insurance policies for a number of reasons. Most imported vehicles are left-hand drive and have all manner of fixtures and fittings that differ from the UK version, if there is one. This makes sourcing replacement parts, if you’re involved in a collision, for example, very difficult and also very costly, so some insurers simply won’t do it.
Imported vehicles are also often built to a higher specification than those in the UK, so they have a higher performance and this is one of things that is used to calculate premiums, along with desirability, or how likely they are to be stolen. Higher performance in a car is often seen as an indicator that it is more likely to be involved in an accident and so premiums go up. View our high performance page to find out more about how it can affect your insurance.
So, although the initial cost of importing a car may be cheaper than buying in the UK and the specification may be higher, you’re likely to pay more for your premium and policies may be harder to find especially if you are a young driver.
We have over 200 UK-based staff who are ready to take your call and use their expertise to make finding your perfect policy simple and straightforward.
Alongside our policies, we can also offer additional products such as windscreen, gadget and key cover, a replacement car service or personal accident and motor legal cover.
Select Additional Products
To make sure that all of our customers experience the same level of claims service, regardless of the insurer they choose, we sell Motor Legal Cover with all car policies.
Motor Legal Cover provides up to £100,000 for legal expenses to help you recover any financial losses from a non-fault claim, such as lawyers’ fees, expenses relating to repair costs and recovering your excess. You’ll also get assistance arranging a courtesy car if you’re involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault.
Whether you use your car for work, the school run, family holidays or business trips abroad, we offer a range of breakdown policies to suit your budget and needs. Our breakdown cover also protects vehicles up to 20 years old!
Check the table below to see which level of cover is best for you:
| Benefits | Roadside Assistance | Motor Assistance UK Only | Motor Assistance UK & EU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | £45.95 | £65.95 | £74.95 |
| Roadside Assistance – 10 Mile Limit | |||
| Misfuelling Cover | |||
| Roadside Assistance & Nationwide recover Service | |||
| Homecall | |||
| Alternative Travel or Accommodation | |||
| Message Relay | |||
| Alternative Driver | |||
| Accident Hospitalisation | |||
| European Cover |
Call us on 0800 997 8232 to add this to your cover.
Excess Recovery will refund all or part of your excess in the event of a claim for an accident, a theft or fire, or an incident where there is no third party to claim from.
Adding just £36.95 to your policy, for example, would mean a reimbursement of £350 of your excess, which in many cases could mean you lose nothing at all! See below to choose the best option for you:
| TPF&T or Comprehensive | |
|---|---|
| Excess Covered | Cost |
| £350 | £36.95 |
| £500 | £51.95 |
| £750 | £67.95 |
| £1000 | £82.95 |
| £1500 | £108.95 |
Call us on 0800 997 8232 to add this to your cover.
With most comprehensive policies providing only a limited amount of personal accident cover, and third party, fire and theft policies rarely providing any at all, Personal Accident cover is a cost effective way to ensure that you and your passengers are provided for in the event of a death or serious injury.
Key benefits include:
- Payments of up to £25,000 EACH for the policy holder, named drivers and any passengers injured.
- Payments are made whether the claim is fault or non-fault.
- Cover is provided whilst travelling in, getting into and getting out of the insured vehicle, as well as injuries suffered as a result of assault or road rage.
- Payments will be made in addition to any other payout you receive from your motor insurance policy.
Only £29.95 for the year. Call us on 0800 997 8232 to add this to your cover.
Make sure you’re not stuck if your car is off the road after an accident or theft.
Your insurance company may provide you with a courtesy car if an accident wasn’t your fault, but if you have a fault claim or an accident where there is no third party to claim from, you are unlikely to be provided with a replacement car.
With Replacement Car you’ll be provided with a car for up to 21 days or money towards transportation costs, regardless of whether the claim was your fault or not
Only £32.95 for the year. Call us on 0800 997 8232 to add this to your cover.
Do you want windscreen protection without the cost of upgrading to comprehensive cover?
This stand-alone windscreen cover policy provides protection against the kind of damages that can make your car unsafe to drive or cause you to fail your MOT. The kind of loses you won’t be covered for if you’ve chosen to buy a third party only or a third party, fire and theft policy.
Windscreen Cover provides up to £500 worth of repair or replacement costs in a 12 month period.
Only £37.95 for the year. Call us on 0800 997 8232 to add this to your cover.
As a tradesman, you’ve no doubt invested heavily on a range of tools that you rely on to do your job. Having to repair or replace those tools could not only cost you in the short term, but leave you unable to work.
Tools in Transit cover offers protection for your tools if they are lost, destroyed or damaged whilst they’re being transported in your vehicle, temporarily housed in it, or being loaded onto or unloaded off it.
With levels of cover between £500 and £5,000, we have options to suit a range of tool collections:
| Tools in Transit | |
|---|---|
| Level of Cover | Cost |
| £500 | £32.95 |
| £1000 | £42.95 |
| £2,500 | £63.95 |
| £5,000 | £83.95 |
Protect yourself against the costs that come with losing your keys.
Key Care covers costs incurred through the loss or theft of vehicle keys, including locksmith charges, new keys, car hire costs and reprogramming immobilisers.
Only £17.95 for the year. Call us on 0800 997 8232 to add this to your cover.
Complete Car Cover
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Specialist insurance for Japanese, American and other grey import vehicles
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Partnerships with leading UK insurance companies
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Cover for drivers with motoring convictions
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Great value polices and affordable payment options available
