Insuring a bike in Ireland for a non resident
 

I've purchased a Transalp in Ireland, registered in Ireland. Now I'm finding that purchasing liability insurance is extremely difficult if not impossible.

There were companies as recently as the beginning of April that provided coverage, but no more.

US citizen needs help!:(

Problem solved : )

Great! Good for you ... but what about everyone else? :innocent:

Could you take 30 seconds to respond and let the rest of us know how you solved your problem?

I bought full cover insurance in UK using a friends address, did it all over the phone using Bennett's. No questions asked about my country of origin (US), no DL # asked for, just bike info, which was a UK bike. But that was a decade ago ... probably all changed by now?

I even got "Green Card" cover as my trip included a lot of EU. Next year, I got a no claims discount. You get discounts if your bike is alarmed or has those little data tags on it. (mine did)

I've learned waaaay more than I ever wanted to about insurance in the EU.

I think I have this right:

EU countries found that some countries were issuing insurance policies for much less than the country where the vehicle was registered. Apparently, some people were working the system and acquiring inexpensive insurance elsewhere plus the green card. So, now you can get green card insurance in some eu countries, but it won't be valid for the country where the vehicle is registered.

My only option: I'm buying green card insurance from a company in Germany, they'll mail me the card, I pick up my bike in Ireland and run for the UK border. I was going to tour Ireland, but the plan has changed to England, Scotland and possibly Northern Ireland, possibly part of the continent.

I'll return the bike to the storage in Ireland (again, getting to the storage place as quickly as possible)

.my understanding is that the green card extends your local insurance to cover the rest of the EU. So if you buy the policy in Ireland your basic policy should cover you in ireland only (by which i assume you mean the republic of ireland rather than northern ireland - which is part of the uk so a green card for the rest of the uk would not be needed) and your green card covers the rest of europe.


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Are you saying that you've found a German insurance company that'll insure an Irish bike in every EU country apart from Ireland?

I'm no expert on EU insurance law (to say the least) but that doesn't sound right to me. As I understood it if you buy a policy in one EU country it has to cover the legal minimum in every other one. That may not be much in the way of cover and you may end up mired in paperwork for years if there's a claim but at least there's a legal policy in force.

This from the European Commission site -

"Under the Directive, subscribers to compulsory motor insurance policies in all EU countries are covered for motoring throughout the EU"

"Vehicles should be registered in the country of residence of the policy holder and/or vehicle owner. Provided their registration is in order, they may be insured by an insurer established in the country of registration or in any other EU country."

The bike is registered in Ireland and I "have" an Irish address (where the bike is stored). I'm going to have to risk that if there is an accident in which I'm at fault there won't be an issue.

I'll be riding very carefully.

This has been beyond frustrating. You can ship a bike over and insurance is not an issue. But buying a vehicle isn't feasible (you can purchase, but you can't drive it due to not having insurance). Go figure. You would think that the governments would want travelers to be covered (even if the premiums were high, it would probably still be cheaper than shipping a bike)

Since I'm a non-resident I can't purchase any insurance in Ireland

It's all changed. For the worse. The days of gallavanting around are over.

Little bike - i will ask around in the uk and see what i can find - it sounds frustrating!


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That'd be great!bier

That extends to pushing the limits of the Schengen agreement as well. Used to be there was no communication between countries to pin down the length of stay, but now they have it pinned down to the second. Last time I was two weeks over because I didn't realise that Switzerland was now in Schengen and I got a severe talking to about what would happen the next time I miscalculated.

Done a bit of digging into the UK position.

As you would expect the position is simple if you are deemed a UK resident. Basically this means being in the country for 183 days.

You will be fine to take out insurance if you have an EU Licence or one which is 'exchangeable'. This does not include the USA. For other countries you can drive for 12 months on your local licence after which you need to do a UK driving test. It seems if you are in this latter category getting insurance is very problematic.

Info here: http://www.moneymaxim.co.uk/short-te...seas-residents
http://www.uswitch.com/car-insurance...on-uk-licence/

As per the start of this thread, you can get a green card providing insurance in the EU outside of the country the vehicle is registered in. See here: http://www.tourinsure.de/internation...cle/europe?L=6

I've not spoken to these people but they claim to be able to get UK car insurance for USA licence holders. Whilst this is for car insurance the licence appears to be an issue so I'd find out who the insurance company is and if they are ok for cars you would hope motorcycle insurance is ok too.

http://www.duinsure.com/motor_insurance/car_insurance

Hope this is of some use.

Thanks so much for that clear, concise explanation ... and thanks for the links as well. I've copied the post, put in my Euro Folder.

Cheers for doing the work!
bier

The two possibles I have are :

Knopf Tours in Germany
Tourinsure

If you're a non-resident you cannot insure a bike in the country of registration, but you should be able to get green card insurance for the rest of the eu.

I want to respond to this also.
You can buy Irish insurance.
Here is the issue.
The motorcycle is insured.
You are supposed to be a resident and hold a license
It does not stipulate on the documents that the license has to be EU or you have to be a resident.

https://www.libertyinsurance.ie/asse...y-Document.pdf

This is a very grey area but I would love to hear from more legal minded people what the consequences would be if there was an "at fault" accident.
We had one guy here that was involved in a "not at fault" accident. His license and insurance details were taken and he got a pay out.
Interestingly, the same insurance company covered both parties.

As well as looking at the policy document it would also be important to check the declaration you sign to accept the insurance. There may well be a stipulation around residency or similar in this.

It is also worth being aware of the legal basis of insurance which is known as "uberrima fides" which means "utmost good faith". Essentially this means you have to disclose all material facts, even if you are not specifically asked for them. I am sure there is lots of legal case law about how this works in practice, but if does give the insurance company an easy get out if they feel you have 'pulled the wool over their eyes' (withheld information in order to get them to act in a way they would not have if you had told them).

Good point. This is the "grey area" we speak of.
The usual questions they ask on a recorded conversation are.
"do you hold a motorcycle license?"
"How long have you held your license?"
"Any convictions"
"Any medical issues that would impair driving ability?"
"Any prescribed drugs that would impair?"

After these questions they ask about the bike, type of coverage, blah blah.
They then proceed to take your money.

[quote]
If you become resident in Ireland, living here for more than 185 days a year, then you must apply for an Irish licence. If drivers from any of the above states wish to exchange their licences for an Irish drivers licence they must do so within one year of their one expiring.
Drivers from the United States and Canada can drive on a licence, or international driving permit, from their country of origin for 12 months. If you are staying longer than 12 months then you must apply for an Irish drivers licence.
International drivers can also apply for an international drivers licence which is valid for one year after the date of issue. The licence is recognised by any nation, including Ireland, that has signed the 1926 or 1949 UN Convention on road traffic. If you are travelling to Ireland from another nation then you should contact your embassy in Ireland in advance to confirm whether this licence type will be accepted. More information about this type of licence can be found here. [quote]

I always wonder how difficult bureaucracy is - never thought about the complex environment in my home country - the EU.

So there is some information about the European Insurance System at this link:
Grüne Karte: The Green Card System

As far as I understand - you can insure any motorcycle which you are the owner of for all countries in the EU which are participating in the Green Card system. However there is a one-year time limit for non-EU citizen!

Important:
1. Not all insurance companies offer the insurance for all EU countries (you have to carefully select a insurance company which covers the countries you like to travel) - the countries covered by the insurance are listed on the green card.

2. Not all insurance companies offer insurance to non-residents. You have to select one that does if you are a non-EU citizen.

3. If you have a Green Card insurance it is valid for all foreign countries which are listed on the Green Card - the country you got the Green Card from is usually not listed as the insurance bureaucracy is done by the insurance company where you bought the Green Card Insurance directly (without involvement of the office of the Green Card association).
This does mean you are insured in the country where you bought the insurance (often with different coverage - which means more services than in the rest of the EU)!

Summary:
You can find a list of official partner insurance companies from the Green Card Association here:
http://www.gruene-karte.de/fileadmin...phabetisch.pdf

There is one listed for Dublin:
7641 Euro Insurances Ltd.
Ground Floor, Block C
Central Park
Leopardstown, Dublin 18
00353 1 68041 60
00353 1 68041 40
http://www.euroinsurances.net/31/32/Contact.html

The Green Card insurance for the EU is available for the countries listed here:
http://www.gruene-karte.de/uploads/m...te-Systems.pdf

@All - hope that helps a bit - and safe and happy travelling through Europe.

If people started emailing info@libertyinsurance.ie and asked them for insurance over and over again, they might reconsider their stance