European and U.K. Insurance
 

Hi Guys, I am planning to take my V Strom to the U.K.and Europe for the northern summer in 2012. I am at a loss to find a Company to sell me Third Party and Comprehensive Insurance for my bike. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
Regards and Thanks, Mike.

Hi Mike,

It might help if you said where you were from, what companies you had turned up in your searches and why they had not been able to help you :-)

You could try

Bike Insurance Quotes | Carole Nash

or

eBike Insurance - Welcome to eBike Insurance

or

Flexirider, The UK’s First Temporary Motorbike Insurance Provider

or maybe even

Paperwork | Horizons Unlimited



I am sure someone will be along with some more info/experience.

Green card
 

I've been trying to find cheap insurance as well. The best I came up with is this Italian company at about 50 USD a month --

Ufficio Centrale Italiano/Polizze temporanee di frontiera


Mototouring sells the same insurance as above , plus fee, but in English

How does the European Green Card Insurance work?


I think that maybe asking help from Turkish motorcycle club, green card
insurance in Turkey is really inexpensive and covers all EU.

Carole Nash and all them will want 150 dollars a month.

Bulgaria is also really cheap to buy it in, but you have to be in the country to get it. RTWDoug may have an idea, or his squeeze Poly, about getting it there - I had the idea that maybe someone in Bulgaria might like to set up an online insurance plan for all of us..and take a fee...but it's so inexpensive in Bulgaria it would be well worth it.

Let me know what you find out bier


Zig

Thanks Guys,

I am from Australia (NSW) and my bike is registered in NSW and I have a NSW license, and no address in the UK or Europe. My australian insurance does not cover me outside of Australia. Your replies will give me something to do over the next few days. Any suggestions will be gratefully received. Insurance seems to be the only hitch in my plans, so far.

Thanks,
Mike.

for green card you don't need EU addy
 

You should be able to sort that online...just is getting expensive now.


Zig

Looking at the prices quoted on How does the European Green Card Insurance work? , I'd say it was reasonable. At least reasonable compared to the USA :-).

The main thing about insurance price is the risk of large claims, Europe is getting worse and claims are getting higher. This is reflected in the premium required.

Insurance is a bit like petrol, it costs what it costs. When you factor in the cost of getting you and your bike over here, and then look at the insurance cost as a fraction of that, it all comes into perspective.

and don't forget
 

w/o insurance - you can't unload/claim/customs your bike from air or ship

Zig

US citizen Buying a bike in UK insuring it for Europe for 30days?
 

Hey everyone, me and 3 of my buddies are returning to the United States from deployment in February, and we have planned out a trip throughout Europe. to get it going as fast and cheap as possible we are looking at buying bikes when we land in Dublin not looking to spend more than 3k euro on the bikes, so clearly old/used something that will make the 4k miles. The problem i need help with is How if we just buy bikes when we get there do we get insurance? any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

our trip is as follows
Dublin>Belfast>Giants Causeway>Glasgow>Edinburgh>Leeds>Manchester>liverp ool>Cardiff>Bristol
>Stonehenge>London>Omaha Beach Normandy> Paris> Geneva>Zurich> Vaduz> Milan>Venice>Trieste> Slovenia>Vienna>Prague>Munich>Frankfurt> Luxembourg> Brussels> Amsterdam> London to sell the bikes and fly back stateside.
Total time 25-30 days
Cost in USD($): Bike 4000, one way plane tix 500 (due to chance of extending) food/drinks 650-750, Hostels/housing: 1000, Fuel 550-600, trying to get military space A flight back from RAF Mendenhall

total about 7k can spend more if needed, but really prefer not to!

INSURANCE?!?!??! help!

Insurance wise, try a few companies in advance now. Get some online quotes. Try Carole Nash

And ( I really don't believe I am doing this after so recent posts in the Bar.... but) try their FB account Insidebikes | Facebook.

If you arrange the bike purchase before arrival, you should be able to arrange the insurance as well.

If you are buying from a dealer, then they should help you with insurance before you arrive.

Paper work will be the main issue, but in the UK once on the database that is usually good enough. CN will email a PDF of the certificate to you.

I think your fuel allowance is a bit low. Depends on what bike you are buying but don't expect more than 45mpg (IMP gallons) and currently we pay between 1.30GBP and 1.45GBP per litre.

When you get near Liverpool, give me a shout. Will be happy to meet up and show you around. There are some good bars to be found.

hi vstrom10.i shipped my bike from fremantle to the uk earlier this year for a 3 month trip through europe.i bought my greencard insurance through mototouring.no idea who would give comprehensive insurance for your bike though

how much do i need insurance?
 

so how badly do i need insurance if i am going to just ride the bike for a month through europe then sell it afterwards? i mean if i dump the bike im just going to say oh well, pick it up and keep riding, or try to find something else to ride. so how often will we get stopped/ do we need it at border crossings?
as always any advice would be appreciated!

Insurance is not just for you! Its for the other people, their vehicle, their property, if you injure them.
Penalties vary from country to country, but the phrase "locking up & throwing away the key" comes to mind.

Ask yourself how pissed off you would be if an uninsured driver/rider crashed into you.

In Europe (the EU bit) you will not see any border crossing, apart from entering the UK. But it is *very* likely that you will be stopped by the police and asked for it at any time. And they get upset when people don't have it.

I agree that having insurance is a good thing, but I would disagree with your point about being stopped by the police. I had insurance when I drove a Land Cruiser on Australian plates from Italy to the UK and around the UK a bit but I was never once stopped. I didn't even have to show any documents other than my passport when I entered the UK which surprised me.

You don't have to be stopped these days..

There are cameras that read your plates automatically and a cop car can run your registration just by sitting behind you in traffic que.

Have insurance in Europe.. It's a world of pain if you get caught without it. You can't fake/bribe your way out of anything in Western Europe.

To go without insurance is madness because if you get stopped even once there is every likelihood that not only will you lose the bike, you will also get a huge fine or worse. The chances of you being stopped in Europe is high.

I dare not even consider the consequences if you hit something or god forbid, someone. Someone hit in me 1991 and fortunately for them they were insured. Part of the settlement was that I was awarded 18 years loss of earnings, that was less than half the final amount. I was a police officer at the time and was on a good salary. Imagine how the rest of his financial life would have been if he was not insured.

Under no circumstances ride a bike in Europe without insurance.

Steve

Number plate recognition doesn't work for non EU registered vehicles. I don't know if it's been changed since I lived there but the congestion charge cameras in London didn't even work for non UK registered vehicles.

Also for things like speeding you can't get penalty points on non EU licences.

Personally though I would have insurance in Europe, it's not worth the risk of being caught without.

In the UK they actually need a reason to stop you, from experience I have been stopped at road side checks in France, Spain and Germany. They always asked to see vehicle and insurance docs.

I've ridden around the states twice, but only stopped once. And all docs were needed.

It only takes 1 stop.

But that reason could be anything from checking your tax disc, a popped tail light or a "Vehicle matching this description was reported in a crime"..

I've been stopped LOADS of times in the U.K. No reason given. Coming up to Christmas, there is usually plenty of drink driving checks etc.

The U.K especially is a total 'Big Brother' state. The only people with rights in the U.k are Albanian goat herders in Caravans with a boot full of cemtex.

You missed the "just riding a motorbike" :-)

bike insurance UK & Europe
 

I can help you with the insurance. +61 3 9351 0612

insurance needs
 

Ok, i completely understand that not having insurance is a terrible idea. but i promised my friend thats going with me that i would actually pose the question to the forum.

So now that that is settled, how do i go about getting insurance for a bike that i plan to buy in Ireland, ride for a month then sell at the end?

as usualy any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Do you intend buying in Northern or Southern Ireland (it may make a difference).

Do you have a bike dealer in mind ? They could help you.
Do you have a bike in mind ? You can get quotes in advance.

Have you factored in the time to buy and sell a bike at each side of the trip ? or will you buy it/them before you arrive.

Do you know anyone there who can help? I am sure someone will pop up in here eventually.

Have you tried any of the online insurance companies already suggested ?

In the mean time I will ask some people I know.

Ok, feed back from friends in Ireland (southern).

The majority say DO NOT BUY there.

Because

1) Bikes are more expensive than elsewhere. (But coming down with the recent financial trouble).

2) The insurance is silly price.

They say that you can use Carole Nash, as previously mentioned.

Maybe you should consider buying in the UK ?

The grand-daddy of all threads for this subject:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...et-cheap-34822

One "big" problem with your plans, you said that you were planning on buying the bikes in Ireland then finishing your trip in London and selling the bikes?
Selling an Irish registered bike in England will be a PITA. It's not like the states where you can sell say a Florida registered vehicle in Texas with no major hassle AFAIK.
The buyer would have to import the bike to the UK!! Re register it and possibly pay import duty. It's the same for any country in the EC when it comes to vehicles. You really need to buy and sell in the same country. With the financial crisis bike prices in Ireland have actually gone through the floor and the quality of bike for sale has actually improved recently, a lot of status symbol, weekend warrior stuff for sale!! Have a look on DoneDeal.ie - Ireland's biggest classifieds site or the sale section on Fáilte chun Biker.ie, Ireland's Premier Motorbike Forum just bear in mind that it's a relatively small market and it might take time you don't have at the end of your trip to sell them on.
For all these reasons I would actually advise to buy and sell in the UK, you'll also have a lot more choice in the insurance market, only four players in the Irish market, three of the four are subsidiaries of UK based insurance firms who charge more in Ireland than they do in the UK and the other is a bankrupt:helpsmilie:
BUT and this is a biggie, please don't let me put you off bringing your bikes to Ireland, the North Antrim coast is superb, if your schedule allows get over here for some of the road racing ( think 190mph on "roads" that wouldn't pass for a southern moonshiners driveway) and then continue another 50/60 mile to the north western coast of Donegal/Sligo/Mayo and I'll meet up with you and show you some roads that will blow your mind:thumbup1:

Sorry Zig that's wrong, customs don't care about insurance but the copper who pulls you out side will.

I've imported cars and bikes into the UK, never been asked for insurance.

Paul

Just talked to a Kiwi mate who insured a bike in the UK - he did it on line with esure.com

Hi I did the UK and Europe (some of) in 2010. I bought a bike in UK, cheaper than freighting from home. The insurance was a nightmare. I finally got a policy from Footman James. They accepted an international licence, the only company I could find that would. Everyone else required UK licence.
The policy I got was the minimum. At the time if I recall it was about 95GBP, this included cover for Europe and breakdown recovery for 12 months. You can cancell and get a refund for balance of time.
The recovery was fantastic. I got stuck at Duart Castle on Mull with a stripped out spline on the clutch. They picked me up the next morn in Tobermory, went and got the bike, and then did a 12 hr freight to Leeds where I had a friend to fix the bike.
Anyway, an address is something you will need. If you don't have friends, one possibility is a postal drop company that will provide an address for a small fee and forward your mail to where ever you want.

If you have questions feel free to ask.
Ed