Trip through the 'Stans'
 

Hi all, four of us (2 from the UK and 2 from the USA) are planning a trip for next year departing from the UK riding through Europe and Turkey as far as Kygyzstan, turning around and coming back via Kazakhstan etc. What sort of insurance would we need and where would we get it from?
My regular travel insurance covers travelling by motorbike (any cc) but that will cover me the rider. How about the bike itself? And insurance to be able to legally ride on the roads in other countries i.e third party cover etc.? Does anyone know if we can get that before we set off or would we need to buy that as we enter each country?
As I mentioned earlier, two of us are from the USA so would they be better off getting insurance from the USA or can they get cover here in the UK before we set off?

We don't really like to plan too much in terms of where we go and where we stay etc. but I feel that we ought to get the paperwork in order before we set off.
I am grateful for any advice you guys can give us.
Cheers
Ron

Hi Ron,
You seem to be talking about two different things here, first travel as in medical insurance it sounds like you have that covered and your bike insurance will have to be bought at each border after you leave the area (EU plus a few others) that your regular bike insurance covers your for.
Your friends from the US will need to get their own travel insurance probably from a US provider and a green card or the latest version of it for their bikes can be got from forum member Dooby if they do not already have that sorted.
Others may be along with more specific advice about individual countries in your itinerary.

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/members/dooby

Thanks very much Mark. Yes, I seem to be talking about two different things. I wondered if there was one policy that covered the bike and rider and third party. It appears not?
Thank you also for info about where my US buddies can get their green card. I'll seek out Dooby.
Cheers
Ron

Hi Ron:

The insurance coverage that is available for out-of-country motorcycles (e.g. a USA plated bike in Europe, or a Europe plated bike in the -stan countries) is limited to liability only. No theft, no injury, no collision... just the minimum legally required third party liability coverage.

For personal medical coverage during international travel, you generally need to get that from an insurer in your home country. It's possible that you could get it from an insurer in a foreign country, but that would be complex and probably far more difficult to arrange than getting it from an insurer in the country you live in. It sounds to me like you have that figured out already.

In western & Central Europe (this means the EC countries, many but not all EC candidate countries, & Switzerland), you can get what is called "Green Card" coverage that is valid in about 20 countries. But once you get into and east of the former Yugoslavian countries, you generally need to buy insurance at the border of each individual country at the time you enter. In many cases (former Yugoslavian countries, Turkey) this is a fairly straightforward and well-understood and well-documented process, but as you get further east, less up-to-date information is available.

If your bikes are UK-plated, it is possible that you might be able to purchase additional coverage from the existing UK insurer to cover liability as far east as the Turkish border. After that, you're on your own at each border crossing.

Michael

That is really helpful, thanks Michael.