uk residency
 

Insurance is looking like being a real problem. Basically live in OZ, am coming to the UK to travel around for about 12 months. Buying bike over there to use.
No one will insure me because I am not a UK resident.

My question is I am not the only one in this situation so what have other visitors done to get their bike insurance?

Cheers
Wilky

I was in the same predicament recently and had to cancel my trip due to the unavailability of insurance. Unfortunately, the compulsory third party insurance over in the UK is not included in the rego as is the case over here in OZ. So you have to buy the insurance separately and no one will touch you as a non resident.

It is totally absurd, but that's how it is or at least that is what I found out through my enquiries over some 4 months.

If you ship your own bike into the UK the story is different. There are some european companies that will insur you. If I am wrong and you come across any insurance company that will provide the basic insurance, please let me know.:nono::thumbdown:

Arisa
 

Arisa provide the basic third party for Europe including the UK.

See here for the cheapest way to get it.
Stephan

I have emailed Arisa and I am waiting for their response.

Incidentally, Knopf Tours mentioned in one of the other threads do not provide the required cover for UK if the bike is registered in the UK. They provide cover only if you ship in your own foreign registered bike. I have an email from them confirming this.

Well, Stefan Knopf provides the same Arisa insurance (acting as the middle-man) so then it might be the case that the Arisa insurance is not appropriate in your case.

Surely there are numerous current visitors to the UK, e.g. from eastern Europe who are driving UK-bought vehicles. What do they do? What is the definition of a 'resident' for the UK insurance industry? Does it mean having an address in the UK or a certain kind of visa?

Hope you manage to find a solution. :(
Stephan

It seems that having an address in the UK is not helping resolve the issue, as I offered all insurance companies and brokers that particular option. Therefore, it appears to me that you need to be a proper resident, ie have the appropriate status with the appropiate visa.

Will keep looking.

Cheers:(

Try this lot, they may just be able to help you:-

Camper Van Insurance and Motor Vehicle Insurance

They specialise in campervan insurance for Australians and New Zealanders coming to the UK, so they may know for bikes.

Otherwise:

• Do you have a friend in the UK?
• Would they be willing to put their name on the registration of your bike?
• Would they also be willing to insure it with you as a named rider?

Which might well work, I just tried it as an online quote with:-

Bennetts Motorcycle Insurance, Motorbike Insurance, Moped, Scooter, Bike

who were the first on the list for Google and put in me at my old UK address as owner and first rider with a UK licence and it was £99 for a GS1200 Adventure, I then put in my cousin at the same address with an international licence and it was still do-able although it did leap to £261.

But they were the first people I Googled "UK Bike Insurance" so you might get better.

Call don't mail, this lot are Muppets. You can put whatever you like on the online form and it'll just ignore the bits it doesn't like. When your policy comes through you'll find vital bits missing. Give them a call then and it's "but we don't do that cover Sir". Your money comes back in about 2 months :frown:

Carole Nash are the other big online In-Sewer-Ants. They are Waldorf to Bennetts Statler!

Andy

Ok fellow sufferers from the hands of insurers, I am getting there. Give me a day or two and hopefully I will post the identity of at least one insurer who will cover visitors to the UK on a temporary basis. It only took me 5 months to get to this point but may be it was worth it for the sake of helping all other adventurer like me.:thumbup1::mchappy:

Thanks, Alexlebrit. Unfortunately, the Campervan insurers don't insur motorcycle in the UK. I have contacted Bennetts with my query in the past but with no success.

As to the option of named rider, although I have considered it, have been trying to solve the problem without it. In any event, the person in whose name the insurance policy is to be issued needs to have a rider's licence too.

I have also heard about special arrangements being made with dealers. For example, if there is a buy back arrangement, the dealer keeps nominal ownership of the motorbike and you ride it until you resell the bike to the dealer.

Although from a distance most dealers will agree to such arrangements, you never know what actually happens once you get there.

Because of these uncertainties, I have not pursued these kinds of options.

As a general note, I know I am preaching to the converted, but having worked with insurers for many years, I know that insurance policies are issued on the basis of "risk".

The risk is the same whether one rents a bike or buys a bike. In fact, if you own the bike you would look after it better than if you are simply renting it.

Therefore, if in my view the porblem is absurd.

Hopefully, I will be able to locate an insurer soon. Have been narrowing down the "target".:D

Ok. Here it is. The only positive feedback I have received so far is Italsure.

Details are as follows: Italsure, the email address is insur@italsure.com

The contact person there is Oliver Thornton and his telephone number is 44 2071178283.

I am still looking and if I come across any other insurers I will post it here.

Try it and see
 

Try this:-
eBike Insurance - Bike and Classic Bike Insurance from eBike Insurance

It is a fully automated system of getting ins, based online only.
I have just tried it (I am insured with them anyway) and it seemed to be OK for quoting me to insure another bike.
What you need is an address in the UK: it does not ask you how long you have been here etc.
Where it asked about my driving licence (in the blurb it says that only a UK or EU licence is acceptable) it actually offers an option for an international licence, so that was my choice; it did not ask me any more.

I went as far with my new quote to get past the bit about the rider and start filling in the details about the bike: from memory of my current ins, this is straight forward and needs to be a bike that is registered in the UK (perhaps also the EU, I don't know on that point).

Good luck, in this day and age someone must offer insurance!!

ps You can't talk to anyone with this insurance quote even if you want to, until it is accepted - they don't give you a telephone number until then. So you just have to answer the questions online "creatively" without lying.

I have contacted ebike as well. I have received an email from them confirming that they will not insure a non UK resident.

Dont sweat the "resident" thing. Just buy insurance over the internet, use a credit card.

There are millions and I mean millions of illegal immigrants in the UK who dont have a clue about road tax or insurance and just drive around totally unaware of the requirement - much to the disgust of the locals.

If you buy a bike from a dealer's, just tell em to insure it for you in the purchase price.

As long as you have a UK address for items to be posted too its easy. If you get stuck I can give you some info about driving licence numbers if that is a requirement. Age can be a drama - same as in Aus, 1000cc bike and under 21 you have no chance.

A lot of UK insurers will even recognise Australian no claims bonuses - well for campervans anyway.

BTW you get the legal minimum insurance in any EU country (plus a few others in EU zone of influence - Norway) that you travel through - you dont have to have a Greencard. Although the GC gives you the same insurance cover as you have in the UK.

Just do it!!
 

Don't bother "talking" to them, just get a quote from them in the way I describe - you don't have to pay until you are happy with the quote.

No one here is trying to define "residency" I notice - the tax man in the UK has a definition: you don't want to get into that!! :rolleyes2:

ps Here's a database of addresses to get a quote (you still need a "real" one for the actual ins):
Search for People, Businesses and Maps - 192.com
BTW, if you get a quote for, say, London, it will probably cost more than other bits of the UK.

RogerM has it right BTW.

I can't apply for a quote on line because I don't have the bike details yet. I also have to think about what might happen in the unfortunate event of an accident. I don't want to give the insurance company any excuse to avoid the policy in the event of an accident.

As Italsure is willing to issue cover, that appears to be the safer option at this stage, although it is quite an expensive one.

Norwich Union have also confirmed in writing that they would cover me, but when you try to obtain a quote on line on their website, one of the conditions is that you must be a resident of UK (from memory you must have resided in the UK for at least 12 months).

I have contacted some dealers too in the UK about this insurance business, but they seem to have no clue whatsoever about it.

Incidentally, I was reading an article yesterday in which it was reported that uninsured driving in the UK has reached epidemic proportions.

Ebike don't ask about the residency thing
 

Ozzie,
Try a quote for a Suzuki GSXR750, 2008 model, registration KY08YLO.
(It belongs to the MCN - a bike newspaper; you can make them an offer for it! Worth about £8200).
Alternatively, look on ebay for the details of a bike that you want to buy and get a quote for that one.

That should prove if you can get a quote; if you have a quote, then you have satisfied their system of questions, therefore the ins would be valid.

Most if not all dealers in the UK are hopeless: spotty faced kids who don't know what day it is and have no decision-making authority, or some "faceless" business guy who is a professional salesman: this week bikes, next week cars ........

Yes, illegal everything is the name of the game in terms of vehicles etc etc.
Those who are legally on the road are paying for it via increased insurance premiums.

There has to be a business opportunity here for some enterprising bike riding, car driving, campervan sleeping Brit to offer an address service for buying insurance - 30 quid for re-addressing a letter or two? Its gotta be cheaper than all the farting around that goes on at present.

I see a great niche market for any enterprising mind to start a new insurance company just to cover visiting riders.

Bike insurance for OZ people
 

Seeing as I started this thread aways back I have been following it with interest. I now have an inbox full of rejection letters but maybe a wee bit of a break through.

I received this from Alessie, (and I hope this doesn't cross any confidentiality borders,

quote
"We are able to offer you Third Party Liability insurance valid for Europe and all countries of Africa at a premium of Euro 1414,- for a period of 12 months.
We can understand that you would prefer to have full coverage for a new Triumph Tiger; however, we cannot yet be sure that we shall be able to offer this type of insurance, since the model is on the "ineligible list" of the particular company that is willing to offer full coverage for motorcycles.

We shall have to send a completed application to our underwriters and ask them to consider this as an "exception". There is always a chance that they will accept.
Un Quote

How does this rate compare to what some of you folks in the UK/EU or further a field have been able to get.

At least I know my plans are still on track.
Cheers
Wilky
Down Under Down Under

Dont know if they still exsist but mitchel and partners a london based firm used to be very good, they might be worth a try.

As far as non residents driving in the UK the sad fact is that a large percentage are doing so illegally. great when they crash into you.

I wouldnt cancel a trip because of this just join the masses if all else fails dont bother with insurance. buy a good lock and ride safe.

Its a real shame that we dont use your system with the third party cover as standard it would save a lot of trouble.

Wilky, check well with Alessie giving them all details. I received a negative response from them for my own scenario, which was an Aussie buying a bike in the UK and riding within the UK borders and not continental Europe. Your situation might be different.

In any event, I have now received confirmation from Italsure that they will insure me (too late I am afraid, I will tour OZ instead this year).

Cheers

Still insurance
 

The subject of insurance just keeps getting weirder. This is the response from Italsure.

Quote,
We have a US scheme that would work for you as a non-European however it will not work for a European reg bike. The people we have who take it up usually ship their bikes. The alternative is someone like Adrian Flux in the UK, but you will not get the period cover from them.

If you decide to ship a bike, the AIU scheme would be US$2,912 for the year, this would take you down to Morrocco (and possibly Western Sahara, is that not still technically Morocco. From there that will be border liability insurance and we can get excess if that concerns you.

The only alternative is an AXA travellers scheme that is 3rd party only and very expensive at about $2,100.

Un quote

It looks like we will run with Alessie.

Has anyone tried Adrian Flux?

Cheers
Wilky
2 Months to go and then we are off to West Australia on the first leg of our possibly RTW journey.

Adrian Flux and Carole Nash always seem to be the best brokers over here. Id guess if anyone can find a policy to cover you then they will.

cheaper
 

Hi Wilky,

I was looking into the prices of doing exactly what your looking to do back in 2003. At the time it was cheaper for me to buy the bike in Aus and get it shipped by sea to Europe. Then get the bike shipped back to Aus at the end. It was easier and cheaper especially given the exchange rate at the time (1AUD = £0.38).

It seemed at the time completely stupid. When I eventually got over here some bloke told me that insurance companies bound by some organisation would/could only insure EU citizens and residents. I'm not 100% sure if its true or not. Additionally Check the republic of ireland some of the insurance companies there are easy going and they speak english too (which I assume helps).

Regards,

Jimmy.

Hi guys,

I am yet another aussie in exactly the same position! I am riding around Europe this Northern summer on a bike I have bought in the UK.

However I have emailed Stefan at Knopf Tours about whether the green card insurance he provides covers the UK, and he has assured me that it definitely does. This was both a few months ago before I bought the bike and last week when I was organising the insurance. I questioned him specifically about a bike bought in the UK by an Australian, and again he reassured me.

Confusing, might be worth checking with Stefan again.

Note this only for green card insurance and not comprehensive/theft/fire etc.

Hope it works out,
Damien

Guys, I know it might sounds weird, but it seems to me that if you buy a bike in the UK and ride within the UK and not also continental Europe, getting the basic legally required third party insurance (the quivalent of our CTP in OZ) is much more difficult. It looks like the key to the problem is to obtain cover as if you are going to tour Europe regardless as to whether or not you are going to do it.

I can see the logic!! ..........
 

.............+ the logic of the earlier post about Knopf ins cover: if you are asking for ins cover to ride in the EU this must include the UK, always, IMO because it would be illegal to exclude the UK under Euro law (I am no lawyer, but I bet that is the case - there are loads of instances where nations try to avoid/ignore European law, one of the worst offenders being France).

But, on the other hand, if you are dealing with UK based brokers (and not the insurers because they rarely, if ever, deal directly with Joe Soap public nowadays) then you will get someone or other on the end of the phone who does not know what day it is, nor cares frankly because they are employed in a call centre on a temporary contract.
All of this applies to the basic EU requirement for "third party" cover - the legal minimum to put a bike on the road.

I cant agree with your anti French sentiments here Dave - it's just not true. I'm sorry you feel that foreigners are somehow inadequate, or stupid, for example in your repeated anti Irish and anti Polish jokes elsewhere on the forum. Horizons could be said to be about about leaving such attitudes behind...

Buen viaje

No, that one is actually true, there are more cases of France ignoring European Directives than any other EU state, it's one of the things I like about living here to be honest.

Nice one Axel!!!!!!LOL

Alex, it's ALEX, why does everyone on here apart from Matt keep calling me Axel, and it's the same on the recumbents forum, what is it can't you lot read !!!!!

It's Alex ;)

Sorry caught me on a ranty day as I've spent the last five minutes explaining to the woman from Orange that my name is spelt R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S.