Hello All:

I've been buying 'Green Card' insurance to cover my Canadian plated motorcycle in Europe for the past 14 years.

I started - back at the turn of the century - with ADAC in Germany, at about €22 a month. That was great while it lasted, but the price went up to well over €100 a month, and a few years later, they refused to insure the same moto again (in consecutive years) unless you provided proof that you had imported it into Europe very recently.

I then switched over to MotoTouring in Milan, and bought insurance from them for a few years - it was (and still is) fairly expensive, but that was OK until their service deteriorated. Stuff didn't get mailed on time, they closed for weeks of holidays during peak riding season, etc. So, scratch them off the list.

I once bought insurance from Ivo, who runs the campground in Bulgaria. The price was very low, and I think Ivo provides this coverage as a courtesy to visitors to his campground, but it is really not his primary business.

Now, I'm buying my European green card insurance from Dooby, the HUBB member who wrote the post directly above this one. Dooby runs a very nice upscale B&B in Zagreb that caters to the bicycle and motorcycle touring crowd. Recently, he expanded his business offerings to include providing motorcycle insurance to visitors from outside Europe. The price is reasonable, the service is very professional, and best of all, he's an active member of our HUBB community.

Here's the link to the page on his website where you can find out all you need to know (prices, forms to fill out, countries covered, etc.): Lobagola - Border insurance

I was very pleased with the service I received from him last year when I bought my coverage, and intend to buy insurance from him again this coming year. Plus, I am told he will buy you a free coffee at his B&B if you stop by and show him your insurance form...

Michael

i have a question for anyone who has bought green card insurance (liability only) from Tourinsure recently

Can you confirm whether the cover extends to non-EU countries and if so which countries?

Hi Rob:

My experience with all the different organizations I have bought insurance from in the past 15 years (see post #226 above) is that they all sell the same thing, which is insurance that covers the EC countries (including some of the 'EC candidate' countries) plus Switzerland. See this web-page for a list of the countries covered: click here.

If you plan to visit the former Yugoslavian countries, you can buy coverage as you enter each country. See post #213 above for a link that will take you to a post I made that explains Yugoslavian insurance in great detail.

Michael

PS: If this is your first time touring in Europe, you probably won't be visiting the countries that are not covered... heck, you could spend the entire summer riding in the countries that are covered (plus the former Yugoslavian countries) and not run out of things to do. Save Ukraine, Russia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, etc. for your next visit.

Shipping my Guzzi Stelvio from Melbourne Australia into Rotterdam in mid July to ride around Western Europe for 3 months.
My shipper can supply the Green Card but where / how do I get full comprehensive insurance to cover my bike?

Thanks

Larry

A word of warning to UK riders if you plan to visit Bosnia.
In 2014 we toured continental Europe from the UK. At a Croatia to Bosnia border crossing near Strmica they would not let our bikes into Bosnia declaring that we needed green card. Showed our insurance certificates and told them this is green card. No, apparently not.
We could find no way to proceed, no policy available to buy at border or anywhere else outside Bosnia.
Returned to Croatia.
Perhaps others might be able to proceed via this Zagreb B&B suggested by Pan European:
Lobagola - Border insurance

Hi Electra:

Well, if nothing else, it's a good B&B to stay at, and Zagreb is a fascinating city.

The generic 'European Green Card' insurance cover does not cover Bosnia & Herzegovina, because that country is not a member (or candidate member) of the EC. But, you can buy insurance specific to Bosnia at the major road crossings into Bosnia. I explained that process in detail at this post: Balkans Insurance - Here's the story, with details & sample documents.

Coincidentally, when I first tried to enter Bosnia from Croatia - at a minor road crossing - there was no insurance stand at that crossing, and I could not enter Bosnia. But, the Bosnian border guards spoke English well, and were very friendly and helpful - they told me that there was no insurance available at their crossing, but that I could enter at the next crossing about 80 km away and buy insurance there. They helped me plan out a nice route to the next crossing on scenic secondary roads, and I had a very nice time riding down to the next crossing.

If you plan to tour the former Yugoslavian countries again, contact Dooby (who posts as 'Frgich' here on the HUBB) for some advice. Dooby is the person who runs the Lobagola B&B in Zagreb, and who sells Green Card insurance for Europe. He will certainly know the exact details of what is needed to visit the other former Yugoslavian countries, and which border crossings you can get the insurance from, because he lives right next to them. He might even be able to provide you with insurance for the other former Yugoslavian countries in advance of your trip.

Michael

Hi Electra,

thanks for linking our website, appreciate it

As of today we did not managed to finish all the paperwork needed to offer green card insurance for all the Balkan countries including Turkey.
Lots of paperwork needed to be done, but we'll keep the community posted when we start offering the packages.

This week we'll start accepting PayPal payments for EU border insurance policy, check our website until the end of this week it will be up and running

Cheers
Dooby

Thanks Michael,

As we have done this hundred of times, everyone that's passing by Zagreb can stop for a brew, coffee or .

We'll get the map out or your gps and provide info about interesting roads, places, mountain passes, food, paperwork etc

Other Balkans countries are in the pipeline regarding the border insurance policy, the whole thing is tedious and administration is a nightmare, but as always we'll provide a solution for the 2 wheel traveler community, and will post when it's ready

Cheers
Dooby

PayPal payment is enabled

Lobagola - Border insurance

Thanks for your patience

cheers
Dooby

Hi Dooby:

What payment method do you prefer (in other words, what payment method charges you the lowest fees)? PayPal, or credit cards?

I ask because I will probably need insurance again this summer.

Michael

Hi Michael,

PayPal is cheaper regarding the fees, thanks for asking

It would be very cool if you're able to stop by for a good coffee!

Best

Dooby

I'm happy to find another insurance option in Lobagola. I've been using Knopf and Mototouring in the last year. I'm an ADAC member but it sounds as if they might be out of the insurance business from what I'm reading here.

Knopf had collision insurance available last year but it was very pricey. I've just been going with green card liability and a monster chain to secure the bike when it's necessary to leave it outside. I'd sure feel better if comprehensive insurance were available at a reasonable price. Anybody know of a source?

On another note - I've been asking around about buying a Euro-registered bike (and selling mine in Europe or shipping it home) and from the conversations I've had it seems to be a very difficult proposition. I was told that unless I have a residence in Europe that it's not possible. There must be workarounds for this issue. My thinking is that insurance wouldn't be as problematic and it would be much easier to later sell a Euro registered bike.

If anyone out there knows something about this issue, I'd love to hear about it.

There are bigger problems associated with trying to register a North American specification motorcycle in Europe than just the residence problem you mention.

The biggest of these is that a North American spec bike won't meet European safety and emission regulations (or, if it happens to have exactly the same engine as its European counterpart, it won't have a European safety and emissions compliance sticker on it, which = does not meet standards).

Next biggest headache will be paying the VAT and any import duties on the bike, something you will need to do before you can plate it.

All things considered, shipping it home is your cheapest option.

As for insurance beyond just basic liability, there is only one organization that I know of that offered (or maybe still offers) that coverage, and that is MotorcycleExpress. But, it is somewhat limited relative to what you could buy in North America - if I recall correctly, it covered theft and collision, but nothing else. It was also very expensive, to the point that I just gave up on it after one year and elected to self-insure (take my chances) on everything except the basic liability coverage.

Michael

Thanks Michael. Yeah I suspected that I would have to go without comprehensive insurance for the duration.

But I was thinking about buying a Euro spec bike there and selling it in a couple years, not attempting the import/export route. And shipping the bike I have there now back to the USA or selling it there. That scenario seems to bring up the residency problem.

I called a guy I know at IMTBike in Madrid yesterday to ask him about selling one of their RT's. He said he couldn't legally sell me the bike because I didn't have dual citizenship or a residence in Europe. That came as a surprise because I had discussed it with the company last year and nothing was said about it.

Maybe I need to rent a cave somewhere on the Mediterranean

The factors involved in buying/selling bikes in various European countries have been explored in some of the other threads in this section for Trip Paperwork, and there is even a specific sticky thread about the UK.

Just about every European country has it's own idiosyncracies, but the UK tends to have the most flexibility in registering the individual's "right to call a machine your own".
(the UK paperwork, known as a V5c, is not proof of ownership).

Strangely enough, each and every country of Europe is still sovereign with it's own interpretations of various EU regulations that have been introduced over the past 40 years.

Insurance is a different matter all together; therein, you are in the hands of the intermediaries - the brokers, the underwriters and their business practices - and other factors such as government legislation and risk assessment.
On that basis, expectations of "comprehensive" insurance are unrealistic, unless bought at very great cost from someone who has not assessed the risk fully; personally, I haven't heard of anyone who indulges themselves in the latter.

__________________
Dave