Do I still need UK Insurance while travelling?
 

Me and my bike are UK registered. My UK insurance is pretty astronomical.

I'll be leaving the EU about 4 months into a 12 month policy and not returning until well after it finishes (hopefully). Can I safely cancel that policy since it no longer provides anything to me, and it will give me back about £500.

The only concern is that UK bikes "must be insured and taxed" but I won't be in the UK at all during that time.

Confused as to whether I need the insurance to keep DVLA happy and not exiling my bike.

Apologies if this has already been covered somewhere but there's no easy thing to search for.

You can cancel your insurance after you have left the EU and sorn it on the same day or a couple of days before, I tell the DVLA it is stored at home, nobody checks. If you are away when your MOT expires you will have to transport the bike home when reaching the UK rather than ride it.

Isn't there an option to provide ADAC version of MOT while on the road somewhere out of EU/UK? I think I saw something about this option somewhere ...

Cheers
Dooby

It would be interesting to know if this is possible although I expect the test would be a lot tougher, I did see an Australian had a British MOT accepted to renew his Aussie registration from the UK.

The EU regulations on vehicles in circulation states that all vehicles in circulation must conform to the roadworthiness regulations of the country of registration. So whilst you are in the EU your bike must have an MOT if required, be insured to a minimum of third party ( civil responsibility) and for the U.K. the appropriate tax must have been paid. As soon as you leave the EU your EU insurance will lapse unless you have a policy which covers the countries you are visiting. Your MOT remains valid until it expires.

Seeing it is unlikely you can plan an exact date for leaving the EU it can be tricky planning cancellation dates. Also remember as soon as your bike comes back into the EU ( overland) , you must pre arrange insurance to a minimum of third party, you can't buy insurance at an EU border. Most insurance companies will insist on seeing your registration document, driving licence, and a valid MOT cert before they will issue Insurance. This might be difficult to do, so careful planning about re- entry should be on you list if you want to remain legal. Re-insuring your bike should be done through a U.K. broker issuing a green card ( electronic or paper) because other EU countries won't insure vehicles not registered in their own country.

You can cancel your insurance on-line or by skype after leaving the EU and declare sorn at the same time. I have never been asked to see any documents when taking out insurance so taking it out again should not be a problem, they will want to see them if a claim is made. The problem the OP has is the MOT if he plans to ride the bike back, even that can be got around by booking an MOT at the nearest station to the ferry port then renewing tax on-line assuming it passes. https://www.gov.uk/make-a-sorn

Cheers for all the info guys.

Seems the consensus is I can just declare SORN, which I suppose is technically correct, since it is "off of the road"s the DVLA cares about ;)

If it's SORN then it doesn't need insurance and it provides me with nothing anyway!

I'm not even thinking about the MOT since it's almost guaranteed to be expired when I return, but I have no plans for where or when this trip even ends so it won't be my biggest concern. I'll likely be shipping from somewhere to get home so I can have it transported onwards in the crate to somewhere I can sort it all out.

Does it need tax though? I know it's not a "Road tax" it's more emissions based, but do I need to continue paying it to keep it registered as a UK bike?

No it stays registered with the DVLA indefinitely and that is what SORN is for, when it is not taxed and off the road. Bike tax is not emission based but purely on engine size unlike cars.

Ah of course, the SORN is the tax exemption, completely blanked that one.

Sweet, there's an extra £600 to spend on the trip ;)

Thanks all.