UK motor cycle insurance for non UK visitor

BigEd

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A friend is visiting from Australia in 2015. He hopes to purchase a second hand bike to visit the Isle of Man for the TT and do a bit of UK touring.
Does any one know or have experience of getting m/cycle insurance for non-UK residents?
I emailed one company who according to their website appear to offer this service but the reply said that they presently don't have an underwriter to cover m/cycle insurance for non-UK residents.
 
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clevtrev

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A friend is visiting from Australia in 2015. He hopes to purchase a second hand bike to visit the Isle of Man for the TT and do a bit of UK touring.
Does any one know or have experience of getting m/cycle insurance for non-UK residents?
I emailed one company who according to their website appear to offer this service but the reply said that they presently don't have an underwriter to cover m/cycle insurance for non-UK residents.
Simply get him to fill the form in with your address. That`s worked for quite a few people who have stayed with me, in the past. Get a years insurance, then get a refund after the trips pover.
 

Robert Watson

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Although what clevtrev has suggested may work, I have been told by several people that while the paperwork will show you have insurance, if you have a claim and the underwriter finds out that you are not a resident, they will walk away. As for mercurycrest's solution, I would surely want that in writing as I have never heard of it. I did a lot of delving into the issue for the 2003 International.

What I have found is that two companies in the USA will provide such insurance, they are Motorcycle Express from New York City and Dairyland Insurance, who can be found on the web. Dairyland were no where to be found in 2003.

I Europe you can get coverage for many places from Knopf tours, Stephan Knopf out of Germany and I had heard of another one that a friend used in Lichenstein, but can't recall his name.

I certainly would not go without something in writing from any insurance provider. I also would not go without substantial medical insurance and get it in writing that you are covered if riding any size of motorcycle. Some have limits of 125cc, and most will not cover any participation in a motorsports speed event.

Just my 2 pennyworth.
 

ClassicBiker

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When we visit England and Europe, our American Insurance covers whatever we drive.
Cheers, John
John,
Who your policy is with? Credit cards will cover you with rental vehicles but not purchased vehicles. Big Ed's friend wants to purchase a vehicle there and tour with it. I know if you have a classic vehicle policy with Hagerty, which I do, they will cover your U.S. based vehicle if you transport it to the U.K. as they have offices there. I called Progressive and National Insurance (a.k.a. GMAC ), which I also have policies with, and they told me that if the vehicle is outside of the continental U.S. or Canada it isn't covered. Now I see Nationwide has offices in the U.K. so that might be a possibility. I looked at Motorcycle Express they only cover you if you're between 25 and 70 and the bike is not sports in nature or high performance and you have not had a ticket in the last three years. I asked them once about covering my '95 Triumph Sprint when I was considering shipping that to the U.K. a few years back and got told not a chance. So I pretty much figured that unless it was a classic covered by Hagerty there wasn't any chance of getting coverage.
What ever route is taken, like Robert says I'd want it all in writing.
Steven
 

Robert Watson

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And let's make sure we are on the same page.

There is liability insurance which is one thing, (for when you crash and take out a family of four) and comprehensive which covers most of the other things like fire, theft, accidental damage etc.

I could not find Comp, only liability both when I took the Rap to Australia in 07 and all over Europe in 2010. In 1999 the Club did a deal with Carole Nash that covered the lot for all us furners---liability comp and breakdown, for a very nominal cost. When I asked them about it in 2010 --- nothing at all.

The Credit Card coverage is not for liability generally, only the comp part. You need to be very clear on all that. The comp part might run to the cost of replacing a vehicle but the liability part can run to the cost of replacing a family.

And advice I once got tongue in cheek from a lawyer here, if you are going to take someone out in a car crash, don't severely injure them, much cheaper to kill them outright!
 

mercurycrest

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Ed,
Oops, the "purchase over here" part went right past me. At the '07 Inter, we bought an outfit that an Aussie friend put in his and our name, and added us to his Oz insurance on the outfit as, I think, co-operator. It all worked out great. Maybe, you can do a deal like that? I'll PM his name to you.
Cheers, John
 
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