Insurance in Europe for US Licensed Motorcycle

[dv777]

I know this has been covered in some detail but I am looking for current information. My goal is to ship my US licensed Triumph Tiger to Germany and keep it there for a few years. I have friends throughout Spain and Germany who can garage the bike and anticipate riding 4-6 weeks per year. My eventual plan is to navigate globe once work (ugh) allows. Can anyone provide some insight as to the best strategy to get "Green Card" insurance while my bike is overseas and at an economical rate. The costs I am getting from online quotes are $2900 for liability and comp. That is a little steep for me considering I am only planning to ride a fraction of the time. Any input would be appreciated.

[PanEuropean]

Hello, and welcome to the HUBB community.

There is an entire sub-forum dedicated to paperwork issues that arise when you are riding in a different country or on a different continent - it is this sub-forum: Trip Paperwork.

In that sub-forum, the second post from the top is entitled "Here is where you get the cheap Green Card insurance". That post started life back in 2006, and as of today has 297 posts in it, so don't start reading it from the beginning or you will be too old to keep a motorcycle upright by the time you reach the end of it.

Instead, start reading at about post #284, and read from there to the end. That should provide you with a very good understanding of how things work.

There are a variety of places that you can buy "basic liability only" (in other words, 'Green Card') insurance from. The policy and the coverage is identical everywhere, only the price varies. So think of it like you think of buying gasoline - find the lowest price and then buy it there.

Some of the places you can get it from are listed from post #284 onwards.

Be aware that it is next to impossible to buy any kind of insurance for a North American moto other than basic minimum third party liability - in other words, you won't be able to buy collision, or theft, or comprehensive coverage, just third party liability. That massive price you mentioned ($2,900) is probably from one of the very rare providers of comprehensive insurance.

The monthly price of the basic liability coverage varies depending on what country you buy it in - the least expensive country to buy it in that I know of is Bulgaria, where it costs about €70 (US$ 70) a month.

Michael

[chris]

Ivo at Motocamp Bulgaria Welcome to motosapiens.org | motosapiens.org can help you with bike insurance. He's a registered insurance agent.

[backofbeyond]

A friend of mine had to work through this a month or two back - bringing his US registered bike to the U.K. and then on to the EU for a month long trip. Both of us looked long and hard for road insurance before he came and the only insurance co we could find that would cover him was based in Croatia. - I’m sure their name will be in this thread somewhere. From memory it was somewhere around $500 although that may be an overestimate.

They were awkward to deal with (no cards, bank transfer only, wanted all the paperwork transferred by post rather than email etc) but it did work in the end.

He’s still riding around on their policy at the moment (for another four days) but as nobody has asked to see his insurance and he hasn’t had an accident quite how watertight it is has never been put to the test.

[AnTyx]

Originally Posted by dv777

My goal is to ship my US licensed Triumph Tiger to Germany and keep it there for a few years. I have friends throughout Spain and Germany who can garage the bike and anticipate riding 4-6 weeks per year.

It is almost guaranteed to be easier and cheaper to sell your Tiger to a local buyer in the US and use the money to get an EU-plated bike instead. Also will be easier to get insurance that way. Depends on the country of course, some EU places are easier for non-residents than others.

The costs I am getting from online quotes are $2900 for liability and comp. That is a little steep for me considering I am only planning to ride a fraction of the time.

1) Comp (what is usually called Kasko in Europe) will ALWAYS be expensive for a motorcycle. Even moreso for a not-new motorcycle. For a non-EU-plated motorcycle, I am surprised anyone gave you a quote at all.

2) The obvious move is to only take out insurance for the few weeks that you are using your bike. It doesn't need liability insurance while it is in the garage.

[dv777]

Thanks to all who responded. I did find the correct thread and also have been communicating to Dooby. Fingers crossed he can enlighten me on the best solution.