That imported car sitting in your driveway looks nothing short of amazing, right? Many people tend to think those imports are fantastic, and there’s been a steady stream of them headed for UK homes for years now. There are a number of reasons for this trend. They’re made to higher specs, they have seriously fantastic modifications, and they’re visually appealing. The problem? You have to find the right import car insurance before you can actually drive it.

Why Is Import Car Insurance So Tough to Find?

Insurance companies have a real issue when it comes to imports. While they understand the risk factors involved with domestic cars, those made abroad may include other unknown costs. For example, imagine you’ve just purchased a great sports car from Japan. If it gets damaged in an accident, the insurer will have to cover the costs of the engine parts needed. For insurers, that means quite a bit of extra work at the outset to understand what those parts will cost and how tough it will be to find them. More than that, though, European car manufacturers have certain standards in place for their vehicles. Other countries around the world don’t have to adhere to the same standards, which can make things fairly difficult. Car quality may also play a role in this problem, and that makes an insurer’s job a bit tougher.

Know Your Type

One thing you can do to find the right insurance at the outset is to know what type of import you have. In the insurance industry, there are two main types: parallel imports and grey imports. Parallel imports are those that come from EU countries with specs almost identical to UK cars. They conform to the standards, and they’re really not a big problem for most insurers. Grey imports, though, aren’t EU-approved. For you, that means doing some research and handing over a lot of information before you can even see a quote. These tend to be fairly rare, and in some cases, they are left-hand-drive-only, which may mean they don’t work well on UK roads. If you haven’t yet purchased your import, you may want to talk to a few companies before you ever go down that road.

Keeping It Inexpensive

Even if you have an import, you don’t want to have to pay too much for insurance, and there are a few things you can do to keep your premiums down. Start with lowering your theft risk. If you have a locked garage, keep your car in it. Sometimes a secure driveway will work too. Either way, you want to ensure you’re not leaving it on the road overnight. You could also install a telematics device. Insurers tend to consider you a high risk if your car has a powerful engine, and a telematics box will help track your driving so insurers know you’re being responsible. This type of box isn’t just for you, though. It can also help to retrieve your car should it ever be stolen.

Import car insurance doesn’t have to be tough to find, but be prepared to do a bit of shopping.

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