Bike insurance for not your bike
 

Hi Guys, brand new to the forum so sorry if this has been asked before.
In heading back to uk for a holiday (uk car licence and Australian bike licence)
I was wanting to use my dads bike while back there.
Does anyone know of a company that will insure me for someone else’s bike while abroad, either Australian (not Shannon’s) or UK ( not Footman James) neither of these offer this insurance.

Cheers

I'd have thought the simplest thing is for your Dad to add you as a named driver on his current policy? - although if you don't have a motorcycle endorsement on your UK car licence, that might be a problem...

Alternatively give Adrian Flux Insurance (brokers) in the UK a call and speak to a human - they can offer a shorty term policy for foreign licence holders on a machine not owned by them - not especially cheap, but will keep you legal while you're there.

Hope that helps...

Jx

I had the same thought: your dad can insure the bike and add you as an additional driver. You might even be covered without adding your name, depending on how things work in the UK; I can lend bike or car to anyone I please and they're covered under my policies. Nut that wouldn't apply if someone was living with me, or driving on a regular basis.

I can't see why you'd need a UK motorcycle endorsement; just use your Australian license. When I drive in the UK I use my US license (and its unlimited motorcycle endorsement, which is a lot easier to get in the US than it is in the UK), just as I do everywhere else in the world. I've had to get local drivers licenses just twice: in Cuba, and in Guyana.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Hi Mark - the issue is that UK insurance companies will ask you for a UK licence number (and typically a number of other questions relating to your driving/claims history) before adding you to an existing UK policy - much the same as if you were taking out a policy yourself.

So if you don't have the motorcycle entitlement on a UK car licence, they won't be able to insure your for a two-wheeled vehicle, only a car - as you need that specific category for the insurance to be valid.

Therefore in Craigy's case, while they would be able to drive their father's [borrowed] car, they wouldn't be allowed to ride his motorcycle as a typical UK insurance company will not insure someone on a privately owned vehicle who doesn't have a UK licence with the correct entitlements...

However, fortunately there is a legitimate option for just such circumstances where a non resident/foreign licence holder is visiting the UK temporarily and wants to borrow a vehicle (rather than rent one in the usual manner through a commercial company) - which is why I suggest they contact a specialist broker such as Adrian Flux, who can offer short term policies for non resident / non UK licence holders, and/or on vehicles not owned by them.

Jx

note. you can of course ride/drive your own vehicle (or rent one) using a foreign licence in the UK - as long as you have a secured a minimum of 3rd party insurance cover from some source, typically an EU provider - it's just you cannot purchase a regular UK insurance policy (or be added to an existing one) without the correct UK licence - rather you have to go via a specialist broker as suggested above.

Thanks, Jmo. I think I'm beginning to get the picture.

I have to say I'm impressed at all the interlocking, multi-layered, Kafka-esque bureaucratic requirements facing UK riders. Of course, you do end up with more-qualified drivers and riders, but still....

Yes - as you may or may not be aware, I am from the UK originally (although a US resident now), and it's something that has always been a problem when friends from the US have visited over the years - certainly compared to the relative ease in which you can insure a vehicle (for multiple users) in the US.

The primary difference [it appears] is the UK insurers base the risk primarily on the actual person/people driving - hence the more stringent requirement for residency and the correct licence category, and the somewhat antiquated assumption that anyone riding/driving in the UK in a UK vehicle must already live there... I guess it's an example of 'island mentality' in that regard.

I would add (for anyone else reading too) that it does seem to be a primarily UK based insurance company issue - mainland Europe (certainly the EU) is generally far more flexible when it comes to offering a policy which insures (for 3rd party coverage at least) across country boarders - ie. vehicles and users which may not have originated in the policy-suppling country - which is particularly handy for International travellers, and why most of the 'green card' insurance people get for travelling in Europe is sourced from Germany or Holland for example.

As a example of a further irony, when I brought my US registered XR650R back home to the UK a few years ago, I had to insure it with a German company initially so I could ride it on UK roads (until all the re-registration paperwork was completed) - even though I was a UK citizen with the correct UK licence!

Hope that helps!

Jx

Just shows that a good way forward would be include a set amount in the cost of fuel sold in the UK and use that to pay for universal third party cover so that no-one would get hit by an uninsured driver / rider. People could then top up to include fire and theft or fully comprehensive as they might wish. Faster cars use more fuel so pay more, pay less if you drive sedately and so use less fuel - the choice is yours.

Thanks for they reply guys.
I’ve tried to get insurance in Aus before I visited…..no go as the bike isn’t mine.
I tried in UK Footman James, who bike was insured with, but again no go as I’m not a UK resident