Is Insurance mandatory?

[TonyP]

in the west you MUST have insurance before you can take your bike out on the road, it is a legal requirement.

Is this true of other, third world, countries?

thanks
Tony P

[Susan Johnson]

Hi Tony

The short answer is NO. Liability insurance is generally only required in North America, Europe, Australia and NZ.

From Grant's post on this topic back in January -

"MANY countries don't have any use for insurance, especially for foreigners. In our trip around the world we had insurance in Mexico, required at the border and available, probably one or two Central American countries, the EU, Kenya, South Africa, and uh, uh, well, that's about it.
Even the USA and Canada didn't ask me for insurance proof, and at the time of my return my registration was expired by over a year, and I hadn't had insurance in almost two years.

I may have had it in Egypt and Libya, but since it was in Arabic I have no clue what I was paying for.

We tried to get it in Argentina, and wasted a day running around BA in vain. They thought we were crazy.

It's quite simple really - if you are required to have it, you can get it at the border for a small fee. Stupid they ain't - how better to make money? And then it's usually merely a ploy to line the border posts pockets. Worthless.

Documentation such as vehicle registration, bill of sale, and national and international drivers licence must LOOK GOOD, NOT expired, and be absolutely correct for numbers matching the bike and such. The carnet if needed must be REAL. The rest is unimportant. Draw your own conclusions. And relax."

A search on the word 'insurance' will get you plenty of information on this topic, including discussions on comprehensive / all risks coverage. We do recommend medical insurance, though, and it should include evacuation / repatriation in case of emergency.

Hope this helps.

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Susan Johnson

"It matters not what goal you seek
Its secret here reposes:
You've got to dig from week to week
To get Results or Roses."
Edgar Guest

'One world, two wheels'
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[TonyP]

Susan,
thanks for that.
I did do a quick search on Insurance, but nobody seemed to be talking about what I was worried about.

thanks again

Tony P

[El Penguino]

Hi Susan,
I don´t know if the laws in New Zealand have changed since I left but AFAIK insurance is not compulsory .

And Mr Sonofhod , are you there or is that a recording ? :-)

[Susan Johnson]

Hello, el Penguino

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">I don´t know if the laws in New Zealand have changed since I left but AFAIK insurance is not compulsory .</font>

Not sure what AFAIK insurance is?? Were you referring to third party liability insurance?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">And Mr Sonofhod , are you there or is that a recording ? :-)</font>

SonofHod (a.k.a. Stephen Hodson, Marketing Manager, Alexander Forbes Insurance Agency) refers to his company AFIAWS in his 'subtle' promotional post, which he has posted on every thread about vehicle insurance. We will be having correspondence about this, as I have explained our policy on advertising.

However, many people are looking for loss/damage vehicle insurance for their travels. So, if their service is reasonable, we do want travellers to be aware of it.

Cheers
Susan

[JamesCo]

AFAIK = As Far As I Know

Last time in I was in NZ (Feb 2000), a years worth of third party insurance for my SRX250 cost $250. Full insurance for my TL1000S cost $2,500, with $3,500 excess! YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). Mind, I was 21 with 85 points and a had had my full license for all of a couple of months. There was no requirement for insurance - third party, or otherwise, which is why I dropped it for the TL... New Zealand has ACC - a social contract which replaced the right to sue with no-fault compensation. Whatever it's merit's, it replaces the need for the same liability insurance that you will find elsewhere.

James Courtier.

[Susan Johnson]

Thanks James

If I had thought about it for 30 seconds, I would have remembered what AFAIK stood for. I had AFIAWS in mind, and that was confusing me. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Just one more question - are you certain that non-residents are also exempt from the requirement for third party insurance?

Susan

[This message has been edited by Susan (edited 15 June 2002).]

[JamesCo]

Yeah, I'm fairly sure that non-residents are exempt as well. From the Land Transport Safety Authority: "Vehicle insurance is not compulsory in New Zealand but it is recommended. Please note that the ACC levy is not insurance." Note that this levy is obtained through petrol tax - paid at the pump - and registration fees, so it's transparent.

And from the ACC: "ACC provides no-fault personal injury cover for those people injured in motor vehicle accidents on public roads. Cover is provided for all victims of a road crash including passengers, pedestrians and cyclists regardless of who caused the accident or the types of vehicles involved."

James Courtier.

[This message has been edited by Susan (edited 15 June 2002).]

[El Penguino]

And correspondingly I can`t guess if foreigners not living in NZ are able to take advantage of the ACC benefits e.g. ACC replaces safety equipment damaged in accidents , and that includes leathers , helmets etc . Bearing in mind that riding gear is normally excluded from normal insurance policies this is worthwhile .

ACC also pays money in cases of , say , disability , for modification of bathrooms and so on .

Of course , its` all academic if you don`t have an accident .... so be careful out there !

[SonofHod]

Dear All,

Firstly I am sorry for being over zealous with my posts, I will remove the majority ASAP. I just wanted to make visitors to this site aware that International Loss/Damage vehicle insurance is available.

We are normally geared towards motor vehicles but can arrange insurance for motorcycles if they are part of an international loss/damage motor policy.

The insurance we provide is loss/damage cover and it is optional, depending on whether you wish to protect your assets (i.e. Motor Car, Bike etc..). Third party liability does need to be arranged for the country or countries that you are visiting.

I am more than happy to answer any enquiries you may have.

Kind regards

Stephen (AKA) SonofHod

[Susan Johnson]

Stephen

Thanks for your comment. No one objects to people providing information about a useful service, as long as everyone knows where you're coming from.

But we do have several questions which I hope you can answer:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2"> We are normally geared towards motor vehicles but can arrange insurance for motorcycles if they are part of an international loss/damage motor policy.</font>

Does this mean that the insured must already have an auto insurance policy with you before you will provide motorcycle insurance?


Also, Sean Kelly was recently turned down by your company for insurance:

Hi all
Pertinent extract of the reply from Stephen Hodson: "...approached the underwriter on your behalf and was informed that the previous experience involving overland motorcycle policies had not been favourable, and as a consequence the underwriter was no longer prepared to underwrite a policy of this nature.

I am sorry that we could not be of assistance to you on this occasion but if you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me..."

Makes you wonder what sort of business they expect to generate from an overland motorcycle website! Sean

Given the above, I guess it's fair to ask, is there any point in people contacting you about loss/damage insurance unless they're driving 4WD vehicles?

Susan

[SonofHod]

Hi Susan,

Thank you for your post.

In answer to your questions:

For our underwriters to insurer a Motorcycle it would ideally need to be part of an international loss/damage vehicle insurance policy that included a motor vehicle (car, van, truck etc...).

The motor vehicle loss/damage insurance would also need to be taken out with us (through our underwriter).

In fairness if travellers wish to contact us for insurance they would ideally need to be using their motorcycle in combination with a motor vehicle on their trip. The combined motorcycle and motor vehicle policy is more attractive to our underwriters and travellers would find it easier to get cover.

I hope this is of help.

Regards

Stephen.

[mmaarten]

It make's me wonder...
How many motorcycle-world-travelers bring there car with them?
Maybe to go shoping?..
So you could put a trailer behind the bike and put the car on it.
But then again, I remember Grand saying somewhere that driving off-road with a trailer was not a nice thing to do.

No... I think I'll leave my car at home.

Maarten

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