Mike:

I strongly suspect that the insurance that Knopf sells is exactly the same cover as what MotoTouring and others are selling - in other words, it is insurance cover for motorcycles registered (plated) outside of Europe that are being temporarily operated in Europe.

This whole discussion - all two pages of it - is about obtaining European insurance coverage for motorcycles registered outside of Europe, for example, motorcycles registered in Canada, the USA, Australia, etc. that will be used in Europe for a short period of time. This type of tourist coverage is NOT OFFERED for vehicles that are registered in EC member countries such as the UK.

Your inquiry sounds like a much more straightforward 'domestic insurance inquiry'. It doesn't really fit the context of what is being discussed here. I suggest you contact your existing UK insurance underwriter. It is probable that they will extend your coverage outside of the UK (but within the EC) beyond 90 days if you pay them more money. In the unlikely event that they will not, I am sure that there are many UK based underwriters who routinely offer insurance cover valid for more than 90 days touring in the EC for UK registered motorcycles.

Michael

Mike:
+1 to Michael's comment above. (Not to restate the obvious; just to verify
that Michael's comment is more than just his opinion.)

If your bike is registered in the UK, you need to contact/ discuss your insurance cover options outside the UK with your current UK broker/ underwriter, or with other UK brokers.
Knopf (ADAC/ Arisa), MotoTouring (UTI), and similar sources discussed in this thread, are available only to non-EU, non-UK rego'd vehicles.
Good luck.

PanEuropean, CourtFisher,

Thanks for your replies.

This issue came up because my UK insurance company won't cover me for a trip outside the UK lasting more than 90 days. I'm in Spain and no insurance company here will offer me full or green card cover either.

Having used Knopf in the past (2 1/2 years' worth of green card cover) I went back and checked. Stefan confirmed that the green card issued by ADAC/ Arisa via Knopf does provide cover for a UK-plated and registered bike.

I might not like the attitude of my UK insurer. I might not like the 150% price hike at Knopf in the last three years. But it appears to offer me the necessary cover that I can't get anywhere else.

I hope this clears matters up for anyone else in the same position. (Or, if you have a UK insurer offering a better deal, please let us all know.)

@warrigal 1
Not sure I can help. Without looking back through the thread: where is you bike registered? Are you in the UK at the moment?

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www.BesideTheSeaside.eu
---I'm back. Now what?---

Mike,
Thanks for that clarification from Knopf/ Stefan.
Just shows how "curious"/ strange all the fine print can be.
I guess the reason this info--that ADAD/ Arisa will cover UK-rego bikes--does not appear on Knopf's website, Green Card, is that 90% of ADAC Green Card business originates
from vehicles registered outside Europe; so the question of UK-rego cover simply does not come up that often.
Glad you found a solution, and shared this option for other UK-rego riders.

Cheers, CourtFisher. I just want to add that Polly from MotoCamp has just got back to me also to confirm that

"this is regular EU green card and it is available for British bikes too"

which puts my mind further at ease! Worth comparing prices but good to know they both offer this service.

Now to get to work on dragging my UK insurers into the 21st century....

__________________
www.BesideTheSeaside.eu
---I'm back. Now what?---

There are some insurance brokers who specialise in cover for UK registered vehicles in Spain, Portugal etc, and i used one a few years ago whilst i was working on a contract in Southern Spain when my UK insurer came up with the same 90 day nonsense. Third party was of course included for 12 months within the EU, but comprehensive not.
I was covered for a van, but the company i used (www.abbeygateinsurance.com ) will cover cars, bikes, boats, etc, so it might be worth contacting them or similar companies to enquire. The cover that i had included an annual Green Card, so covered me for travel much further afield in Europe had i needed it.
J

As I understand the situation across Europe, insurance companies based in countries that are members of the EU have to comply with an EU requirement (law?) to provide a minimum of "green card" cover that is valid in any country in the EU, therefore including the UK.
That does not mean that they cannot charge a premium for providing a service, but that is where the customer has to shop around.

There are some other countries that are not yet members of the EU, but want to join, that are signatories to an international agreement (I don't know the name of that) which brings them inside this requirement - this is all part of the politics of trying to join the EU and there are many other examples of how individual countries need to align their national laws etc to comply with the minimum standards of the EU.
For example, the latest country to fall into line with this insurance aspect is Serbia.

The problem with the UK, it seems to me, is that it is an island (obviously) and the majority of vehicle insurance taken out here will never be used abroad, except for the annual two/three week holiday to the continent by families. In addition, it is "comprehensive insurance" a rather strange concept when you think about it which equates to a "I am never in the wrong mentality" by which I mean when I do make mistakes then there is no come-back on me.

That is the market which, logically, the insurance companies and brokers are used to dealing with and that is where they make their money - probably a case of 90% of the profits coming from 97% of the clientel, so providing a service to the minority is basically a PITA.
Nevertheless, this EU requirement applies to all insurance for the green card cover which is 3rd party indemnity basically; that is written on the insurance cover note/certificate and this has been adopted as a means of not having to issue a specific green card. Where the UK insurers let us down is in trying to charge extra for, in their terms, extending this cover beyond the two/three week holiday.
Discussion??

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Dave

Just a bit of information here, not necessarily for the benefit of Mike (the original poster), but certainly for the benefit of anyone from outside Europe who comes along reading this discussion to learn about how to get 'Green Card' insurance coverage within Europe...

'Green Card' insurance issued within Europe for motorcycles from outside Europe - in other words, tourist coverage - is pretty much a fungible commodity, much like 98 octane gasoline. The price is, for the most part, fixed within a very narrow band, because there are only a few underwriters at the very bottom of it all who write this cover.

There are, however, many different resellers who offer this insurance - along with a variety of value-added services, such as going to the local office and fetching it for you, posting it to you in advance, accepting credit cards as payment, and so forth. These value added resellers mark up the price of the basic insurance policy to cover the cost of the services that they add.

For many years, I bought my Green Card coverage in person at an ADAC (German Automobile Association) office. That's the same place that Knopf buys it. Because I was willing and able to buy it in person at the ADAC office, I didn't have to pay the mark-up that Knopf adds in exchange for going and getting the insurance for you and posting it to you.

Several years ago, ADAC increased their prices substantially - perhaps as a result of a run of losses selling this insurance due to claims payouts, etc. Around that time, we all discovered Mototouring in Italy, who were selling the same product for less than ADAC (and, obviously, less than Knopf), and most of us regulars switched to buying from Mototouring.

Remember, what you are buying is, like gasoline, fungible: It's the same thing, no matter where you get it and no matter what you pay for it. It is basic minimum liability insurance for the EU countries plus Switzerland. Unless you need something unique, such as theft coverage or collision coverage (offered by Motorcycle Express), extended country coverage for countries outside of the EC (also offered by Motorcycle Express), or personalized service available by email from overseas (offered by Knopf), just shop for your Green Card based on price. Because, like gasoline, you get the same product regardless of what the name of the vendor (Shell, Esso, Total, Mobil) on the company sign is.

Michael