Insurance for foreigners

[white.rhino]

A friend of mine from New Zealand is planning to come to the UK/Europe for a couple of months or so to do a bit of touring.

The plan (as is stands...) is for him to buy the bike in the UK - a Tiger 800 XC - instead of buying it in NZ (more expensive to start with) and then shipping it over.

The one little hurdle is getting insurance - I have been trawling through insurers' websites and haven't found any that will insure someone who is not a UK resident. I'm also guessing that having a foreign driving licence won't thrill them either.

Has anyone encountered this problem before, or do you know of any insurers who specialise in this sort of thing?

Cheers
Jon

[P.]

Can't he phone home and insure it with cover in other countries?

[Rogerborg]

He'll probably want an International Driving Permit (aka international driving license), obtained in Australia. eBike (for example) accept those, as do Swinton.

However, then he's got the issue of permanent address.

There's probably a better, more legal, more expensive way, but here's what I'd do. Get an IDP. Buy a hack that I could leave in a ditch and walk away from whistling. Go to (e.g.) Swinton for 3PO - they didn't ask me for any documentation. Insure it at your address, or better, at your office or some other place where you can get the hands on the documents without being personally identified. Get a Green Card for driving in Europe.

Once in possession of all those documents, keep them on my person and go on my merry way, since the insurer - or at a pinch, the MiB - will have to pay out to 3rd parties, so I'm morally in the clear. In the UK, possession and production of the documents is sufficient to continue on my way, forget about what the MID says, that's been to the Court of Appeals (T.C. posted details, find the case, print it off, carry it around ).
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