Right-hand drive insurance hits UK-bought cars

The high cost of insuring a right-hand drive car in Poland makes registering UK-built cars in Poland far from attractive.

Poland allowed the registration of right-hand drive cars as of 21 April. Earlier such cars had to be reconstructed before registration.

Some insurers are asking for three times higher premium than for left-hand cars. Bankier.pl research shows that Ergo Hestia in some cases is asking for up to four times the regular price to insure a right-hand drive car.

Insurers are clear why the hikes exist. One quoted by Bankier.pl cited research by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia from 2007 that owners of right-hand drive cars in Canada caused 40 percent more accidents than their left-hand drive counterparts. Polish roads, one insure said, make this risk even higher.