2023 - Multi-country 3rd party insurance

[Pepper_HU]

Hello friends,

Posting here because the Trip Paperwork section seems to get less responses (wonder why??).

We are heading to South America soon and although we are fully prepared to do the usual song and dance of finding the place to buy 3rd-party insurance before/at/after each border, mentions on here of travellers securing multi-country insurance ahead of travel have piqued our interest.

Does anyone have details of insurers who can offer this (it would have to be online, we start in Brazil)? Happy to do the homework on any lead provided and then report back.

Also, it would be really helpful to have an idea of the cost?

Thank you in advance!


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Further detail - if your answer is 'just buy the insurance at each border, it doesn't take that long/it's easy' - Yes! but for the reasons explained above + we have two bikes so it takes double the time + a recent example is travellers wasting hours between the borders of Brazil and Uruguay because they got sent back from entering Uruguay to get insurance, arriving at the office to find it closed for lunch, then an hour later getting an invoice to pay but could only pay it in Uruguayan pesos so they find an ATM but their card is declined but they can go to another ATM and get Brazilian reals that they then go to a money exchanger to get the pesos to then go to the invoice office to pay to then go back to the insurance office to get the insurance and then back to the border
= Time not spent living the dream

[markharf]

The key to a successful trip is to alter your dream so that it better conforms to realities on the ground...and to accept that there will certainly be days like that.

I'm aware of only two relatively easy options: buying Mercosur insurance once you've entered the southern tier (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, I think Chile), which can apparently be done online in advance, and doing without any insurance at all most of the time. Otherwise you buy at the border, just like you would in most of the rest of the world.

I've heard of an insurance product being offered by a company which advertises here, claimed to cover liability insurance almost anywhere in the world (excepting places like North Korea, Cuba, etc.). This has always struck me as very improbable, but I've never had an explanation which inspired confidence either pro or con. In any case, it was very expensive.

And FWIW, it really doesn't take that long, and it really is easy. Most of the time. There are exceptions, of course, but you already knew that.

[Pepper_HU]

Thanks, Mark.

So in a nutshell, your answer is:

- you can buy 'Mercosur Insurance' in advance for some countries, but you don't have any provider names to give

- you can buy it at the border crossings, which you've pointed out I said we were prepared to do anyway


I would be most grateful if anyone could contribute to the first point on provider names and expected cost.

Thank you!

[markharf]

You're welcome....although that's not quite all I offered. But I see that you're looking for specific answers, not general guidelines.

I didn't go this route, and my last South American trip was over ten years ago. However, it took me 30 seconds to Google up an email address for this company, which has in the past been reported helpful to lots of travelers: info@abgefahren.info . You'll find lots of references to them in the results from your own Googling. Good luck.

Mark

[Pepper_HU]

Of course I Googled before I wrote the post and started the discussion. Isn’t the point of this forum that people help each other and give as precise pointers as possible and first-hand accounts where they can?

Your clarification of the term ‘Mercosur Insurance’ is really very helpful so thank you for that.

But please consider how deliberately crafted my original post was. I had seen your very balanced last response to the sticky discussion on this topic from a few years ago, and I wanted to avoid the conversation going down this route.

The way I see it, it would be a shame for people to see that a veteran hubber has answered the initial question and be dissuaded from contributing. I’m guessing very few people will now bother to read this entire thread at this stage so I’m really shooting myself in the foot now but -

I generally do my research across the forum and the internet before I start a new topic (I know others don’t and it irritates me no end when I see their posts) and I hope that I’ve paid my dues sufficiently in posting informative content as I’ve travelled and come across situations where I believe that an account of my first-hand experience will smooth the way for other travellers.

Why am I asking for precise information in this case? Because although I’ve seen names of insurers being given by other travellers, I’ve also seen in my research people saying that they’ve been conned. Also, because of Covid, there’s been a real temporal gap in reports from people and I was hoping that this could be a contribution to the HUBB that would be updated and valid for the next few years

Now this thread can go die a death and I guess I’ll think twice before asking a precise question. With that, I’m off to buy Mercosur Insurance from the lowest bidder

Happy travels

[mcwhirtj]

Last year I purchased Mercosur insurance through http://www.dakarmotos.com

Great people to work with.

Another time I used Robbie Speiser at Speiser Seguros, whose name comes up often in post about Mercosur insurance. Fwiw, when I enquired last year, he said he was no longer handling motorcycle insurance and passed me off to an aunt or some other relative, but when I got her quote, the one from Dakar Motos was cheaper and I went with that.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Pepper_HU]

@mcwhirtj, thank you very much for the info, it's exactly what I was asking about. I also noticed that the Speiser Seguros website is down.

@chris, nice pile-on. You're really contributing to this discussion in a positive way, you must be proud. Veteran HUBBers stick together, right? Cute.

[chris]

Originally Posted by Pepper_HU

@chris, nice pile-on. You're really contributing to this discussion in a positive way, you must be proud. Veteran HUBBers stick together, right? Cute.

Indeed, Mark and myself have been around here for a while. I find it bemusing that a certain (small) section of newbies pitch up and get all ungrateful because they don't get exactly/ 100% what they think they require and some even go as far telling said advice giver how they should improve next time. People answer questions here voluntarily, without payment. Mark's advice was rather useful, I thought.

Regarding your other post about shipping into Sao Paulo... Virtually no bike traveller ships into/ out of Brazil. Ever. There's a reason for that, but wouldn't fit into your attitude. This comes from someone who has ridden many 10s of thousands of km in South America over many months.

It's a community here, or at least it was in the old/ (veteran) days.

Wishing you the very best of luck on your journey.

[Toyark]

Originally Posted by Pepper_HU

Veteran HUBBers stick together

No but I'll thow in my (unsolicited) 2pence
You should be very glad that there are still some old hubbers on here who keep contributing and helping out anyone who's polite despite many 'arrows of outrageous fortune' - aka demands for help with seldom a 'thank you'.
I guess too many 'miles' have given us a rhinos' hind skin so we still hang on here for the benefit of many.

[Tim Cullis]

This thread has taken an unfortunate turn.

I appreciate it can be frustrating when one doesn't get the answer to the question exactly as desired, but please bear in mind that anyone who responds to questions is a volunteer and is trying to be helpful. So let's everyone calm down.

It would be a shame to have to take this thread offline (spoken with my mod hat on).

[Pepper_HU]

Tim, it looks like there’s been a glitch, Chris’s first post in this topic has disappeared?

[chris]

Originally Posted by Pepper_HU

Tim, it looks like there’s been a glitch, Chris’s first post in this topic has disappeared?

When moderators "disappear" posts, according to the "rules", they're meant to inform the user as to the reason. In this case I'll pass on Tim's pm. He and I are both busy people and my inbox/outbox is nearly at capacity. Life choices mean I won't spend the time creating space for new messages.

My deleted reply seems to have led to the required "educational effect" on those who might benefit.

[Tim Cullis]

You have jumped to an incorrect conclusion, Chris.

I have not removed your post.

[chris]

Originally Posted by Tim Cullis

You have jumped to an incorrect conclusion, Chris.

I have not removed your post.

Humble apologies for casting such wicked aspersions, Tim.

The plot thickens.... Who did the deleting? I could post a screenshot of the above mentioned deleted post here, cos that's how purile I am

Will, of course, screenshot this reply too, because I can. Also wonder how long it'll stay up


PS If you check your moderator's control panel, Tim, you can see who deleted it, assuming it's only a soft delete. If it's a hard delete, it'll forever be a mystery

[Grant Johnson]

I deleted it, and didn't think it needed pointing out that the evident snark was unnecessary. If you can't be helpful, just don't bother to reply.
Grant, getting grumpier in his old age...