Green card for Morocco - explain please
 

I was going to get insurance at the border for Morocco but will EU insurance work? I don't think my insurance company will specifically cover Morocco as it's out of Europe.

What is a greencard - is this just a cover letter saying I have temporary EU insurance?

I'd check your insurance company won't cover you. Neither my car insurer (Direct Line) or my bike insurer (Carole Nash) batted an eyelid when I asked to be covered for Morocco. Not much of a premium increase either. Morocco ain't in the EU so I'd be surprised if your standard insurance covered it without an extra premium.

Otherwise you can buy insurance at the border. I'd rather go with my own insurer personally though, not convinced a Moroccan cover would be worth the paper it was written on!

A greencard is your certificate of insurance for coutries other than your home country. Most insurers don't bother with them now, just having a paragraph on your insurance certificate saying 'this certificate takes the place of a greencard...' which is a pain in the butt as customs officials often want to see a green piece of paper!

Matt :)

Greenie cards and insurance
 

Your own insurance will work for you, if your insurance company will provide the cover for the country in question.
I believe that many, many UK insurance companies will not do this for Morocco - as you say, they are not part of Europe, which is the usual limit of cover by UK based insurers.
But, as a rule, that European cover is for the basic requirement (more or less 3rd party cover) specified by the EU authorities (I guess if the insurance companies did not have to provide this by law, then they wouldn't!)
i.e. if you have comprehensive insurance on your bike, the European cover will be for 3rd party only.

This thread seems pretty good at explaining Green cards:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-morocco-14409

Check recent threads about the Ceuta border: there have been a few problems there recently.

Green cards, insurance at Ceuta
 

Some UK insurance companies will provide a green card covering Morocco for a small fee. CIS, NFU, Drect Line. You'll probably only get third party cover, though.

The insurance office at the Ceuta border crossing is closed. Customs are letting folk through.

You can get insurance at Fnideq (the first town after the border)
LES ASSURANCES SAIDIA DU NORD SARLES SAADA
117 avenue Mohammed V
Fnideq
Tel +216 39.97.62.22

Regards,

Jojo

I checked with my insurer - motorcycle direct and they cannot cover me. If you can get through the border OK is there any point getting insurance elsewhere in Morocco since it sounds like it's worthless anyway.
My cover letter says 'foreign travel - covered' but does not give a list of countries should I just bring this?

Not entirely worthless, what you are covering is third party. If you hurt anyone you will be covered. There are plenty of police on the roads and they are really clamping down on speeding. I doubt you will be stopped as they leave bikers alone. If you do get stopped they are likely to check your papers. The speed limits in town is 40 kph and that can extend out the town limits where there are no houses and it is tempting to go a bit faster. I got stopped in a 40 limit for speeding and the old bill was easy and above board. When the police have set up a check point, slow down they normally wave you past, I just give them a wave and sometimes you get a salute back.

The rules of the road are different to what you are used to so take it easy, forget "right of way", you are just sharing the road with others. Hopefully you will have a couple of scares to prove the point. Not trying to put you off but some riders learn the hard way.

Have a good time.

Steve

Why is it worthless? Is this because you perceive Morocco to be backward and that European society is better in every respect??

It's a legal requirement that you have third-party cover. This is to cover injuries/death to other people and damage to other vehicles if you are to blame. This is exactly the same as European third-party cover (which is all many green cards provide).

If you are stopped for any reason by the police one of the things you will be expected to produce is a valid third-party insurance certificate.

why insurance is worth it...
 

Also, if you have Moroccan Insurance, it's not your problem any more... Basically, if you manage to hit a child who runs out into the road, then you will only spend a few days in jail rather than maybe a few years... - Everyone will be able to see that you have the correct documents, in the form that they expect, and it is then an issue between the person you injured and the Moroccan insurers - rather than being you that they are sueing - which would mean that you couldn't leave the country until it was all sorted out...

And even if your own insurance says they will cover you for Morocco I'd recommend having either a translation (into French at least) or getting a letter at the border confirming that the insurance document is valid... It's not much work/cost for a possible big benefit...

I've personally benefited from having bought the proper insurance - was in a Land Cruiser rental camper in Oz which got rolled - the company just asked if we wanted them to send out a new one "did ya roll it over, or over and over?" - bargain!

Tony

Carol Nash offer a Green Card that is fully comp. I think they quoted me 40 squid for 30 days cover