Overseas Trip Insurance Gotcha

joness7

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So a bit of background:

I'm insured fully comp with Carole Nash. Part of the cover is the fairly standard 90 days Europe cover.

I rode my bike over to our house in Kerry, SW Ireland at the end of May. My mum fell ill and I had to fly back at short notice and cut my trip short. Not a problem, bike locked in our garage and safe.

For various reasons I haven't made it back over to repatriate my steed. I'm planning a trip for the end of this month, so will be a good bit outside the 90 days. I phoned CN to find out where I stood, could I extend the 90 day or top it up etc.

The good news: whilst I can't add/top up my insurance I am covered 3rd party still outside the 90 days (when I'm back in Ireland);

The bad news/gotcha: Because I wasn't in the same country, my bike hasn't been covered AT ALL for the past 70 days I haven't been there. No TPFT even.

So be careful, if you plan to leave your bike somewhere and fly home for a week or two, your bike might not be covered whilst you're not in country.

Was anyone else aware of this?
 
Last edited:
So a bit of background:

I'm insured fully comp with Carole Nash. Part of the cover is the fairly standard 90 days Europe cover.

I rode my bike over to our house in Kerry, SW Ireland at the end of May. My mum fell ill and I had to fly back at short notice and cut my trip short. Not a problem, bike locked in our garage and safe.

For various reasons I haven't made it back over to repatriate my steed. I'm planning a trip for the end of this month, so will be a good bit outside the 90 days. I phoned CN to find out where I stood, could I extend the 90 day or top it up etc.

The good news: whilst I can't add/top up my insurance I am covered 3rd party still outside the 90 days (when I'm back in Ireland);

The bad news/gotcha: Because I wasn't in the same country, my bike hasn't been covered AT ALL for the past 70 days I haven't been there. No TPFT even.

So be careful, if you plan to leave your bike somewhere and fly home for a week or two, your bike might not be covered whilst you're not in country.

Was anyone else aware of this?

.


So what is insured exactly? my understanding is that it is the bike, so how can your being in the country have any sway on what happens to your bike ?

grr
 
.


So what is insured exactly? my understanding is that it is the bike, so how can your being in the country have any sway on what happens to your bike ?

grr

That is the complication with UK car /bike insurance. As a car/bike in an inanimate object, it cannot be held legally responsible, therefore the individual is insured to drive/ride the car/bike.
In France, for example, the I can drive my sister's car, with her permission and be fully insured under her insurance policy, because their legal system is different to ours.
 
Was anyone else aware of this?

Never really looked into it, but I shipped my GS to Italy for a few months years ago, then flew back to pick it up and gingerly ride it home. Didn't consider the implications at the time.

The good news: whilst I can't add/top up my insurance I am covered 3rd party still outside the 90 days (when I'm back in Ireland);

Being covered for 3rd party (all I honestly care for, insurance-wise) outside the 90 days, is that a legal requirement as long as you have active insurance, or is it only Carole Nash?


Regarding what Chas said above. In most countries in Europe (I can tell you for certain in Italy) the vehicle is insured, not the driver.
 
.


So what is insured exactly? my understanding is that it is the bike, so how can your being in the country have any sway on what happens to your bike ?

grr

when you insure your bike, you declare where it is normally stored when not in use. If you are at home and the bike is not where you declared then you are not sticking to the agreement you made. A very simple matter of not sticking to a contract.
 
Never really looked into it, but I shipped my GS to Italy for a few months years ago, then flew back to pick it up and gingerly ride it home. Didn't consider the implications at the time.



Being covered for 3rd party (all I honestly care for, insurance-wise) outside the 90 days, is that a legal requirement as long as you have active insurance, or is it only Carole Nash?


Regarding what Chas said above. In most countries in Europe (I can tell you for certain in Italy) the vehicle is insured, not the driver.

re. minimum cover, they have to offer that for the whole year. Note it is the minimum cover in the country where you ride for the countries listed in the Territorial Limits. This may not give full third party liability, just whatever is required for that country.

The 30 or 90 day limit applies to the full terms of the policy.
 
Thanks. That makes sense.
I just want to be sure I have third party at all times. I can live without the others from time to time (especially on my "traveling" bike).

Further question: in the case where I am only concerned for third party cover (and, yes, what is required legally by the country I am in) does this mean that I can sort of "ignore" the three months limit then? I mean: will I be "legal" riding?
 
Thanks. That makes sense.
I just want to be sure I have third party at all times. I can live without the others from time to time (especially on my "traveling" bike).

Further question: in the case where I am only concerned for third party cover (and, yes, what is required legally by the country I am in) does this mean that I can sort of "ignore" the three months limit then? I mean: will I be "legal" riding?

Yes. Read your certificate of insurance. There is no time limit on the minimum cover needed in the territorial limits. Mine includes EU plus Andorra, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and Liechtenstein, and it clearly states it replaces the need for a green card. This is a requirement of the separate agreement we have on motor insurance that predates EU membership by several decades.

Your insurer can only impose a time limit on the bells & whistles added as part of the package i.e. fire, theft & comprehensive own damage cover.
 
Thank you Wessie.
I knew it was like that with my Italian insurances. Never looked into the contract details (and legislation) of my UK insurance because, apart from that one time explained above, I generally operate "within the given rules" aka 30/90 days. :)
 
when you insure your bike, you declare where it is normally stored when not in use. If you are at home and the bike is not where you declared then you are not sticking to the agreement you made. A very simple matter of not sticking to a contract.

Yes, I’m not sure if it matters that it’s in another country.

I moved one of my bikes to my lock up when it’s normally garaged at the house. I found it wasn’t insured there, nor would that insurer extend cover.


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Yes, I’m not sure if it matters that it’s in another country.

Another county and you are not traveling (with it).

My understanding is that any bike location is kosher at night if you are traveling.
Never sure how they do define traveling though.
 
Another county and you are not traveling (with it).

My understanding is that any bike location is kosher at night if you are traveling.
Never sure how they do define traveling though.

Yes, true - I did check and it can be parked anywhere and covered, on a journey. But not because I needed to move it 3 miles away.


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Another county and you are not traveling (with it).

My understanding is that any bike location is kosher at night if you are traveling.
Never sure how they do define traveling though.

That would be subject to negotiation. Ride your bike to Heathrow, park it then catch a flight to Italy for a two week holiday and you are going to be covered should it get nicked or damaged. Go to live with your relatives for 3 months and do a bit of work and you might find you aren't covered should the bike get nicked whilst you are away.
 
Coming from European insurance habits, the location of the bike was always a relative pain in the ass. It is not a teapot. It is a moving object.
Italian insurance will insure the bike for theft wherever it is (within reason). Of course premiums are higher and excesses are calculated differently.

Ride your bike to Heathrow, park it then catch a flight to Italy for a two week holiday and you are going to be covered should it get nicked or damaged.

I don't think so, as you are not traveling with the bike?

I was always puzzled by this as, for years, I kept the bikes in a parking lot that would shut at night. So had to work out a few details. Everytime I spoke with insurers to clear this out, response were always very evasive and I never managed to get anything in writing.
Also, if I am sleeping in an hotel in London (with my bike in tow) is that traveling, as I live in London? So many nuances :)

At present the bikes are insured in the lock where kept at night and if I keep them at home (3/500 meters away - different address) outside (I very rarely do). So, happy.
 
Coming from European insurance habits, the location of the bike was always a relative pain in the ass. It is not a teapot. It is a moving object.
Italian insurance will insure the bike for theft wherever it is (within reason). Of course premiums are higher and excesses are calculated differently.



I don't think so, as you are not traveling with the bike?

I was always puzzled by this as, for years, I kept the bikes in a parking lot that would shut at night. So had to work out a few details. Everytime I spoke with insurers to clear this out, response were always very evasive and I never managed to get anything in writing.
Also, if I am sleeping in an hotel in London (with my bike in tow) is that traveling, as I live in London? So many nuances :)

At present the bikes are insured in the lock where kept at night and if I keep them at home (3/500 meters away - different address) outside (I very rarely do). So, happy.

just think about the number of people who go on holiday each year and park their cars near airports or train stations - do you really think insurance underwriters would be able wriggle out of covering all of these cars for damage or theft whilst their owners are on holiday?

What about the chap who parks his car at Heathrow and flies to Dusseldorf for a business meeting and stays overnight? The commuter who drives their car to Reading train station everyday and commutes into Paddington? As long as they have cover for business use in the first case or commuting in the second case, then they will be covered.

Insurance contracts, like all contracts have to comply with the law and have reasonable terms and conditions. They cannot exclude things that are part of everyday normal life i.e. their preferred terms of social, domestic and pleasure.
 
Was anyone else aware of this?

Irish insurers are the same. Several years ago I shipped my bike to Spain with Overlanders. I discovered during a conversation about extending overseas cover that the bike was completely uninsured if I left it abroad and returned here. So I stayed quiet and said nothing. But I was always slightly worried about a spill or crash.
 
Wessie is entirely correct.

As for, “The feckers won’t insure me if I leave my bike miles away from where I live or in a foreign country for weeks on end, whilst I come home”? It was often recommended on these pages that bods should lie to their insurer as to where their bike was garaged, as it would reduce their premiums. We even had bods faking their addresses on their V5’s, such was their keenness to save money.

Many of the problems bods encounter are caused through them buying the cheapest insurance they can find, bought through some online quote engine or call centre staffed by chimps. These mediums operate on the lowest common level of demand and the chimps (or the AI software) is trained accordingly, as it reduces costs. 99% of their customer base is Mr and Mrs General Average in their semi in Wolverhampton, who want nothing more than to insure their Volvo for a year, so the insurers and / or their sales agents set out their stall accordingly. Blokes on bikes are a pain in the arse, just as they are to ferry operators and the Chunnel, as they always want something, generally for nothing. To head this problem off at the pass, the stock reply is “Computer says no”.

PS If anyone trusts a policy sold to them by MAG, be very careful about what you have just been sold and check it very carefully. I had to help a friend of mine who had been blatantly mis-sold cover when he went to America. I leave you to imagine what the hospital bills were, when he was spanked off his VFR in whatever State he was in…. Think of a big number and then start by doubling it. Don’t stop there.
 


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