Electric Car Insurance in Ireland: What Changes When You Go Electric
Insuring an electric car in Ireland works the same way as insuring any other car: the same cover...
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What counts as driving history
Insurance in your own name. Citizens Information says every insurance company will ask whether you have ever held insurance in your own name and, if not, whether you have ever driven under someone else’s insurance without incident, and that this is taken into account. It also notes that some companies offer discounts to young people insuring in their own name if they have been a named driver. Ask the policyholder’s insurer to confirm your named-driver years in writing.
Your licence. Citizens Information says whether you drive on a full licence or a learner permit makes a huge difference to the premium, and that a learner permit can add hundreds of euro. Tell your insurer as soon as you pass the test.
Driving abroad. Citizens Information says insurers take overseas experience into account as long as you can show proof of claims-free driving, that in general no-claims history is taken into account from the EEA, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, South Africa and the US, and that some insurers may accept it from other countries. Ask your last insurer for a no-claims statement and a letter giving the dates and type of cover. If you were insured in Ireland before and let it lapse, Citizens Information notes that after two or more years without insurance in your own name, many insurers will not give you your old discount back.
Getting a first policy in your own name
Under the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 you must answer the insurer’s questions honestly and with reasonable care, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the State’s consumer watchdog, warns that a policy can be cancelled for undisclosed details and that you may then find it difficult to get cover. Answer every question fully, and do not claim years you cannot document.
A telematics policy fits a box that records how you drive, so the insurer has a record of your driving to price on instead of your lack of history. Our telematics car insurance page explains it. If you are under 25, see young drivers; if this is your first car, first-time drivers; if your licence is from outside Ireland, foreign licence drivers.
Each claim-free year on your own policy earns a no-claims discount, and Citizens Information notes that most insurers offer one on a rising scale up to a maximum of five years, and that insurance becomes less expensive with experience and a clean driving record.
Have ready your licence or learner permit, written confirmation of any named-driver years, any no-claims statement or letter from an insurer abroad, and the car’s registration. To talk it through, call 0818 92 92 42, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.
Sources: Citizens Information – motor insurance; Citizens Information – motor insurance on return to Ireland; Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019; CCPC – car insurance. Last reviewed September 2026.
