Here's a picture of the insurance document that Arisa issues. This happens to be the coverage I purchased last year from an ADAC office.

The document is normally referred to as a 'green card', in practice, you get two copies, one is a receipt for your records, which is pink (shown below), the other is the actual proof of insurance document, which is green (that happens to be in my motorcycle saddlebag at the moment). The two documents are the same, they are all multiple impression documents printed on carbonless paper.

Hope this information helps.

Ohh well.... hmmm
I actual feel a bit sorry...... I wonder about the XXXX countries on your pink cover note ?! well you are right the "international motor insurance card" is lime green cheap sloppy paper....... all the interesting countries are not Xed-out on the original one I got issued with out asking for it by my insurance company...
(that's why I feel sorry)
Well and what about the limited time validation less than a year ?!

OK I live in Germany, and my insurance company is the HUK-Coburg, the "green card" is "GREEN" is valid for three years (yes 3-years from 14/7/2006 to 14/7/2009 in my case) and nothing is Xed-out at all, any of the 44 country codes from "A to UA" are open and not crossed out for no extra cost, actually non of the country's is crossed out! as I say I didn't ask for it they just issued it that way.
I pay 120-Euros (with 2nd year bonus) a year 3rd-party as the cheapest policy they do.
Now this behaver of German insurance companies seams to be normal, but if some one else comes along they will classify foreigners as a higher risk and rip you off.

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The trouble is that he was talking in philosophy, but they were listening in gibberish.

Hello Spooky:

Please, it is not necessary to feel sorry at all.

The insurance that I have purchased at ADAC in past years (there is a picture of my insurance document on the top of page 2 of this thread) is special insurance that ADAC offers only to foreign citizens who will be riding foreign registered motorcycles within Germany, and by logical extension, within the EC member countries.

I am well aware that this insurance only covers riding within the EC. To understand why ADAC even sells this, you have to think back to the days before EC harmonization of everything took place. Back then, if someone from (for example) Czech Republic or Hungary wanted to visit Germany with their car or their moto, their Czech insurance or Hungarian insurance would not have covered them in Germany. So, ADAC had little offices at the border crossings, and from these little offices they sold temporary "liability only" insurance for motos (€22 a month) and for automobiles (about € 105 a month).

Today, anyone who buys insurance in one EC country will find that their insurance - at least, the liability portion of it - covers them in all the EC countries. So, ADAC does not sell very much of this insurance anymore, except to people like me who fly their Canadian motorcycles to Europe, or perhaps to Turks who might need the insurance to drive a Turkish registered car in Europe during a vacation.

The policy that ADAC sells - which others have noted is in fact underwritten by ARISA, ADAC being nothing more than a sales agent - is only valid for the EC because way, way back, it was only valid for Germany. With EC harmonization, the insurance is now valid for all EC countries.

It is possible for me to buy insurance for my Canadian moto that is valid in all of the countries that have the XXX striking them out on the ARISA policy. I have done this in the past when I have visited Ukraine, Poland before it joined EC, Serbia, and so on. But, getting this type of insurance, which covers you from Iceland to Israel, is far more expensive. Michael Mandell (Motorcycle Express) sells it for about $180 USD a month.

Therefore, if I only plan to ride in the EC, I buy the ARISA insurance. I buy it from ADAC simply because I always fly into Zürich, and it is quick and easy for me to go to Singen and buy it from ADAC there. For others, it is probably easier to buy it directly from ARISA.

Hope this explains everything OK.

Michael

Hi to all you out there on the Hubb. I am a Brit but live in Germany and can offer any one of you free of charge exept postage to get this Green card you you should you wish to send me copies of your vehicle documentation and writen authority to do it on your behalf I will go to the ADAC and get it. If copies are good enough Ill send them by email or by post. you can contact me through HU

Cheers

Eddie

Great stuff Eddie.

Will definitely keep a rain check on that and communicate closer to the time before we ship over to Europe
Leaving ZAR beginning January 2015 and hope to be in Egypt around end of FEB.

Reg

Sent you PM Eddie - very good of you to offer to help!

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bugsonmyboard.org
two wheeled wave hunting dispatches

Im having difficulty purchasing liability insurance for an Ireland registered motorcycle. Apparently, this was possible not too long ago, but now.....

I'm a non - resident (US citizen)

Help please!

Problem solved : )

Great update. Thanks a million for the information.

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Dave

Ladies and Gents,

Does anyone know if it is possible to get EU green card insurance on arrival by ferry at Salerno, Italy?
Is it a dumb idea to go without it?

cheers
Nic

Hi Nic,

Not sure, but I do think it's possible.

If you want we can sort out the green card/third party liability insurance for you in advance.

You can check our website for more info, and if you have more questions just let me know.

Enjoy your trip planning

Dooby

Hello All:

I've been buying 'Green Card' insurance to cover my Canadian plated motorcycle in Europe for the past 14 years.

I started - back at the turn of the century - with ADAC in Germany, at about €22 a month. That was great while it lasted, but the price went up to well over €100 a month, and a few years later, they refused to insure the same moto again (in consecutive years) unless you provided proof that you had imported it into Europe very recently.

I then switched over to MotoTouring in Milan, and bought insurance from them for a few years - it was (and still is) fairly expensive, but that was OK until their service deteriorated. Stuff didn't get mailed on time, they closed for weeks of holidays during peak riding season, etc. So, scratch them off the list.

I once bought insurance from Ivo, who runs the campground in Bulgaria. The price was very low, and I think Ivo provides this coverage as a courtesy to visitors to his campground, but it is really not his primary business.

Now, I'm buying my European green card insurance from Dooby, the HUBB member who wrote the post directly above this one. Dooby runs a very nice upscale B&B in Zagreb that caters to the bicycle and motorcycle touring crowd. Recently, he expanded his business offerings to include providing motorcycle insurance to visitors from outside Europe. The price is reasonable, the service is very professional, and best of all, he's an active member of our HUBB community.

Here's the link to the page on his website where you can find out all you need to know (prices, forms to fill out, countries covered, etc.): Lobagola - Border insurance

I was very pleased with the service I received from him last year when I bought my coverage, and intend to buy insurance from him again this coming year. Plus, I am told he will buy you a free coffee at his B&B if you stop by and show him your insurance form...

Michael

i have a question for anyone who has bought green card insurance (liability only) from Tourinsure recently

Can you confirm whether the cover extends to non-EU countries and if so which countries?

Hi Rob:

My experience with all the different organizations I have bought insurance from in the past 15 years (see post #226 above) is that they all sell the same thing, which is insurance that covers the EC countries (including some of the 'EC candidate' countries) plus Switzerland. See this web-page for a list of the countries covered: click here.

If you plan to visit the former Yugoslavian countries, you can buy coverage as you enter each country. See post #213 above for a link that will take you to a post I made that explains Yugoslavian insurance in great detail.

Michael

PS: If this is your first time touring in Europe, you probably won't be visiting the countries that are not covered... heck, you could spend the entire summer riding in the countries that are covered (plus the former Yugoslavian countries) and not run out of things to do. Save Ukraine, Russia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, etc. for your next visit.

I'm happy to find another insurance option in Lobagola. I've been using Knopf and Mototouring in the last year. I'm an ADAC member but it sounds as if they might be out of the insurance business from what I'm reading here.

Knopf had collision insurance available last year but it was very pricey. I've just been going with green card liability and a monster chain to secure the bike when it's necessary to leave it outside. I'd sure feel better if comprehensive insurance were available at a reasonable price. Anybody know of a source?

On another note - I've been asking around about buying a Euro-registered bike (and selling mine in Europe or shipping it home) and from the conversations I've had it seems to be a very difficult proposition. I was told that unless I have a residence in Europe that it's not possible. There must be workarounds for this issue. My thinking is that insurance wouldn't be as problematic and it would be much easier to later sell a Euro registered bike.

If anyone out there knows something about this issue, I'd love to hear about it.