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17 May 2021
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Gold Member
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Cambridge, UK
Posts: 671
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You'll be hard pressed to find a standard British insurer who will insure a foreign plated (especially non European) bike.
Try a few options
1. Motoferime in Ireland
2. Motocamp Bulgaria for greencard European insurance 3rd party cover
3. Tourinsure.de for comprehensive but more expensive European cover.
Good luck,
Let me know if you need use of a UK address
Fern
Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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17 May 2021
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New on the HUBB
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Join Date: May 2021
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Fabulous! That's a great start thank you so much. Will let you know how it works out
I've got a UK address but thanks
/Jennifer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fern
You'll be hard pressed to find a standard British insurer who will insure a foreign plated (especially non European) bike.
Try a few options
1. Motoferime in Ireland
2. Motocamp Bulgaria for greencard European insurance 3rd party cover
3. Tourinsure.de for comprehensive but more expensive European cover.
Good luck,
Let me know if you need use of a UK address
Fern
Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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17 May 2021
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Location: Wessex, UK
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I agree with what Fern has said and here is the thread on the subject, member dooby is a provider of good repute who has helped many non-EU motorcyclists get cover.
https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...cheap-34822-20
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17 May 2021
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New on the HUBB
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Join Date: May 2021
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Excellent thank you very much!
/Jennifer
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark manley
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18 May 2021
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Gold Member
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada
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UK Canuck:
No problem at all riding your Canadian-plated motorcycle in the UK. Just be sure to have a white oval sticker on the back with 'CDN' on it. Years ago, you could get these from the Canadian Automobile Association - but if you go to any sign shop you could get them to make you one easy enough. Don't get fancy with the design, use the same colour, size, shape, and typeface as you see in the picture below.
Others have given you good advice above about how and where to get insurance. In the past, I have purchased European insurance from various sources - MotoTouring in Milan, Dooby in Croatia, and Motocamp Bulgaria. The product that each of them sell is exactly the same thing (minimum liability coverage for the EC, including the UK), so choose your vendor based on service quality, reputation, and price. We have a long discussion here in the HUBB about European insurance - here is the link: Here is where you get the cheap European green card insurance. Start reading that post about halfway down page three (posts from about 2017 onwards).
Concerning transportation of the motorcycle from Canada to Europe, I have always shipped by Air Canada or Motorcycle Express. There is some information about shipping a motorcycle by air at this post: Shipping Canada to Europe.
The only problem you might run into is if you are a UK citizen travelling on a UK passport. I mention this because your username (UK Canuck) suggests this might be the case.
If you are travelling on a UK passport, you MIGHT encounter some problems with customs & excise either at the moment you import the bike, or perhaps later on if you are stopped by police or customs & excise whilst riding.
For someone like me (born in Canada, travelling on a Canadian passport, with a Canadian driver license, riding a Canadian-plated bike in Europe), it is obvious to customs & excise that I am a bona fide tourist and there is no possible chance that I am trying to import the bike illegally, or evade the requirement to comply with each country's MOT checks, etc.
If, though, you are riding in your country of citizenship (UK?) on a foreign plated motorcycle, the authorities could make a credible case that you are not a tourist, should have paid import duties, and should have plated the motorcycle in your country of citizenship, which means MOT compliance, RHD headlight, etc.
So, let's hope you have a Canadian passport & Canadian driver licence.
Michael
Note White Oval Country Sticker Under Licence Plate
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18 May 2021
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Oxford UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanEuropean
UK Canuck:
No problem at all riding your Canadian-plated motorcycle in the UK. Just be sure to have a white oval sticker on the back with 'CDN' on it.
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The couple on the loaded up Harley with a Nevada plate that we followed for a few miles a week or two back hadn't felt the need to put a USA sticker anywhere that I could see. Like the discussion on which sort of EU sticker is acceptable post Brexit I suspect you'll be very unlucky if anyone bothers about it. There's so many no country ID (vans mainly) from various Euro nations on the roads here that I suspect it's not a police priority. Probably easier to get a sticker for peace of mind but it's not going to be make or break.
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18 May 2021
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Location: Bellingham, WA, USA
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A single datapoint: I rode a US registered bike through almost every country in Europe (EU and non-EU) for about 8 months without ever thinking about a country sticker. If I'd thought about it, I'd have brought one...but I didn't, and if anyone was distressed they sure never mentioned it aloud.
How that applies to the OP is an open question.
Mark
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28 Jul 2021
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fern
You'll be hard pressed to find a standard British insurer who will insure a foreign plated (especially non European) bike.
Try a few options
1. Motoferime in Ireland
2. Motocamp Bulgaria for greencard European insurance 3rd party cover
3. Tourinsure.de for comprehensive but more expensive European cover.
Good luck,
Let me know if you need use of a UK address
Fern
Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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First two options are not registered insurance providers at all (Martin at Motofeirme is not providing insurance to any of his clients directly, important fact), third one is registered broker and provides services of Axa as long as Axa is willing to sell their products.
Lobagola MotoTours is the only broker specialist that will provide coverage for such clients in Europe and outside Europe as well.
Just facts, so OP and other readers later wont be mislead and loose time.
BR
Dooby
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28 Jul 2021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dooby
First two options are not registered insurance providers at all
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Concerning Motocamp Bulgaria (the second of the two options you referred to), I believe that what that company does is go out and buy a standard "green card' insurance policy for the customer from the Bulgarian insurance provider, then mail that policy - meaning, the green card - to the customer.
I have used them in the past and been quite happy with their service. The insurance provider in Bulgaria has very low rates when compared to insurance providers in other countries that issue 'green card' coverage for out of region motorcycles.
This post from a few years back provides more information: Bulgaria- Motocamp
Michael
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29 Jul 2021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanEuropean
Concerning Motocamp Bulgaria (the second of the two options you referred to), I believe that what that company does is go out and buy a standard "green card' insurance policy for the customer from the Bulgarian insurance provider, then mail that policy - meaning, the green card - to the customer.
I have used them in the past and been quite happy with their service. The insurance provider in Bulgaria has very low rates when compared to insurance providers in other countries that issue 'green card' coverage for out of region motorcycles.
This post from a few years back provides more information: Bulgaria- Motocamp
Michael
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Marking up the price on third party liability coverage/reselling it for higher price is illegal in EU.
Bulgarian authority that overseas and regulates their insurance and financial market:
https://www.fsc.bg/en/
Just facts
BR
Dooby
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29 Jul 2021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dooby
Marking up the price on third party liability coverage/reselling it for higher price is illegal in EU.
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Dooby:
At the risk of straining a long-time friendship with you, isn't that exactly what you did for many years before you recently acquired your status as an insurance broker?
Let's face it, buying "green card" insurance is like buying gasoline - it's a fungible commodity, all policies offer the same amount of dollar-value coverage.
Michael
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29 Jul 2021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanEuropean
Dooby:
At the risk of straining a long-time friendship with you, isn't that exactly what you did for many years before you recently acquired your status as an insurance broker?
Let's face it, buying "green card" insurance is like buying gasoline - it's a fungible commodity, all policies offer the same amount of dollar-value coverage.
Michael
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Nope,
We have created a product from day one that was underwrited by the pool of insurers that enables coverage in the country where the vehicle has been registered for EU residents and non EU residents (hybrid product not of the shelf item). Martin can provide info at any time if it’s needed for his Irish clients.
Reason why I am openly providing facts is that there was already a case that happened in the community in 2019 that stirred looks on all others like we are all scammers and that is not good at all. And I for sure don’t want to be labeled in that way, but I’m providing facts as I have been doing it all the time.
Green card insurance has the largest volume of fraud in the industry, and I am wandering why it is like that
BR
Dooby
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29 Jul 2021
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Strictly speaking there should be no charge for a Green Card other than a possible admin fee at the discretion of the issuer. A lot of insurers, particularly in the UK don't realise this
https://www.mib.org.uk/making-a-clai...n%20of%20cover.
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29 Jul 2021
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EU vehicles don't need an oval sticker because it is incorporated in the license plate.
British vehicles driving in Europe do need the oval sticket
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4 Aug 2021
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Mototouring in Italy will insure you for minimum liability cover on a non-EU registered bike.
They refer to it as a Green Card.
I rode a NZ registered bike in the UK for a year with no NZ oval sticker, no one ever asked why.
Yes, the rules say you can only ride a foreign reg bike in UK for 6 months, but I didn't know this at the time, so that was OK then (!)
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