Insurance/accom. Serbia/Croatia

[Matt Cartney]

Hi,
A couple of questions:
1: Can I buy insurance at the border for Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia?

2: What is the availability of roadsıde accomodation ın the two countries?

Cheers folks.
Matt

[Wheelspin]

You can get your UK (if thats where you are...) insurance to cover you in Croatia. I did have a lot of trouble with Serbia and ended up going through Romania instead - which turned out to be a great idea. But I think you can buy insurance at the border - whether its any good is another matter entirely....

[Steve Pickford]

We had trouble getting cover for Croatia in 2004, ended up buying it at the border whe we crossed over from Hungary. Can't remember cost but it may have been £8.00 for two weeks third party only and was bought from one of the logistics or shipping outfits in a building near the Customs post.

[Luuk]

i was in serbia and croatia 2 years ago, sebria was no problem insurance wise just bought at the border, can't remember the price but wasn't schoking, roadside acomodation in serbia,(i was there only one night near spilt) was not hard to find, but expensive so we camped.

[henryuk]

I was there a few months ago, got insurance at the border (not required if you have green card)

Accomodation - Split, turned up very late so jumped in cheap hotel - overpriced

Dubrovnik - possibly the best/nicest city in Europe has two big campsites, just follow the signs - they were shut when I was there but should have opened in April. Failing this and cheaper than a hotel go down to the bus station and look for kind looking old ladies holding signs saying 'SOBE - ROOMS - ZIMMER', this was a great option, and they even had a garage that I could stick the bike in. Crazy ride to the house though....

[PanEuropean]

Originally Posted by henryuk

(not required if you have green card)....

Hi Henry:

Uh, careful with statements like that. I have a 'green card' that insures my motorcycle in Europe, but only in the EC countries and Switzerland.

The concept of the 'green card' is that it implies that you have the legal minimum insurance cover for all the EC countries (plus CH). Not all insurance policies that come with a green card include cover for countries that are not in the EC - for example, the former Yugoslavian countries (excepting Slovenia, which is now in the EC).

Riders need to check the boxes at the bottom of the green card slip to see what countries have big X's through them, indicating that the coverage does not extend to that country.

Michael

[mdmystko]

PanEuropean -

Green Card is unrelated to EC, it is valid in countries participating in the Green Card System which is all Europe but also Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco and Israel. See http://www.cobx.org/public/EPA_Introduction.html or http://www.cent-ir.com/site%20latin/...green_card.htm

There have been Green Cards in Poland long before we joined EU and my Green Card, issued by Allianz Poland, is valid as far as in Iran. Apparently, UK based insurance companies limit validity of their Cards to EU countries, probably to limit costs (to optimize it as they say...).

Matt -

You will find plenty of roadside accomodation in these countries in tourist regions which means primarily their coastline. The further you go from sea shore the harder it will be to find something unless you come to another tourist region like a ski center Zabljak in Montenegro.

Kris

[PanEuropean]

Kris:

I know what you mean, and I comprehend what you are getting at when you speak about 'green card' insurance.

The point I was trying to make is that not every insurance policy issued in Europe that comes on a 'green card' and in the 'green card' format is valid outside of the EC countries. For example, below is an image of the insurance I purchased last summer from the German Auto Association (ADAC) to cover my Canadian registered motorcycle whilst touring in Europe. As you can see, quite a number of the countries across the bottom of the form are crossed out, indicating that the insurance does not cover operations in those countries.

Later that same year, I wanted to visit some Eastern Europe countries, so, I purchased another policy from a different company that did cover most of the other countries. It was substantially more expensive, though, and to get cover for Eastern Europe, I had to find a broker who specialized in writing insurance cover for motorcycles in Eastern Europe.

Michael

'Green Card' Form


PS: I could make a bad joke and say that Polish insurance companies would not have any worries about insuring a vehicle for use in any country - because if it did get stolen, it would probably wind up back in Poland soon enough anyway... ...Just teasing you.

[henryuk]

All I was basing that on was the fact that I was asked to produce my green-card, and although my insurance clearly states 'all european countries', and lists no exclusions on the certificate, this was not acceptable - I was made to buy insurance

[mdmystko]

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

Kris:
PS: I could make a bad joke and say that Polish insurance companies would not have any worries about insuring a vehicle for use in any country - because if it did get stolen, it would probably wind up back in Poland soon enough anyway... ...Just teasing you.

Michael -

You would make a bad joke because we are talking about third party liability insurance not a theft insurance. If I bought a theft insurance for my motorbike, it would be invalid in Ukraine, Russia and probably some other countries. My green card insurance is valid even in Kosovo, I think the most unstable region in Europe. You might not know it but Allianz is a big German insurance company and in Poland they sell so generous green cards but in Germany probably not, judging from what you write.

If you visit Krakow on your way to Lviv and Kiev and have questions about the city, email me through HUBB.

Have a great trip,
Kris