Obtaining car insurance could become “a real sticking point” for Ukrainians who resettle in Ireland, a migrant and refugee rights group has said.
More than 10,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland after fleeing Russia’s invasion and it has been estimated that up to 200,000 refugees could come as a result of the war.
But there has been confusion over whether they can take out their own car insurance or need to be added as a named driver on an existing policy.
Insurance Ireland, which represents more than 95 per cent of the country’s insurance companies, said cover would be provided to Ukrainian licence holders as temporary or permanent “additions to existing policies”.
A spokeswoman said driving experience will be accepted on a “declaration basis” and that Ukrainians would be treated as EU licence holders while it awaits further guidance from authorities regarding driving licence equivalence.
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Asked whether Ukrainian refugees could take out their own car insurance policies, the spokeswoman said they “should” be able to but that the criteria will vary between insurers.
A comparison of Irish motor insurance websites shows drivers who received their licence in a country outside the EU, such as Ukraine, are unable to buy car insurance online. However, some comapnies have announced that they will insure Ukrainian drivers on new policies.
Allianz said it had recently started offering new car insurance policies to Ukrainian licence holders. It also said it would provide quotes to insure Ukrainian-registered vehicles and that Ukrainian drivers aged over 25 with a full, clean license can be added to existing policies for free for 30 days.
FBD Insurance said it would cover Ukrainian licence holders and was not asking for proof of driving experience. A spokesman said the company was treating Ukrainian licence holders as full EU EEA licence holders and that they could obtain new car insurance in their own name subject to the acceptance criteria for EU residents.
Aviva confirmed that it would provide new car insurance policies to Ukrainian drivers. It said Ukrainian insurance policies were valid proof of driving experience but that when proof could not be provided cases would be dealt with individually.
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Zurich said it was working to determine how it could “provide meaningful support” to Ukrainian refugees and its customers who were providing them with assistance. “We expect there may be a wide variety of needs and circumstances so we will look at each application on a case by case basis,” a spokesman said.
AA, AIG, AXA and Liberty Insurance did not respond when asked if they offered cover to people holding Ukrainian licences. Comparison websites Chill and 123.ie also did not respond to questions yesterday (FRI).
Nasc, a migrant and refugee rights group, suspects that Ukrainian drivers’ licences were presenting a hurdle when it comes to obtaining car insurance.
Ukrainian licence holders are eligible to drive in Ireland for up to 12 months but then need to go through the full driver licensing procedure.
Nasc is planning to write to Emaon Ryan, the transport minister, calling for Ukraine to be added to the list of recognised states for which a foreign licence can be exchanged for an Irish one.
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Fiona Hurley, Nasc spokeswoman, said car insurance could become “a real sticking point” and that the centre had received inquiries about Ukrainian licences, whether refugees can drive here, and about the cost of insurance.
“We expect those queries to really go up over the next few weeks and months,” Hurley said. “As we see people being homed in rural accommodation, issues around transport are absolutely going to increase.”
David Kerr of Bonkers.ie said its service offered quotes to customers with verified Irish driver numbers and that “unfortunately drivers that do not have the required driver number will not be quoted”.
He added: “As we are the introducer to insurers, it is the insurer themselves who decide the risk appetite and whether they quote or not for a particular risk.”
