Canada Insurance
 

I have just spent the best part of the afternoon searching for information on insurance for own bikes registered in the UK for insurance in Canada, we were hoping to ship our bikes out to Miami and ride up through the States into Canada then into Alaska but with all the headache trying to get insurance sorted we are changing our plans to do a fair bit in Europe first then fly to Canada then miss out America altogether but cant seem to find any valid information on insurance requirements, any help will be gratefully received but please don't send me to facebook the site drives me mad.. thanks in advance.

Check the small print but I am fairly certain US motorcycle insurance will cover you in Canada but not Mexico.

AFAIK, all US vehicle insurance covers you in Canada, and none covers you in Mexico. There is apparently some special sort of proof of insurance card that you're supposed to get from your insurance company before crossing into Canada, but I've never bothered (and have definitely been caught breaking traffic laws in Canada, though this is not recommended).

The reverse is also true: any (vehicle) insurance you buy in Canada should cover you in the US. No insurance you buy in Mexico will cover you in the US.

This leaves aside the whole issue of finding a US insurance company which will cover you, about which there is much discussion elsewhere on this site.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

That is correct. There is a treaty of sorts between the USA and Canada to the effect that any insurer who sells insurance in either of the countries must make the insurance valid for all states & provinces in both countries.

Here in Canada, all insurance companies issue the same specification of small wallet-size card to show proof of insurance. It has sort of a salmon or pink colour background, and the words "Canada Interprovincial" at the top of the card.

I'm not familiar with how the American insurance companies issue their proof of insurance cards, but chances are that they don't include the words "Canada Interprovincial" on those cards. For that reason, if an American visitor wants to strictly comply with Canadian insurance regulations, they should call their insurer and have the insurer send them a proof of insurance card that conforms to the Canadian specifications.

Realistically, though, I doubt if very many American visitors to Canada do this, and I also doubt if Canadian police give visitors a hard time if they don't have a Canada-specific proof of insurance card from their insurer.

However, if an American visitor is planning to come up here and do a one month long, cross Canada voyage, it would probably be a good idea to get one of these Canada-specific cards.

An IDP (International Driving Permit) is NOT required to be carried by American visitors. Both countries use the same language (English).

Michael

Having the same issue regarding the US insurance, we were planning to ship our bikes to Anchorage and start our trip the 21st of August. I know some brokers are working on a new insurance program for foreigners, just hoping it will work out before we ship our motorbikes.

In trying to get the insurance sorted, I came across a story of somebody from New Zealand who insured their bike in Canada with Peter Macdonald Insurance, based in Vancouver. They also had the possiblity of making the insurance valid in the US, for a small surcharge.

I gave them a call yesterday, but they said they needed to see the bikes before they could give any insurance. If your plan was to start in Vancouver it might be a possibilty for you, but I'm not sure if you would get any issue driving the bike from the airport to their office etc. It seems pretty risky to ship the bikes without having the insurance arranged beforehand, but still thought I'd share.

Best of luck.