In general, when renting a motorcycle (out of Munich) for a tour of the alps, does the renter have any legal cover. I was told by a rental firm in England that their "legal cover" portion of insurance does not cover non-residents. As Canadians renting in the UK for 10 days and then out of Munich for 10 days, this is a concern. The UK rental firm (Hunts) suggested I look into some sort of travel insurance. Any advice ??

Your rental agency should provide green card insurance for lots of countries in Europe regardlesss of the rider. (ours did 2 years ago, we're Aussies). You'll need this with some border crossings (eg into Bosnia)

Your rental should have insurance for your bike damage - even if it only kicks in over say 2,000 Euro. To cover the gap rental agencies usually charge you an extra insurance premium or your could check out the 'liability waiver' insurance on your credit card.

Personal coverage is also known as 'travel insurance' - choose a policy that covers worldwide motorbike riding (most don't). I used Aussie Travel Cover underwritten by Allianz for my lats trip.

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What is the green card ? Does it show that only the bike has insurance on it?

My concern is getting involved in a mishap and having to face some legal action in a foreign country.

Try these people: TourInsure - the specialist for international automobile insurance

They emailed back to me in Australia within a couple of hours, which impressed me!

Cost for 1 month motorcycle insurance was Euro208, liability cover only (i.e. not bike cover for accident or theft).

HTH
David

BTW, this thread over on UKGSer is how I found out about them: Legally riding a foreign bike through Europe - What is required? - ::. UKGSer.com .::

Mark,

You don't specify what cover you mean.

Any vehicle legally registered in the EU has third party liability insurance. This covers any driver under all circumstances. Any further cover for the bike itself will be very expensive, but check with the rental co.

For yourself, as pointed out earlier, get travel insurance that covers biking.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

I do not know if this helps but I will add my bit.

I am a UK citizen but live in Denmark.
In the summer of 2009 I bought a bike on E-Bay UK. I had it couriered to my brothers house and registered it in my name to his address as I was using it to ride from the UK to Italy and back to Denmark.

I decided it to do it the "Honest" way and tell the insurance companies what the situation was. None of them, either in Denmark or the UK would help me.

In the end I arranged the insurance and breakdown insurance online, using my brothers address and not mentioning the complications.

This was as legal as I could possibly get it but all of the online applications clearly state you need to be a UK resident for at least 2 years before you get insurance. But it does not say immediatley prior to the insurance period starting. I was splitting hairs, but it would be a point to argue.

As for the breakdown part of the cover. Had I broken down and need dragging home I did not need to return to the UK but to Denmark. Luckily that problem did not arise.

If there is a legal way of doing this which includes riding the bike out of the UK, I would love to hear it.

Steve

This is NOT correct for the UK. You can buy and register a bike/car in UK and not have any insurance to ride/drive it. When you do insure it, it does NOT automatically insure any rider/driver.

When you rent a car/bike in UK it will have legal insurance for the person(s) named at the time of hire, not for anyone else.

Interesting. I was under the impression that this violates EU rules. No wonder people find it difficult to get green cards from UK insurers.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

It's actually simpler than Beddist et al say. In the UK when you buy insurance it will cover you and anyone else named on the policy. In other EU countries eg Spain, cover is automatically given to any driver though there may be an age limit e.g. no one under 40.

In the event that a motor vehicle (car, bike etc) is involved in an accident in the UK and there is no insurance cover for that vehicle (e.g. because none was taken out or there has been a breach of a policy condition by the insured entitling the insurer not to provide insurance cover) then so far as the victim is concerned he/she will still receive compensation. This is EU law. It either comes from the insurer who issued the policy in the first place or if there was never a policy at all it comes from the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB). So every innocent motor accident victim always receives compensation. However the person responsible has to give an indemnity to the insurer or the MIB for the sums paid out. So, if you for example have a house or other valuable asset that can be sold to reinburse the insurer or the MIB. So leaving aside the morality/legality of using a motor vehicle without insurance, if you're involved in an accident it will cost you and potentially for the rest of your life. And they will pursue you too.

Q

I don't know about the UK, but I do know how it works in Germany. Like I told you on the phone you cannot rent a vehicle in Germany without also getting third party liability by default. Comprehensive is different but I believe it was included in both offers, Motogreek and Allroundrent. One had a 2.000€ the other a 1.500€ deductible if I remember correctly. Usually you're covered in all of Europe - my insurance gives me all of Continental Europe, the UK, Iceland, and the European part of both Turkey and Russia. Just make sure to ask for your Green Card when picking up the motorcycle, but I'll be there to help you with that

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