World wide liability insurance
 

I'll be traveling in Mexico and Central America. Mexico requires mandatory liability insurance but many other CA countries do not. I don't plan on getting local liability in every country I'll be passing through. Does anybody know if there is a world wide liability insurance? I'm thinking of getting an umbrella policy which has a world wide coverage but it pricey. Any ideas?
I'm located in the US.

Cheers,
Thomas

Insurance for Central America
 

Tommytrojan,

Apparently you have done some research. Could you please advise which Central American country does not require insurance for foreign tourist motorcycle?

I have traveled by land - by Moto and by SUV the States to Panama and return several times and have yet to discover a Central American country that does not require liability insurance. Please update me. Thanks

You might be able to find a Mexican company Sanborns for example that may have contacts in Central America, (but I doubt Sanborns will sell insurance - other than for Mexico) I was never able to find one policy to cover Mexico and all of Central America. Nicaragua for example requires you to buy a government sponsored insurance at the border - it is very inexpensive and is a liability only policy.

Please share your research. And you might want to read here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...wo-bikes-89328

thanks. eat, drink and buy insurance. xfiltrate

Even when a company says that their insurance has a worldwide coverage many countries will not recognize it as valid, many countries demand to have a local company coverage and some they have agreements with neighbors countries like down South America where we have the Mercosur agreement and the Carta Verde normally is valid for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru.

Saludos

I don't remember which country doesn't (from what I have been told) require liability insurance. I' m sure I'll find out when I get down there. In any case, I'm planning on getting an 'umbrella' insurance and they are usually 'excess coverages', that means they will cover you (world wide) above and beyond your primary insurance. And that is the magic word, if you don't have primary insurance there is no coverage. I was hoping to go for a 'one stop shop' but I'm afraid there is no such thing and I need to get insurance in every country on the way.

You're going to pay a lot of money for a secondary insurance policy which is very unlikely to do you any good--at least, when we've discussed it here in the past no one can ever report having made use of theirs. My opinion, for what it's worth, is that those "worldwide" polices are basically scams.

You'll still need to purchase separate insurance in many, perhaps most countries. That may seem like a big deal, but it's not; for the most part, people are hanging around wanting to sell you insurance, and they make it easy. The consternation around this issue that many people feel in advance of a trip is mostly wasted energy. You'll see.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Mark,

Thanks for the tip. I'll get the local insurance for sure.

Thomas

Vehicle insurance
 

Hi- interesting question- and something similar I have too.

I am a Pakistan citizen and my wife and I are planning an overland travel in 2017 from Pakistan to UK

The vehicle is registered in Pakistan. My Pakistani insurance will only give me cover within the Country.

I require 3rd party COMPREHENSIVE international insurance/coverage (similar in lines to the European Green Card Insurance) which must also give third party cover for accidents, etc.- some policy covers mentioned below as an example-

1. Legal liability for death or injury to any other person (liability to third parties)
2. Legal liability for damage to other people's property (liability to third party assets)
3. Loss or damage of insured vehicle by fire, theft or vandalism
4. Damage to insured vehicle in the event of an accident
5. Accident recovery and repair service

Any companies who would cover my vehicle with full comprehensive vehicle/liability & 3rd party insurance ?

I saw the World Nomads and BUPA sites- they cover medical/health, etc - which is what I woudl take out anyway; but they do'nt cover the vehicle itself and damages/accidents with other vehicles.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Dinshaw

Ecuadore does not require foreign vehicles to have separate liability insurance provided you enter under a valid TIP and it is current. This may require valid and current registration back in the home country though

It would be nice to have it available. However the cost of it is believed to be too expensive - so that if it were made available no one would buy it. Say it was the cost of a new Rolls Royce for one years coverage (or if you have a Rolls Royce - 10 times its cost new) ... would you buy it?

They usually offer 2 different covers. Coverage for the USA is more expensive than anywhere else .. due to the high cost of medical procedures there.

The repair costs of a vehicle that is not imported into a country and has no dealers there ... would be extremely high! So coverage costs are also going to be high. I would like to see some provision for coverage for others property and personal damage ... those should be easily available from the local insurance people ... that I think could be affordable.
Theft is a problem ... but as the vehicle is unusual it will usually surface.
Repair costs ... most overlanders develop the skills to effect repairs .. at least to the stage of getting to somewhere with support, where repair cost would be more reasonable.

Many thanks

Appreciate your response.

Dinshaw

I doubt you will find one motor insurance policy which will cover you the whole way but believe insurance for Iran is available at the border, it certainly is at the Turkish border and they won't let you in without it and an all Europe green card is available for the rest of your trip. If you can get into Iran without a carnet you won't need one for the rest of the trip.

Dear Mark

Many thanks

Dinshaw

Usually what is 'offered' (or demanded) at the border is a minimum insurance .. usually third party personal .. sometimes third party property too. Comprehensive is seldom available.

Uhm firmly believe this kind of company doesn't exist, or should I say there is no company offering these kind of policies. Even if you buy wider third party insurance policy/comprehensive insurance or combo of both from some of the European providers that will cover third party side/full comp of the story in ex social block countries, it will not cover you in a case of theft, period.

There is very small need and inquiries for the full service, hence no offer from the insurance companies, because the price would be just too high.

Other is as always well explained by inmate mark manley.

BR
Dooby

Many thanks

Still interested in discovering if there is a Central American country that does not require minimum liability insurance for a foreign tourist's motorcycle/vehicle. Please, Tommytrojan - keep us advised if you find one.

All tourist auto/moto insurance policies have a clause stating that the insured vehicle must be "legal" indicating a valid TVIP for the country, a valid title and registration, plates etc. Not having any of these is cause for the insurance company not to pay liabilities or bail you out of jail. And, yes in the event of serious personal injury, death or substantial property damage the insurance companies do investigate - before paying liabilities, while you sit in a foreign jail.

I may be one of the very few posting here who has - while working for the IRC, actually visited foreigners in foreign jails because of vehicle accidents. It is not a pleasant experience!

Without valid insurance a foreign tourist could remain in jail for months, even years while waiting for a judge to decide fault. The local police, even federal police generally arrest everyone involved in a serious accident and let the insurance companies and a judge sort out fault. And, most people will more readily blame a foreigner than a neighbor.

Hiring a foreign attorney after an accident - without having valid insurance - is a nightmare.
Just as in every country it is very difficult to determine which attorney to trust . So, please do not risk riding a motorcycle in a foreign country without a valid TVIP, legal title, registration, plates, and valid insurance.

It has been my experience - that other than suggesting an "attorney," your embassy may not be of much assistance. The IRC is very under funded and understaffed but does try to keep tract of foreigners in foreign jails, a very difficult task as some arrests are never officially reported as required by international law.

xfiltrate

I am very often quite blown away how people travel through some countries without paying the policy. In my experience, if my mind is pressured by thinking if I'm travelling and being not covered that the shit will hit the fence for sure. I am calling for a problem and probably will get one.
Not here advocating for this or that, just implying that there are cheaper places to safe the money instead of not getting the minimum insurance coverage.

BR
Dooby

Thanks for the detailed info. That is important advise since until you need it you don't realize your are missing something. I'll keep you posted what I find on my way down there as far as insurance requirements are concerned. Also, even in the US, the legally required minimum is laughable. It might be advisable to get a more realistic coverage. According to my insurance agent an umbrella policy will give me world wide 'excess' coverage. I'll study the fine print and I hope that it will kick in where the 'official' liability ends. And I also hope I will never need to get to that point to actually need it.

Cheers,
Thomas

I am not sure what this would cover you for but in the UK the excess is what you call the deductable in the US and might have no use or value at all without further local cover.

Just to add to Xfiltrate's remarks regarding insurance, the number of overlanders and travellers getting around with shonky papers is quite high and while nobody seems to care too much when things go OK, we can be pretty sure the unsurance companies and police know exactly what to look for when things go wrong.

This is from Wikipedia but you can read the whole convention is you need to check. Seems to me that it is clear from this that false or cancelled license plates don't comply and neither do forged or non-original document. Further, if there are any smog checks, MOTs or TUV or road safety checks that haven't been carried out, or vehicle declared non-operational or SORNed then the registration is invalid, the TIP that was issued is invalid and any insurance you get based on these invalid documents and false swearing is also invalid.

So far Ecuador is the only country that specifically provides liability insurance for foreign cars legally in the country (although good luck in trying to get official confirmation that this is so), although supposedly Bolivia doesn't require liability insurance if you are in the country for less than 30 days and possibly Brazil has something similar but trouble is nobody has explained to me who carries the risk if you have a serious accident in those 30 days.

-------------------------

There have been some very long discussions on a couple of international travel facebook groups concerning the problem of having valid insurance back in the country of registration. Some places insist on bundling domestic liability insurance in with the registration - eg Holland, some states in Australia, British Columbia etc etc so of course most travellers baulk at paying insurance while they are out of the country. In others, lack of MOT and TUV and similar automatically void registration. I think Switzerland has strict regulations on how long you can be away before registration is cancelled and plates have to be returned. Anyway, the big cry is well, since our country makes it impossible for us to retain legal registration if we are away for more than x years, then obviously we are FORCED (by our own country) to travel illegally and take our chances. Of course this is just nonsense because there are always legal alternatives INCLUDING of course just staying home, or where possible, buying a local vehicle legally and then selling it.

An After Thought....
 

Thanks Tony LEE,

* In after thought....In response to those wanting more detailed information, please see the recent post from Tony LEE and know when I was responsible for welfare checks on foreign inmates in foreign jails - of the many I interviewed, none, not one, was "well" and none had been treated "Fair !!!" So there was no "welfare" to speak of, just men and women - locked away and desperate, and my reports described some real horrors, unimaginable to those who frivolously ignore the risk to their freedom, by not taking the time to purchase valid vehicle/moto insurance and verifying all vehicle/moto documents are legal.

Do not provide your insurance company a reason to avoid paying your liabilities and your attorney and never give any government a reason to deny you freedom.

xfiltrate