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12 Jan 2012
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Non EU bike insurance
Hi all,
1st post !
I am travelling through non EU countries in the summer (Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Hungary) and am not getting much help from my current insurers that are strictly EU only.
Can one get a hold of suitable cover for the short term crossing through the above countries
Paul.
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13 Jan 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spellytheman
Hi all,
1st post !
I am travelling through non EU countries in the summer (Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Hungary) and am not getting much help from my current insurers that are strictly EU only.
Can one get a hold of suitable cover for the short term crossing through the above countries
Paul.
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Assuming your bike is UK-reg, and your current insurer is "strictly EU only."
Croatia & Bosnia in theory require & offer short term TP insurance at any border crossing, BUT the "required" insurance is in fact not offered/ available at all their border crossings (perhaps at the larger motorway crossings only).
If you cross into either at a border where insurance is not offered,
simply consider yourself "lucky" for not having to pay and "unlucky" for not
being covered. Simply ride on and take your chances.
Serbia is more strict. They will not allow your vehicle to enter the country
without paying for Serbian-only coverage, minimum 60 Euros for 30 days TP cover (as of 2010).
Hungary is part of the EU
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15 Jan 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CourtFisher
Assuming your bike is UK-reg, and your current insurer is "strictly EU only."
Croatia & Bosnia in theory require & offer short term TP insurance at any border crossing, BUT the "required" insurance is in fact not offered/ available at all their border crossings (perhaps at the larger motorway crossings only).
If you cross into either at a border where insurance is not offered,
simply consider yourself "lucky" for not having to pay and "unlucky" for not
being covered. Simply ride on and take your chances.
Serbia is more strict. They will not allow your vehicle to enter the country
without paying for Serbian-only coverage, minimum 60 Euros for 30 days TP cover (as of 2010).
Hungary is part of the EU
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Thanks
Thus with a UK bike and usual insurance giving 90 days cover to EU countries I can just turn up at Croatia / Bosnia border and then Bosnia / Serbia border and take pot luck at that point. If I don't get in it is not too bad to re route and go back to Croatia (trip is from Dubrovnick to Budapest)
Paul.
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16 Jan 2012
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Location: Toronto, Canada
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Paul:
Croatia is well on the way to joining the EU in the summer of 2013, so, I think it is probable that you should be able to get insurance cover for Croatia without too much trouble - either at the border, or perhaps just before the border (i.e. on the Slovenian side, if you are entering through Slovenia).
Don't know anything about Serbia, sorry.
Michael
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16 Jan 2012
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Serbia's expensive. Bosnia less so, and enforcement varies at different crossings. I paid a total of about 120 euros for the two a couple of years ago, so do your comparison shopping on that basis. Both are interesting countries for moto travel, but there are limits to how many places you can go on a single journey.
Also worth thinking about in that area: Macedonia, Albania.
enjoy,
Mark
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17 Jan 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spellytheman
Thanks
Thus with a UK bike and usual insurance giving 90 days cover to EU countries I can just turn up at Croatia / Bosnia border and then Bosnia / Serbia border and take pot luck at that point. If I don't get in it is not too bad to re route and go back to Croatia (trip is from Dubrovnick to Budapest)
Paul.
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That's true..."in general" you could re-route back from Bosnia-Serbia border crossing, to head north thru Bosnia across Croatia into Hungary/ Budapest.
From Dubrovnik, I assume you will want to ride via Mostar & Sarajevo.
In that case, if you still want to "try" Serbia border crossing, I suggest you use Bosnia Rte #M19 north from Sarajevo in direction of Serbia border at Mali Zvornik, rather than Bosnia Rte E762 east from Sarajevo in direction of Serbia border at Dobrun.
If you're then denied/ turned away at Serbia/ Mali Zvornik, it's relatively easy to get back on main Bosnia Rte #18 north toward Croatia border. Although the Rte E762 Serbia border is a "major" crossing, in 2010 that crossing did not even sell the required Serbia insurance, and I had to re-route South to get into Serbia at what was then the only crossing selling the required insurance. Further, at any Serbia border other than major motorway, you may have to wait/ delay for a local insurance agent to be called to come sell you Serbia insurance, before Serbia will allow you to enter. Not a problem if you're just ambling along, but a hassle if you're on any kind of "schedule".
Of course, that was 2010, and conditions change all the time. 
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17 Jan 2012
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Michael,
Thanks for all your great information above. I decided again for this trip to go with Mototouring (didn't see Doug's offer in time  ) and will pick up additional insurance at specific borders as needed along the way. The main reason for doing it this way is that I am not totally convinced that familiarity with the Green Card as an insurance document is universal (by road police especially) ... even if in fact the coverage is valid.
You mentioned that most countries issue a similar-looking green form, even for country-specific coverage. Hopefully that practice will continue to become more widespread. In 2010, the supplemental insurance I bought at the border going into Turkey was issued on something quite different. If the Green Card becomes universally issued, then it will make matters much simpler... just buy the coverage you need for the countries you need.
We can dream at least.
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4 Feb 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam I Am
You mentioned that most countries issue a similar-looking green form, even for country-specific coverage. Hopefully that practice will continue to become more widespread. In 2010, the supplemental insurance I bought at the border going into Turkey was issued on something quite different.
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Hi Samuel:
The insurance I bought at the Turkish border in September 2011 was documented on a form that was EXACTLY identical to the 'green card' form that I posted a picture of above - the only difference was that there was only one 'country' listed in the coverage area, and that was Turkey (TR).
I visited Ukraine and Romania about 4 years ago, long before Romania joined the EC, and both the Ukrainian and Romanian border officials were familiar with the 'green card' format of insurance. On that particular trip, I had purchased my coverage from Motorcycle Express, because they provided coverage for both RO and UA.
Michael
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14 Feb 2012
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Hello everyone
I've been trying to catch up with the information on this thread.
Can anyone confirm if this is the current situation for a UK-registered bike currently in Spain and needing a green card, sharp-ish, as i've just realised my UK insurer will only cover me for up to 90 days per trip:
- MotoTouring don't offer policies to EU-registered bikes
- To use UCI you really have to apply in person, in Italy
- Stefan Knopf's prices have rocketed but he still offers green cards
Thanks in advance and hope you're all smiling.
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17 Jan 2012
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I had already put Mali Zvornik in as crossing point heading towards Novi Sad after Mostar / Sarajevo so will go with your route advice.
Have almost booked a ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik - no reefs on that route.
This is a great site by the way !
Paul.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CourtFisher
That's true..."in general" you could re-route back from Bosnia-Serbia border crossing, to head north thru Bosnia across Croatia into Hungary/ Budapest.
From Dubrovnik, I assume you will want to ride via Mostar & Sarajevo.
In that case, if you still want to "try" Serbia border crossing, I suggest you use Bosnia Rte #M19 north from Sarajevo in direction of Serbia border at Mali Zvornik, rather than Bosnia Rte E762 east from Sarajevo in direction of Serbia border at Dobrun.
If you're then denied/ turned away at Serbia/ Mali Zvornik, it's relatively easy to get back on main Bosnia Rte #18 north toward Croatia border. Although the Rte E762 Serbia border is a "major" crossing, in 2010 that crossing did not even sell the required Serbia insurance, and I had to re-route South to get into Serbia at what was then the only crossing selling the required insurance. Further, at any Serbia border other than major motorway, you may have to wait/ delay for a local insurance agent to be called to come sell you Serbia insurance, before Serbia will allow you to enter. Not a problem if you're just ambling along, but a hassle if you're on any kind of "schedule".
Of course, that was 2010, and conditions change all the time. |
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24 Jan 2012
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last time I was in Macedonia, it was 50 euros for 2 weeks.
albania was about 25 a month.
serbia is always a gamble, sometimes going in the smaller checkpoints, they either dont ask to see insurance, or if they do, when I hand em my green card. sometimes they dont notice that SRB is X'd out, sometimes they do.
At the big main crossings, they always check, & hold your passport until you come back & show them you bought it. I think they get a kickback.
Oh, and you will save money by first going to the bank & exchanging for Serb Dinars, and paying for the insurance with them, as the insurance guy will give you a crappy exchange rate.
Sam, you gonna come visit us in Bulgaria again this year? We'll be having another travellers meeting, hope you can make it!
Doug
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24 Jan 2012
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Hi Doug...
Probably won't make it that far south this year, but if the timing is right, well distances are not all that great... Would love to attend. Of my 6 or so HU meetings, the Bulgarian meeting was my favorite by far! Highly recommended to all who can make it.
I'm sorry I didn't see your post before I bought my Green Card insurance, but I will keep you guys in mind for the next time.
Hi to Poly.
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