wemotobike,

Congrats on your Colombian registered purchase - and good you are checking paperwork on 2nd bike.

I apologize for not answering promptly. Tony Lee did respond and I agree with his response regarding insurance and re-sale of bikes in Chile.

Generally, in South America, insurance issued to an owner lapses when that person is no longer the owner. The bike is insured only if the registered owner purchases the insurance in his or her name.

You were very wise to check paperwork - the DIAN in Colombia is cracking down on the sale of foreign registered bikes in Colombia - this is illegal just as it is illegal in most South American countries. rosa del desierto and I had to leave our two Argentine registered bikes in Colombia beyond our TVIP expiration and the DIAN required a local Colombian to sign for the bikes as a guarantee the bikes would not be sold or ridden in our absence.

The problems with not having valid insurance are many.

1. One never knows if an officer manning the road blocks is academy trained or just local police, in many cases insurance validity is not an issue, but in some cases without valid insurance your bike(s) will be confiscated and it will take months to get before a judge to sort out the issue.

2. The very first thing the insuring agency will do is verify that the registered owner is in fact the purchaser of the insurance, if not, the insurer has a legal loop hole and will not verify insurance in case of an accident with substantial damage to personal property or personal injury - in which case the rider will remain in jail until a court date is set - generally 6 months to a year after the arrest for no valid insurance. Unless of course - well I don't think I have to spell out "morditas" "bites" or bribes. I do not suggest to anyone to bribe South American officials - as this in itself is a punishable crime.

3. Valid insurance will provide a trustworthy barrister/attorney and most likely "bail" to get you out of jail - on the street police in Colombia and most South American countries arrest everyone involved in an accident resulting in a death - no matter who is at fault and the case goes in line/que behind years of other cases before it gets to a judge - who determines fault - and all parties without valid insurance remain in jail.

Sorry again for the late response and thanks to Tony Lee for the covering post.
I have worked for the International Red Cross and have visited foreigners incarcerated in foreign jails waiting for a judge to determine their guilt or innocence - because, while they thought they had valid insurance - their insurance company was more than willing to prove they did not.

Thanks Tony Lee

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