Road trippin' - your guide to driving in Europe
Whether you spend all your summers travelling around Europe on four wheels or you're hoping to embark on your first continental road trip, our handy guide has everything you need to know about safe driving abroad.
Making a claim can seem like the end of the world and being away from home can often make things seem worse than they are which is why we asked our Claims team to share their essential tips.
Read these 3 tips along with this handy guide to Driving in Europe from our friends at Admiral, to prepare for your next big adventure.
- The guys in our Claims team say the most important thing is to prepare beforehand by printing out a copy of the Agreed Statement of Facts on Motor Vehicle Accident form. This is a claims form used around Europe called a Constat Amiable in France, the CIA in Italy and the DAA in Spain.
In most European countries the form is legally binding if signed, which is why you should print the UK version from www.cartraveldocs.com before you go, to help translate any form you may be given.
However, signing the form can mean you're admitting liability so if you're unsure about anything at all don't sign it. You aren't under any liability to do so even if the police ask you. - If a lorry is to blame for your motoring mishap then you might already be thinking 'double-trouble', well be sure to keep that in mind as you need to get hold of two different registrations.
Lorries have a registration for both their trailer and their cab, be sure to get both when you exchange details. The most important one to get hold of is the one belonging to the cab as that holds the liability.
Don't forget to ask for the green card which relates to the cab too as that will help us get hold of their insurers. - Seems like an obvious one really but you'd be surprised by how many people don't realise their insurance won't cover them to drive on the N�rburgring.
Unsurprisingly, we don't cover people when driving on a race track. For anyone thinking they could have a sneaky drive around, the N�rburgring takes photos every minute so we'd be able to check where you were if you claim for an accident there.
European driving disasters
Driving when you're abroad has just as much, if not more, risk associated with it as driving in the UK, which means no matter how often you do it, things can go wrong.
According to our Claims team, being rear ended, lane-change collisions and theft from vehicles are some of the most common claims to happen to policyholders while they are abroad.
They also mentioned one unforgettable claim involving a policyholder driving in Slovakia who unfortunately hit a wild boar that ran from the woods into the road.
The policyholder's car was badly damaged and the policyholder was understandably shocked. After gaining his composure he got out of the car to check the damage and came face-to-face with a very angry, snarling boar and had to lock himself in his car and call for help.
Luckily, all were okay and run-ins with wild boars are pretty rare but if you do find yourself in need of assistance while driving in Europe just call our Claims team on 0333 220 2037.
Will you be embarking on a road trip this summer? Let us know where you're off by tweeting @Diamondforgirls, posting to our Facebook page or share snaps of your trip on Instagram.