Motor Insurance in Ireland

The cost of motor insurance in Ireland has gone through the roof in recent years.  If you are coming to live in Ireland and are looking to buy a car and insure it you will need to budget for it.

EU Citizens
EU citizens can drive in Ireland using their current full driving licence but insurance costs will decrease dramatically if you switch it for an Irish licence when you arrive.  If you have insurance, in your own name, in your home country and have earned a number of years claims free you may be able to transfer this to an Irish insurer.  You will need to bring written proof of this from the underwriter and if it is not in English, you will need to get it translated and certified by a professional translator in Ireland (there are a number around the country).  Having both of the above can save you €0,000’s.  As an example, if you are age 30 with full Irish licence and 5 yeas certified claims free, you can expect to pay approx €1,000 for insurance (is is a very rough guide).  With EU licence this could rise to €1,500.  If you don’t have any claims free years you are gong to find it difficult to get insurance and if you can it is likely to be €3,000 +

*Irish insurers do not like vehicles that are over 10 years old*

Non EU Citizen
Most licences from non EU countries are treated as provisional Irish licences for insurance purposes and you would have to go through the process of taking your theory and practical driving tests.  It is advisable to bring any written proof of claims free years as some insurance may give you an introductory discount for this.  It will be difficult to get quotes but you should budget on up to €5,000 for the first year’s insurance.  After year one, the premiums should come down substantially.

Hope this helps
Sean