Car Insurance

This forum doesn't seem to be that active, but what the hell...

Here it goes... I am in the preliminary stages of planning/applying for a Foreign Language Assistant in Germany through the CAUTG's PAD Program, or possibly also the Government of Manitoba-Niedersachsen Language Assistant Program (very similar to CAUTG's). In either case, it'll be for 2006/07, World Cup time... can't wait for the über expensive flights

I was in Germany 2004/05 on academic exchange in Rheinland-Pfalz, and could barely live without my beloved Golf, or any car at all. I had to borrow cars lots. I've been mulling over the possibility of either selling my car and getting an older car (over 15 years, so I can bring it home) & insurance & German driver's license there, or shipping my car over by sea and insuring it privately (Autopac won't cover me ). Has anyone done the latter before? Any experiences? Ideas?

If you search anything to do with insurance on Google, you get about 67 billion hits, so it's near impossible to find anything coherent. I'd like to know if anyone knows of any insurance companies in Canada that will insure your vehicle for Europe (or even just western Europe as long as it includes England). It doesn't matter what province this company is in either, I can use the phone.

I'd sooner insure my own car over in Germay with an English language policy, since having a German language policy would scare the crap out of me because I wouldn't be able to understand the complicated legal language that even Germans have trouble understanding.

I'm also asking about local companies, because my friend saw a Jeep in Paris with Ontario plates on it, so I know it's possible to retain your Canadian registration, but I guess you can't be gone longer than a year in that case, for which there is a fair change that I might be...

If anyone has suggestions or anything, I'd be grateful.

Thanks,
Cam

We leased a car when we moved here and have it insured with a German insurance company, Huk Coburg. We haven't had any problem doing that and as long as you provide the company with the information (original copies only - very important) from your present Canadian insurance company they give you a decent rate as long as your record is good. I appreciate that you would like to be able to read the policy, but, honestly, have you ever actually read the Canadian policy you have currently??!! I can imagine that you would have to pay through the nose to have a Canadian insurance copany take the risk of insuring an overseas driver. Your lisence is good here, you must go and have a sticker put on it at the local equivalent to DMV. For this you must have your driver's abstract from Canada and a passport photo. Hope this helped.