Buying bike in UK and insuring is as a non-resident?
 

Hi All,

Being rude here and jumping right, in but this is an emergency and from the other posts, this looks like a question that needs answering for others...

Is there an insurance company in the UK (or elsewhere) that insures a UK bought bike for a non-resident?

We will be touring Europe for 2 months on Vespas (http://www.internetscooter.com/europe/), we have got the scooters in the UK ready to register, and have just found out the insurance is almost impossible! (10 years ago it was no problem at all)

So is there anyone that knows of a insurance company that will cover my wife and I? (we leave next week)

Cheers,

Paul

Note:
* I have tried Alessie but they will not insure a bike in the country that it is registered (and in the UK you can’t register without insurance)
* There may be an option where someone else insures the scooters under there name but I would not prefer to impose on my friends that way.

Hi there,
I had a similar problem last year. I suggest getting it registered, thru a friend or a shop or yourself. Forget about getting insurance in UK. Its quite ridiculously impossible to get one if u are not a UK resident. Just get Green Card insurance from Germany (ADAC- €22 per month), either when u get there or thru a friend in germany or if u dont mind paying extra, through Knoff Tours.
I rode uninsured till Germany, and then got the Green Card Insurance. (Couldnt help it since getting insurance proved difficult and extremely silly, since its a legal requirement to have 3rd party insurance.)Hope it helps. Alternatively You might find a UK company to insure u but u have to pay for a whole year and you are only allowed 2 months coverage in Europe. Expensive and only 2 months coverage for outside UK. Which didnt suit me, as i was only riding the bike a few weeks in UK and needed insurance for Europe.
Good luck and enjoy ur travels
Dalbir

Thanks for the info - I think that I am set now... get someone else to register it and top it up their insurance with our own.

I will know 100% for certain next week, so I will follow up with a "technote" on the subject and post it in the "buying a bike in europe?" dicussion.

Just phoned my UK insurers.

They'll insure a non-UK resident as long as:

1.The bike is UK registered & is road legal.

2.The insured person has a UK residential address.

3.The insured has passed the bike test in their own country & has an IDP (Int'l Driving Permit, preferably issued in their home country)

4.You'll need to tell them you're staying for 12 months minimum.

Link: http://www.masterquote.co.uk/mitch/

Thanks...

Norwich Union also told me the same thing, so now I have a few options...

http://www.norwichunion.com/nud/

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

Just an update – I have been and done the trip and posted all the info regarding insurance etc at http://www.internetscooter.com/europe/

The quick rundown:
- I got a friend to register the scooters in his name
- insurance for the UK was done through Norwich Union with our names as named drivers (which was OK by them)
- Europe insurance was done through www.knopftours.com (mainly to protect my friends no claims bonus, we could have done that through Norwich Union to)
- When we finished the tour we cancelled the Norwich Union policy (and sold the scooters) and got a refund

Thanks for everyone’s help!

Is this still best way to buy and insure (post brexit)?
 

Is this still the best/only way to buy a bike in UK and insure?

I'm a UK citizen but have been expat for 10+ years. In the past I've always just used a friends UK address to keep my drivers licence 'alive', register and insure bike.

But since my last bike in 2018, I've seen a number of forum posts claiming that Insurance companies are checking if true residency and denying claims which could be financially painful post incident.

Obviously using a UK resident friend to register and insure with you as named rider is one step closer to truth but might be more tricky if post-brexit European (or further afield) border checks try and match names with documents.

Anyone found any insurance companies that actually understand what a global citizen looks like or other work-arounds, especially post-Brexit?

Cheers

I am not sure how they would show that you are not resident, in some countries you have to be official resident on some or other register or officially out of the country but in the UK we come and go as we please and don't have to tell anyone, if you have motoring related and perhaps other paperwork going to one address that seems enough unless I am missing something.
I don't think Brexit will have any bearing on your question as rules around residency are different from one EU country to another anyway, the UK always seemed more relaxed than others.

Assuming your situation is a simple one of flying in and using your bike in the UK, have a look here, courtesy of Google, https://www.google.com/search?q=uk+m...e+non-resident

UK (non) Residency and Insurance
 

Thank you both for replies. I have spoken with suggested insurers and many other brokers and insurers. With one exception they all said they would not cover for motorcycles a UK citizen currently non-resident. One bike insurer did after much searching quote me gbp2300 for third party only on a gbp8000 bike value. Not great but at least it is doable. The residency test on the DVLA is may not be as strict and well defined as the HMRC (tax office) but it is clear enough that plays into the hands of a well resourced insurance claims team and lawyer post incident. Certainly asking up front they say "no" unless you are substantially living in UK in previous 12 months or next 12 months.

It seems that getting a UK friend to register bike and insure then adding expat as named rider is still the best way to go at this stage, as described in earlier posts.

Old post but same questions:

Isn't there a risk to your UK Friend for registering the bike in their name, and insuring you on their bike? If you were to get into an accident and use the insurance, doesn't that go on their record, and possibly increase their insurance rates?

A friend could buy a bike in their name and insure somebody else as a named rider. However... the named rider cannot be the main rider and if there is an insurance claim the insurers would investigate who mostly uses the bike. They call it "fronting" and it invalidates the insurance. Invalid insurance has a number of implications in the UK, one being that the bike is seized by the police and impounded, and you have to buy a special and very expensive policy to release it. Another is that it's an offence carrying a big fine and 6 points for both rider and owner. Last but not least the owner would have to declare to any future insurer that they had had a policy cancelled, making getting future insurance impossible or at least very expensive.