On my recent trip I payed about 50 to 60 euros for Macedonia, it was by far the most expensive. I could only get 15 days or more but I was only staying for 4

Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk while having a cold

__________________
The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

The guy in the booth who sold me the insurance policy for Macedonia was quite apologetic about the price. He was certainly aware that all the surrounding countries were much less expensive.

But, considering how inexpensive Macedonia was for everything else (fuel, food, hotels, etc.), it all worked out in the end. Sort of like "what you lose on the merry-go-round, you make up on the Ferris wheel".

Michael

Has anyone got any up-to-date info on insurance at the border for Serbia? Is it still exorbitantly expensive? I'm wondering whether I should change my route!

If you are from the UK (it does help if you give your country) then you might already be covered. I was covered when I was there late November last year by my insurance company. I am assuming that policies from the major insurers in mainland europe would do the same. When I crossed hey never even asked to see my docs or insurance. I was crossing from Macedonia to Serbia

Wayne

__________________
The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

Bit of an update: Serbia didn't bother to check my documents - I think they know about the EU insurance thing. Macedonia is still expensive: €50. Worth also pointing out that you can't buy it at the border at Novo Konjarevo/ Bulgaria. I had to leave the bike and get a ride to Novo Selo and get it there. Montenegro was also expensive - but I can't remember exactly how much.

I just rocketed through Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Germany this week. Unfortunately I had a timetable to adhere to, so I didn't get to see nearly as much as I wanted. My biggest questions were about insurance - all the threads seemed a bit dated or without specific info. i.e. "insurance is available at the border, but not all border crossings."


Riding into Serbia from Bulgaria on E80 I pulled into the Gradina border checkpoint. Getting stamped out of Bulgaria the agent asked to see my green card insurance. When I got to the Serbian checkpoint I told the agent that I needed to buy insurance for Serbia. He just looked at me, took my documents, stamped my passport and motioned for me to ride on. I asked again about insurance and he made a "no" motion with his hand then a "get moving - start riding" motion. So I took that as a sign and rode on my way. I felt like a criminal an hour later! A fugitive! haha. I did watch out for cops more and kept my speed in check more than usual. I was only going to be in Serbia a few hours so I figured I could make it no problem.


After a flat tire from a puncture, I rode up to the Serbian/Montenegro border south of Novi Pazar on highway 31. Leaving Serbia was no problem, quick stamp of the passport. Entering Montenegro he asked for my insurance, I explained that I wanted to buy insurance and he said no. We finally found a decent interpreter who explained they didn't sell insurance there. They would let me enter but I had to buy insurance in the first city I came to. Fair enough I said - "where can I buy insurance in the city?" They did not have an answer. I looked around and asked a few people in the first city I cam to but never got an answer so my fugitive days continued.


I left Montenegro on E762 in the mountains into Bosnia. Easy stamp out of Montenegro with the same process at the Bosnian border except no interpreter and much more hostile agents. He saw my green card insurance (that doesn't include Bosnia) and snatched it from me. He looked at it and said "invalid!" I tried to explain that I knew it was invalid and that I wanted to purchase insurance to ride through his country. He said no - impossible. I asked where I could buy it, he said "I don't know" (about 50 times) I asked if I should go back to Montenegro. "I don't know". Can I buy insurance at the first town? "I don't know"... this Q&A went on for a while with no change. After a few mins of me asking what I can do and them having no answer he stopped talking and stared at me for about 45 seconds then looked at his partner and shrugged. His partner says "eh.... maybe a coffee for us...?" and makes a hand signal in my passport. They then say "you understand?" and "no speak!" many many times. I pull over to the side, get my wallet out which has no Bosnian money, no Montenegro money, no Serbian money - I have some Bulgarian, Romanian, Czech and Euros. My smallest Euro note was a 20, so that's what I put in the passport. I walked back and handed my passport to the guy. He put it under the table, took the cash, looked at me and yelled "NO SPEAK! YOU UNDERSTAND?" I motioned that I did and I was through - with no stamp. Apparently my outlaw/fugitive days were not over!


I decided to minimize my time in Bosnia so I changed my plans to get to Croatia as soon as possible since the few people I talked to after the border advised me that it was too dangerous to travel in their country alone. I wasn't going to argue so I made for the border. Thankfully leaving Bosnia was no issue and my insurance started again in Croatia.


So - long story short: I know there is no insurance between Serbia and Montenegro or Montenegro and Bosnia on the route I took. It was NOT worth the money to me for the added stress on the trip. I truly intended to get insurance but was unable. Good luck to those following that route - I never did get an answer on a reliable place to source insurance. "just get it at the border crossing" does not always work; in fact for me it didn't work one single time.

Thanks EvilEagle
I am heading this way in a few weeks so will keep this in mind when planning my route .
Thanks again

I crossed the Bosnia/Montenegro Border at N42.86163 E18.47958 on 2nd Nov 2015 and got insurance. I was traveling from Bosnia into Montenegro the cost was about 20 euro for 15 days.

I crossed from Montenegro into Kosovo at N42.779521 E20.266198, an easy crossing and paid 10 Euro for insurance for 15 days, i could not get a transit insurance. Again Nov 2015

I crossed from Kosovo the Macedonia at N42.141439 E21.302630. Paid 50 Euro for insurance, i can not remember for how many days. Again Nov 2015

All insurance were bought at the border at that time

__________________
The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

For UK people Devitt (underwritten by AXA) offer a balkans green card on same terms (fully comp vs 3rd party) as your main insurance, but many other insurers do not.

I can appreciate that. As I mentioned in the first post at the top of this discussion, it's not possible to buy insurance at every possible road crossing into a country.

It is, however, possible to buy insurance at every major road crossing into a Balkan country. In other words, at border crossings of all the major transport routes that run through Europe.

So, I guess the trick is to enter each country on primary (international) routes, and, of course, to enter during the daytime... I doubt that many of the insurance kiosks are open 24 hours, though a few might be on very busy international transit routes.

Michael

Great post . Just the sort of info I need for my 2019 trip from the UK. My current insurance covers the EU countries and also Serbia too.

Is anyone able to update any major changes to the advice and observations made by the OP please?

Thanks in advance

Al

__________________
Al

"first five minutes, last five minutes..."

Hi Al:

To the best of my knowledge, not much has changed since I made the original post.

There might have been some minor changes in pricing (consistent with inflation), but I don't believe there have been any significant changes in procedures.

Michael

I recently crossed into Bosnia from the north of the country , insurance clerk was in some containers behind a fence to the left if the guard post .... the company were agean insurance and it cost ten euro for seventeen days .They took a photocopy of my v5 and passport...... very helpful and totally painless.

i will be flying into Belgrade this month, then pick up my bike with US plate and ride her out to Bosnia or Hungary. need to get a Green Card but that's only available at the border crossing.

much appreciated any comments and advice.

There are several different issues that you need to look at.

First is the matter of getting insurance coverage that will cover you in Serbia, the country that Belgrade is in. Most "Green Card" policies that provide coverage in the Western and Central European countries (e.g. Germany, France, Spain, etc.) don't include coverage for either Serbia or for SOME of the countries that have borders with Serbia.

So you will need to get insurance coverage (it's not really a "Green Card", it's a local policy specific to Serbia) for Serbia. You mentioned that it is possible to buy such a policy at a border point - that is true, but I am pretty sure you would be able to obtain a policy at the head office of the insurance company in Belgrade. You will have to do some digging and research on your own to find out what the name of this company is, and where they are located. It's also possible that you might be able to get a Serbian policy from the Serbian automobile association, whoever that is... they might sell them as brokers for the insurance company. Presumably you have purchased Serbian insurance in the past (since your bike is in Serbia) - look at your old insurance document to see who to contact.

Next comes the question of what country you are going to enter when you leave Serbia. If you go north into Croatia or Hungary, or east into Romania or Bulgaria, those countries participate in the trans-European "Green Card" scheme, so you can get a single "Green Card" policy that will cover you in all of those countries as well as in the rest of Western & Central Europe. You could PROBABLY buy it at the border but it would be better (less stressful) if you bought it ahead of time. There are lots of organizations that sell this coverage, read the other posts in the Trip Paperwork section of the HUBB to learn more about where to get such a policy.

If, however, you plan to go south or west into Macedonia, Bosnia & Hertz, Albania, or Montenegro, those countries don't participate in the Green Card scheme, you will need to buy your insurance coverage for each specific country at any major border crossing during business hours when you enter each country. See the first post in this thread for more information. That first post is 8 years old, so the prices may have changed, but the general idea remains the same.

Michael