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Motorcycle Insurance: For a Canadian bike in Europe
Hello All:
I plan to ship my ST1100 to Europe this summer (summer of 2002) for 8 to 12 weeks of travel through Central and Western Europe. I did this last year, and purchased 'temporary' full coverage insurance (liability, theft, comprehensive) for the trip from Motorcycle Express (Michael Mandell) in New York, USA. This insurance coverage met all of my needs and covered every country from the UK to Israel, but it was very expensive - about US$ 600 for two months coverage. This price was actually more than I pay for a full year of the same coverage of insurance in Canada, where I live. I have since spoken to friends in different European countries who have the same motorcycle and risk profile as I do (e.g. the same age, riding experience, etc.) and they also pay, annually, less than US$ 600 for full coverage. Does anyone know of an insurance company in Europe that would be willing to provide full coverage insurance for a motorcycle that is registered in Canada, but operated in Europe? By full coverage, I mean not only liability, but theft and collision coverage. I'm not unhappy with Motorcycle Express - for short term coverage, I'm sure it is more economical to purchase their 'temporary' coverage than it is to look around on one's own. But, if I could find a company in Europe that would be willing to write a policy for me for 3 months, I would be very happy. In fact, if I could find a company that would sell me a whole year's coverage at the same price as they charge a local rider, it would probably be less expensive than buying this temporary coverage here in North America. All responses and suggestions would be appreciated. |
Check this recent post on a company offering vehicle insurance to non-UK residents, maybe of help.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000078.html ------------------ Good luck and safe travels! Susan Johnson Share the Dream at <A HREF="http://www.HorizonsUnlimited.com " TARGET=_blank>www.HorizonsUnlimited.com </A> |
If you send me your "spec's" I'll check out some local company's and let you know the prices.
Maarten |
Hi Maartin:
That would be very kind of you to check for me. Here is the basic information: Bike: 2001 Honda ST1100 ABS (PanEuropean). Clear title, no liens. Plated in Ontario, Canada. Rider: 47 year old male, 30 years motorcycle experience, no accidents or tickets in last 10 years. Canadian Driver's licence and IDP. Currently fully insured in Canada. Insurance Needs: Full coverage (liability, fire, theft, collision, the whole works) for about 3 months, valid in all of Western & Central Europe, also Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. Coverage not needed for Bosnia & Herzegovnia or Jugoslavia (Serbia). Best quote I have found so far for 'temporary' insurance is about US$ 800.- for three months, and this is with a deductable of 20% of the value of the bike. I am hoping I can do better. |
Bad news...
I tried several insurance company's, but not one can make an offer. You need to have a dutch adress to be accepted. I am sorry to dissapoint you. Maarten |
Maartin:
Thanks very much for checking into that for me, that was very kind of you. Do you know if the insurance companies would be willing to insure the bike, with Canadian plates on it, if I did have a legitimate second address in Holland? Michael [This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 22 February 2002).] |
"http://www.downunderinsurance.co.uk will do a policy for tourists in the UK. They definitely fill a gap in the market because trying to get insurance without being resident for years and having a UK address is a nightmare here. Hope this helps. Mike"
I have checked out their site, but don't know what the cost would be. I sent them an e-mail with your details, I'll let you know what they come back with. Susan [This message has been edited by Susan (edited 22 February 2002).] |
Michael, I'll check for that first thing monday... but I have a bad feeling about it becourse a dutch residant is not alowed to drive a foreign registered vehicle... but.. as we say in holland: you never know how a cow catches a rabit.
Maarten |
Micheal and Maarten
I had a freind from NZ ship his bike here to Holland 7 years ago for a trip round Europe. The shipping/clearence agents put him in touch with a company in Doordrecht for insurance which came to 200us for 3 months. Bit pricey, but worth it. However I havnt got a clue which company it was, but I can have a go to find out. Andy |
Hi Andy:
I would be very grateful if you could check and see if this coverage is still available. I paid $600 US for 2 months coverage last summer (2001) so the price your friend paid is not very high by comparison. Michael |
Michael, forget DownUnderInsurance, notwithstanding my earlier post. Here's the response to my e-mail:
Quote:
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Wasn't there a list of companies in Europe by Motorcycle? I don't have my copy with me, but if no one finds any other info I can post it. I do remember that he said it was the cheapest way to go and if you can avoid the American companies.
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Hi Edward:
Thanks for the suggestion - I will try to get the book and have a look. If anyone has the book, and can post the ISBN so I can order one more easily at my bookseller, I would appreciate that. |
Europe by Motorcycle is one of Greg Frazier's books. It's available from him directly through this link: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier/europe.htm
BUT, I am sitting with my copy in front of me, and the only European agency Greg mentions is ADAC. He also lists three US agencies: Sunrise Financial Concepts 800-478-7648 407-865-7995 Fax 407-865-7011 Berglund Insurance 800-537-2555 602-949-1034 Fax 602-994-0321 and Mike Mandell, who you've already been dealing with. "I have purchased my insurance from two different companies and was paying approximately $220 for one month's liability insurance on a 1986 motorcycle from one company and $280 from another. Then I discovered I could walk into any ADAC office in Germany and buy the same coverage for $40.00. Needless to say I quit using the US agencies." Has anyone checked whether ADAC will offer more than just liability insurance coverage? Susan |
Susan:
Thanks for the book info. I think I will go to ADAC in Konstanz, Germany this afternoon and check with them about additional insurance coverage. They are only about a half an hour drive from where I am now. |
Well you only got the info that I was planning on posting, but the ISBN is 0-935151-49-4. I got mine through White Horse Press. I thought there would be more in it though. I'm still reading it here and there.
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I visited the ADAC (German Automobile Association) office in Konstanz on Friday, to find out what kind of insurance they could provide for a Canadian registered motorcycle.
They can only provide liability insurance, and that insurance provides coverage only in the European Community countries and Switzerland. The cost is € 50 a month, with a 12 month limit. Below is a photo of the 'green card' that they provide you with when you purchase the insurance. http://pics.tdiclub.com/members/PanE...ertificate.jpg |
Micheal
Ive turned up nothing on the insurance in Holland. My freind in NZ doesnt have the papers anymore and the people I got in touch with here said you have to sort it out in youre home country. Liabilty only sounds scary. For example; when I lived in the UK I had 4 bikes stolen, so its a question of being very carefull. Andy |
Just for a contrarian view.
We travelled through Europe, Africa and South America from 1996 - 1998 and never had vehicle insurance beyond third party liability. We do have excellent locks on the bike and its panniers and an alarm system, and we always parked the bike close by at night. The only place we felt nervous was Marseilles, because it has a bad rep for vehicle theft. Some brands and models are more susceptible to theft than others, and ours is unusual looking (understatement http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/wink.gif , so I think that helped. Susan |
Well folks, no new news or good news to report. After having spent days researching this myself, and having many friends do the same, I have not found a single company in the world that will provide full coverage insurance, other than American International Underwriters, through their subsidiary companies 'The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania' and 'The New Hampshire Insurance Company'.
This company (AIU) is the company behind the insurance that Motorcycle Express sells, that being the same insurance I bought last year and found very expensive. So, I will go back to Motorcycle Express and buy it again, I guess. But it is really annoying - 3 months full coverage insurance in Europe costs USD 734, and 12 months full coverage insurance in Canada (where the motorcycle is registered) costs me only USD 300! GRRRRR.... |
Michael
Have you considered buying a bike in Europe and selling it when you're finished touring? By the time you add shipping costs in both directions plus insurance, it might be cheaper! See the other post in this forum, which has suggested either Belgium or UK as possible locations to do this: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000178.html Susan [This message has been edited by Susan (edited 02 April 2002).] |
There is a silver lining in every cloud...
Earlier on in this thread, I was complaining that Motorcycle Express (Michael Mandell) was the only company I could find that would provide me with full insurance coverage for Europe. I used this company last year, the service was great (it also was great this year), but the prices for full coverage insurance are not cheap. Well - this year I had a claim - my motorcycle fell into a ditch and landed upside-down. All you dirt-bike riders will probably laugh at me, but when that happens to a large touring bike like a Honda ST1100, the damage costs run to several thousand dollars US to repair. (Picture here.) I sent Gail at Motorcycle Express an email with a JPG photo of the upside-down motorcycle attached, and a quote from the nearest Honda dealer for the repair cost. Within 12 hours, I got an email back from the insurance company authorizing me to go ahead and have the repairs made. No fuss, no "three quotes" crap, just plain old great service with a "how can we get this guy back on the road as fast as we can" attitude, far better than I would have had at home, I'm sure. So, the moral of the story is, the insurance from Motorcycle Express is expensive, but the service from that company is phenomenal. Michael [This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 05 August 2002).] |
Having read through this entire thread, and all others on the BBS, it appears that Motorcycle Express is the only insurer that offers theft/comprehensive. But... it has to be a bike registered in my home country (Canada).
I am planning to buy a new bike in Europe, register it there with a European address, but I am a Canadian citizen, so am not eligible for theft/comprehensive from European insurers. I'd hate to have the bike stolen and be out a large sum of money plus have no way to get around. Help please! It is very risky to gamble with $20k possibly disappearing one night. Does anyone know of an insurer anywhere that will insure a Canadian driving a European registered motorcycle? Thank you |
Quote:
I'm not sure that your presumption (quoted above) is correct. My experience is that if you can have the vehicle registered in country x, then you can obtain insurance in country x as well. In principle, the insurance company does not care about your citizenship. They might care about who issued your drivers licence, but if you can overcome the hurdle of registering the vehicle in a foreign country, then you can probably get a drivers licence from that country as well. FWIW - I continue to leave my moto in Europe, but keep Ontario plates on it. Although the insurance through Motorcycle Express is more expensive than local insurance for a locally registered bike, there are other offsetting advantages, not the least of which is that it is cheaper to buy the moto in Canada than it is to buy it in most European countries. Michael |
Bike Insurance Europe
Contact:
alessie@alessie.com Marie M Alessie Assurantiekantoor Alessie Eliotplaats 174 3068 VL Rotterdam The Netherlands Tel; + 31 10 4 555 946 or 948 Insurance for non European Resident good for all Europe/Russia etc :scooter: |
Moto Insurance - EU and Eastern Europe
Everything I see here is rather dated, much of it archival. Anything recent???
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I suggest you go to this link: Trip Paperwork and browse through all of the 'sticky' posts (posts at the top of the page) in that section - that will probably answer 99% of the questions you have about your planned Eastern European trip. Michael |
Moto Insurance - EU and Eastern Europe
1st - I confess to being a newbie here, and I'm not doing so well finding my way about the HUBB etc. yet. I followed Pan European's links - or tried to - and still found nothing really current.
I understand that Motorcycle Express has stopped selling Euro-cover? I have dealt with Knopf Tours, Heidelberg, for several years where my RT is stored. I'm now in southern Italy (where the weather is hot and the drivers are [I]hotter/I] - under the collar that is), and paid Knopf 380 Euro (almost $600 CAD!) for 30 days full cover - theft & crash included. The crash cover now works in Eastern Europe but not the theft. Likely last time I'll make that 'investment' in a well-used moto from 2012. MotoCamp Bulgaria offers green-card (3rd party) coverage only. On Feb 14 this year they gave me this info: "We are doing green cards for non EU register bikes, only 140EUR for 3 months." Sounds decent ... Is that the lot? cheers, thanx, bier david. |
Lobagola is also providing third party liability as we all range of other services:
Lobagola - EU Green card insurance Lobagola - Motorcycle services Let us know if you need more info at: borderinsurance@lobagola.com Regards Dooby |
David:
The information in the discussion I referred you to (Here is where you get the cheap European green card insurance) is fully up-to-date. There may not have been a lot of new posts on that discussion in the last little while, but that's only because nothing has changed lately. I'm not aware of anyone who offers any insurance other than the "minimum legal requirement" of 3rd party liability. Many years ago, Motorcycle Express used to offer European insurance with an option for collision, theft, etc., but it was quite expensive. I'm not sure if they still offer this product. You mentioned that you bought full coverage from Knopf for €380 a month - that's about what Motorcycle Express used to charge back around 2005, adjusted for inflation over the years. Legally, all you need is the 3rd party liability - the so-called 'green card'. There are numerous vendors who offer this product. What you get is identical from every vendor, so, make your decision of which vendor to use based on their reputation and their price. So far as theft is concerned, unless you plan to park in dodgy areas, I would not be too concerned about that. So far as collision (self-inflicted damage due to accidents), you'll just have to self-insure for that. Hope this information assists you. Michael |
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