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Trip Paperwork Covers all documentation, carnets, customs and country requirements, how to deal with insurance etc.
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  #1  
Old 26 Jan 2011
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Insuring European bike in Canada
CAA and Canadian Customs give me a bit of a headache, and my insurance is not clear either.

the question:
28th of Februari my bike enters the country (Canada), passes customs in a container and will be transported to a warehouse of my employer somewhere on mainland Canada..
14th of March I will unpack it, and start driving on Canadian roads.

Do I have to insure from the 28th of Februari, of from the 14th of March?
It is only about the legal insurance to be allowed to drive on the roads, not about transport damage.

I simply do not know what is demanded up there!
These few weeks do save me a lot of money (as we ship two bikes) which I'd rather spend on the trip itself!

Looking forward to your replies!
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  #2  
Old 26 Jan 2011
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Hey,

In general, customs people don't usually care all too much about insurance (not their area) so most borders that you cross won't require you to prove that you have valid insurance. There are exceptions to this, for example flying a bike into Germany and they will ask to see your insurance before they let you out the door.

I have brought a foreign registered bike across the land border into Canada and they did not ask about insurance so I would say that road insurance is only required beginning the period of time at which you will be operating the motor vehicle on Canadian roads. Others will probably have direct experience of going through this process as non-Canucks. Welcome to the great white north.
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  #3  
Old 26 Jan 2011
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Here in Europe (Netherlands, Germany etc.) you have to insure your bike BY LAW when you own it, even if you never drive it.
(I even have to insure it in The Netherlands while I am driving it in Canada, as I own this bike.....)

The problem for me is:
Our bikes will be in a sealed container with quite expensive equipment of my employer. I cannot risk delaying this whole container going through customs!
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  #4  
Old 26 Jan 2011
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Luckily, we have no such law here requiring to insure our bikes at all times (winters are pretty long so that would be pretty onerous and you can insure a bike for as little as one month increments).

I'm guessing that you'd be fine. If you can't risk it, then the additonal two week insurance coverage may be your only alternative unless you can get confirmation directly that customs won't ask for it. If your insurance policy is that onerous that the two additional weeks will mean a lot of money, I'd consider a basic insurance policy through someone like Progressive that I would cancel once your real insurance policy kicks in. You'd have to be a bit creative in your location, but it'd cost you tens of dollars for the time frame.
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  #5  
Old 27 Jan 2011
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got an offer for 360 USD for 4 months, per bike.
Progressive does not accept foreing bikes with foreign people. Yes, you can fill in all the info on their website using an American address, but when tell them u are not from the US they cannot help you anymore.

The idea of paying this much money for a basic insurance already gave me a headache, but then also not using it at all for some time hurts me.

FYI: Here in The Netherlands I pay 56 Euro's a year, that is roughly 70 USD.
I do understand it will be more expensive abroad....
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  #6  
Old 28 Jan 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dstehouwer View Post
Here in Europe (Netherlands, Germany etc.) you have to insure your bike BY LAW when you own it, even if you never drive it.
Not in freedomsville UK at the moment but probably headed our way soon care of the bastards of Brussels!
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  #7  
Old 28 Jan 2011
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I'm not a specialist at all... But wouldn't it be easier to ask a local insurance company in the Netherlands to cover you while traveling Canada? They have all the information about your bike, driving license etc... in file, AFAIK, you will still be based in the Netherlands and will be considered as a tourist etc...

Because if you want to find a local (USA or Canada) insurance for your bike, you may face a brick wall with your driving licence # which will be refused by the computer, and/or the license plate # of the bike (they will ask you which province or which state...).

To give you an idea, the insurance cost for my R100GS in Canada, with a coverage for North America excluding Mexico, 100% covered, including towing, is around 160 CAD so I guess around 100 Euros / year.
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  #8  
Old 29 Jan 2011
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Dutch insurers do not want to cover N-A, althoug I found one who was willing to do that for 700 euro's for 6 months.... crazy I think.

Now I wil pay 360 /4months and I will just insure from the date the bikes pass customs to avoid problems.
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