Car insurance in Cyprus. A complete guide to car insurance in Cyprus in 2026
December 10, 2023
Ian Westwood
December 10, 2023
Ian Westwood
Acquiring the correct car insurance in Cyprus can be difficult, especially if you are an inexperienced driver or not a Cypriot national.
In addition, there is a large spectrum of car insurance contracts to choose from, with significant differences in terms.
Cypriot insurance companies also have unique claim management procedures that differ from their competition. Therefore, the ability and willingness of these companies to pay claims vary significantly.
All of these factors combined lead to stark differences in premium rates and claim satisfaction ratios.
Throughout this guide, we aim to answer all of your questions about car insurance in Cyprus.
We will elaborate on the different coverages available to you in Cyprus and help you save money by picking your ideal plan.
There are three primary types of car insurance in Cyprus.
This type of car insurance is required by Cypriot law.
Third-party liability insurance exclusively covers the other driver’s expenses if you are involved in a car accident that was your fault.
Insurance companies will compensate the other parties involved in the accident (driver, passengers, pedestrians, property owners) for property damages, injuries and death.
Your own damages will not be covered under this policy.
With third-party liability insurance, additional drivers can drive your vehicle and be fully covered if any of the below conditions apply:
Note: Third-party liability also allows you to drive other vehicles of the same type, even if their owner’s insurance contracts do not specify that each 25 to 70-year-old driver can drive the car.
In case of an accident that is your fault (or an at-fault accident), your insurance contract will be activated and compensate the third parties who were involved.
Depending on the contract, third-party insurance also provides roadside assistance for free 2 – 5 times yearly.
Furthermore, you are insured up to a certain amount for windscreen damage. Compensation for windscreen damage usually varies between €300 – €500.
Some insurance contracts in Cyprus additionally provide third-party insurance coverage if you drive your car to other countries in the European Union.
If you draw a trailer, third-party insurance can cover you and the loading is protected from any claims if there is an accident.
This type of insurance offers the same coverage as standard third-party liability insurance and covers any expenses relating to car damages if it is stolen or burned.
It is usually recommended for those who own a holiday home and a car in Cyprus but primarily live abroad.
Third-party, fire and theft coverage is slightly more expensive than standard third-party liability insurance. Specifically, it can be 15% more costly than standard third-party insurance.
Note: A home policy does not cover a car from theft and fire when parked in the garage. Vehicles are not part of the home’s content.
Fully comprehensive car insurance offers identical coverage to third-party coverage and third-party, fire and theft, while it also provides coverage for other natural disasters and man-made disasters.
| NATURAL DISASTER | HUMAN-MADE DISASTER |
| Flood | Theft |
| Storm | Arson |
| Earthquake | Civil Disorder |
| Hail | Riot |
| Tempest | Malcious Act |
| Fire | Vandalism |
In addition, it covers all the damages on any vehicle involved in a car accident, regardless of who was at fault.
Fully comprehensive insurance contracts in Cyprus always contain a deductible amount, known as an excess. This amount will be deducted from the total repair expenses of your vehicle.
You can read more about the excess further below.
It’s also important to remember that when you have fully comprehensive insurance, you will be compensated daily because you do not have access to your vehicle due to damage.
Specifically, the insurance company will either pay for your rental car or give you another car to use while your car is repaired.
Usually, insurance companies will compensate you around €15 – €30 per day for each day you cannot use your car.
If your car is stolen or damaged beyond economic repair, the insurance company will pay you for the market value of the car.
If your car is less than one year old and fully damaged, some insurance companies can replace your car with the exact same car.
A comprehensive insurance policy provides “personal possessions insurance”, which comes into effect if your belongings are damaged or stolen from your car. Generally, the amount of coverage can be between €100 – €300.
Furthermore, the coverage for windscreen damage is higher than that of third-party insurance, ranging from €700 – €900.
Regardless of the type of insurance you choose, you should register your car as a commercial vehicle if you are using your car for business activities, because otherwise, you run the risk of not being covered.
Finally, you can choose premium comprehensive insurance contracts that cover car misfuelling (i.e., accidentally putting the wrong type of fuel in your vehicle’s fuel tank).
Summary of coverages
Here is a summary of the three types of car insurance contracts provided in Cyprus and their coverage.
| Driving another car (only for individuals) | Third-party only | Third-party, fire, and theft | Comprehensive |
| Third-party legal liability | + | + | + |
| Trailer liability | + | + | + |
| Emergency treatment | + | + | + |
| Personal accident to authorised driver | + | + | + |
| Medical expenses of authorised driver or passenger | + | + | + |
| Passenger liability | + | + | + |
| Driving another car (only for individuals – policyholders) | + | + | + |
| Road assistance | + | + | + |
| Accident assistance | + | + | + |
| Damage to windscreen | €500 | €500 | Own damage from accident or other non-excluded cause, such as natural perils, riot and civil commotion, malicious act, vandalism. |
| Own damage from fire or theft | – | + | + |
| Own damage from accident or other non excluded cause, such as natural perils, riot and civil commotion, malicious act, vandalism. | – | – | + |
| New motor vehicle replacement (for vehicles less than a year old) | – | – | – |
| Lock replacement | – | – | Up to €250 |
| Personal belongings | – | – | Up to €170 |
| Loss of use – only for the period of vehicle repair (does not include the waiting period) | – | – | Up to €25 daily, up to 10 days |
| No claim protection | Optional cover | Optional cover | Optional cover |
| Car misfueling | Optional cover | Optional cover | Optional cover |
Regardless of the type of insurance, most insurance contracts in Cyprus involve universal exclusions.
Accidents are not covered on dirt roads. For example, people who drive to and have an accident in Akamas and Lara are surprised to find out their insurance contract is void in these areas.
Another example, suppose your car battery dies, or you get a tire puncture on a dirt road, and you cannot change your tire. Road assistance will charge you between €200 – €350 to come and change the tire or charge the battery.
Additionally, the vast majority of insurance contracts issued by Cyprus insurance companies do not cover the occupied areas of Northern Cyprus.
Furthermore, if your car carries more than the designated maximum number of passengers, it’s important to know that your insurance contract will be void.
In addition, the insurance will not cover intoxicated drivers for their damages due to reckless driving while under the influence.
Lastly, some luxury cars and motorcycles might require a specialised road assistant recovery vehicle to carry them away from an accident, and most insurance contracts do not cover this.
As noted, all comprehensive car insurance policies in Cyprus should have an excess.
Also known as a deductible, the excess/deductible is the amount you must pay when filing an insurance claim.
For example, suppose you are involved in a car accident, and your damages cost €1,300, and you have an excess of €250. In that case, the insurance company will pay the car mechanic €1,050.
It is important to mention that the deductible never applies to the other party/drivers involved in the accident. For example, suppose you caused an accident; your damages are €5,000, and the other driver’s are €10,000.
If your insurance excess is €300, the insurance company will fully pay the other driver (€10,000), and pay €4,700 for your damage.
It is important to mention that one insurance contract might have multiple deductibles depending on the driving insurance of the drivers.
For example, the standard deductible for experienced drivers will be €250 for a car with a value of €20,000, but the deductible might be €700 for the inexperienced children of the main driver.
The insurance deductible is calculated based on your car’s value. Therefore, a vehicle high in value equals a higher deductible.
In Cyprus, insurance deductibles range from 0.5% to 1% of the car’s declared value (with a minimum excess value of €200). If your vehicle is worth €40,000, the deductible may range between €200 and €400.
Third-party car insurance in Cyprus is obligatory. Nevertheless, some categories of drivers find it extremely difficult to acquire insurance at a reasonable price or find insurance at all.
Specifically, the following group of drivers usually pays more than the average premium:
In addition, the following categories of cars will face significant loadings when obtaining insurance in Cyprus:
Pitsas Insurances is among the most flexible insurance companies in Cyprus, with one of the lowest rejection rates for car insurance.
In addition, Pitsas Insurances is the only insurance company in Cyprus that treats all expatriates (European and non-European) as Cypriots if they have more than five years of driving experience in their country (regardless of whether it is a left-hand traffic country), and they have a clean accident record.
Nevertheless, there are some cases where car drivers cannot receive insurance at all.
For example, drivers with a student driving licence or multiple costly car accidents they were responsible for will find it difficult to obtain insurance.
However, drivers who cannot receive insurance from an insurance company can be insured by the Cyprus Hire and Rejected Risks Pool, see here.
Use the following tips when looking for insurance in Cyprus.
Drivers under 25 years old or drivers with a driving licence of less than two years (young drivers) can be insured in Cyprus.
Pitsas Insurances takes on all drivers’ insurance requests regardless of their age.
Few insurance companies in Cyprus provide temporary car insurance or short-term car insurance.
A “cover note for additional drivers” is an endorsement that provides insurance coverage to a driver not intending to use the car for more than 1 – 2 weeks.
Only the insurance company that has already insured the car can issue this cover note.
Any changes to the insurance policy will be made if the driver intends to use the car consistently during the year.
In that case, the driver should be declared on the insurance policy as a permanent driver, and the insurance premium should be adjusted.
Usually, more insurance policies have the term that any driver from the age of 25 to 70, with a driving licence of a minimum of 2 years, can drive the stated car. Therefore, declaring a driver of average age and experience is an unnecessary action.
Temporary car insurance in Cyprus
On the other hand, temporary car insurance is a short-term contract of less than a year (usually for 3, 4, or 6 months).
People who have a holiday home in Cyprus and visit the island for a few months consider it more profitable to only insure their car for the months they are visiting.
However, due to excessive bureaucracy, most insurance companies in Cyprus do not provide this option.
Therefore, most owners opt for annual car insurance and then cancel it when they leave.
This option is not a profitable long-term strategy for the following reasons:
Note: A non-claim discount is a document declaring that you had no accidents during a continuous driving period.
These documents are exclusively given to those who do not cancel their insurance.
After three years, a non-claim discount can reduce initial premium rates, sometimes up to 70%.
How much does car insurance cost? The overall cost of car insurance in Cyprus varies based on several factors.
Some of the factors that affect Cyprus car insurance prices include the following:
Car insurance costs in Cyprus vary significantly. Each insurance company provides different terms and premiums.
Here are the minimum annual insurance costs in Cyprus for a driver aged 30 – 50 (with a clean driving record in the past five years) with a standard saloon car (with an engine power of 180 – 200 horsepower).
The insurance market in Cyprus is highly competitive, so it’s not unusual to find comparable car insurance premium rates.
If you want to save on your car insurance policy in Cyprus, you can use the following methods:
It’s important to be aware of extremely low premiums, as cheap premiums can become extremely expensive in the long run.
Some online providers offer premiums up to 25% less than the average insurance premium.
However, consumers should be highly sceptical when acquiring this type of contract.
These companies provide extremely low premiums for the following reasons:
It’s worth reiterating that the best car insurance doesn’t exist. Nevertheless, there is a plan that is best suited for you.
Each individual has different needs, targets, and budget constraints, so the best car insurance comes down to what you need from your insurance.
Cyprus car insurance
For example, we strongly advise that the owner of a new car should acquire a comprehensive car insurance policy. In contrast, the owner of an inexpensive and old car should acquire third-party insurance.
In another case, Limassol residents, which have the highest accident frequency rates than any other city in Cyprus, are strongly recommended to buy comprehensive insurance.
Additionally, we recommend that the owners of unattended cars left in their garages buy a minimum of third-party, fire, and theft car insurance.
Unfortunately, thieves observe and attempt to steal cars that are left unattended.
The cars (or car parts) are stolen to sell in Northern Cyprus, where the Cypriot Authorities do not have the power to control them. 95% of stolen vehicles are sold in Northern Cyprus.
Communicate with one of our insurance specialists, and we will help you find the best car insurance suited to you.
Pitsas Insurances is one of the largest online car insurance providers in Cyprus.
Our insurance specialists can offer you a tailor-made car insurance offer.
Why insure your vehicle with Pitsas Insurances:
Pitsas Insurances is the largest expatriate car insurance company in Cyprus. We cooperate with the largest international underwriters in Cyprus.
We can help you to detect the offer that best corresponds to your needs. We provide a guarantee of lower premiums for each insurance provider.
Compare car insurance quotes
The most effective way to find the best policy is to compare quotes with the help of one of our insurance specialists.
We will assist you in finding the best car insurance policy for you.
See here to learn more about our vehicle insurance plans, including Third-Party Liability, Third-Party, Fire & Theft, and Fully Comprehensive.
To receive a hassle-free quote, see here.
Pitsas Insurances Team