Call Your Car Insurer Before Going on Holiday

Holidaymakers have been advised this week to call their car insurers before heading off on their travels.

The AA warns holidaymakers that they need to check whether they will be comprehensively covered when driving abroad.

Ian Crowder, public relations manager for the AA, said: "If you have car insurance of any sort in a European country, you are automatically covered by law for the minimum legal requirement in the country you are visiting - usually third party only."

He added that this means if a holidaymaker was to hit another car or property or cause injury, their insurer would only meet the third party's costs, not their own.

If holidaymakers are covered, the AA advises them to ask for a European Accident Claim Form, which gives basic information in a range of languages, to enable them to gather the names, addresses and insurance details of the other parties involved.

According to the RAC Foundation, three million British motorists head to the continent by ferry and the channel tunnel every year.

Furthermore, the foundation claims that UK motorists who drive to Spain or Portugal are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than they are at home.