Motorcycle Travel Insurance Policies

MOTORCYCLING TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICIES UK

All our motorcycling travel insurance policies will cover you for on-road motorcycling, with no cc restrictions, as long as you hold a FULL licence to be riding a bike of that size in your home country, and wear a crash helmet (even if local law doesn’t insist on it). On-road motorcycling touring does not necessarily have to be a tarmac road, but the road must be what passes for the road locally. 

Please note that these policies are NOT to insure your motorcycle and do NOT cover Third Party Liability (Personal Liability). These are Travel Insurance policies for bikers, to cover you whilst travelling by motorcycle abroad and on motorcycle holidays, for medical expenses etc.

They are only available to UK residents, though some Short Stay policies are also available to residents of certain other European countries. Whilst these policies cover Medical Expenses relating to motorcycling (ambulance, air ambulance, hospital costs, repatriation etc) most of these policies, including Navigator Silver, Pearl, Gold & Diamond, do NOT cover additional compensation for accidental Death, Loss of Limb, Loss of Sight, Disablement, arising from a motorcycling-related accident.

WHY DO YOU NEED MOTORCYCLE TRAVEL INSURANCE? 

Motorcycle travel insurance is essential for anyone who plans on booking a motorcycle holiday or taking their motorbike touring abroad. This includes anyone who plans on touring on their motorcycle, taking biking road trips, off-road motorbiking, and participating in track days.

Ensuring that you have the right motorcycle travel insurance policy for you will mean that you remain protected no matter where you go for all motorbike-related activities you may be embarking on during your motorcycle holidays. 

WHAT DOES TRAVEL INSURANCE FOR MOTORCYCLISTS COVER?

Depending on which motorcycle travel insurance policy you opt for, this will determine what you are and aren’t covered for during your motorcycle holidays. For example, some policies will cover both on-road and off-road motorcycle use in their travel insurance for motorcyclists, whereas some may only cover on-road.

It is worth noting that opting for additional off-road cover might incur additional costs. 

You must complete the necessary research into the different available motorcycle travel insurance policies to ensure that you choose a policy that is most suited for you and the travel and activities that you will be engaging in during your motorcycle holidays. 

WHEN IS ON-ROAD NOT ON-ROAD? (Navigator Silver, Gold & Diamond policies).

PLEASE NOTE – WE DO NOT ACCEPT THAT “EVENTS” SUCH AS MOTOGIRO DE ITALIA, STELLA ALPINA ETC, ARE ON ROAD, LEISURE MOTORCYCLE TOURING. WE CAN COVER THESE EVENTS, BUT ONLY ON MORE EXPENSIVE MOTORSPORT POLICIES, WHERE INDEPENDENT OFF-ROADING IS COVERED.

SIMILARLY, WE REGRET THAT INSURERS DO NOT REGARD NETWORKS SUCH AS TET (TRANS-EUROP TRAIL NETWORK) AS ON-ROAD MOTORCYCLING, AS THERE ARE NARROW SECTIONS WHERE YOU CANNOT GET A 4×4. UNFORTUNATELY, AS TET TOURING IS NOT GUIDED, TOUR OPERATOR ORGANIZED OFF-ROADING, WE CAN NO LONGER COVER IT UNLESS YOU ARE SURE THAT THE SECTIONS THAT YOU ARE RIDING ARE MARKED ON GENERAL MAPS AND ARE WIDE ENOUGH FOR OTHER TRAFFIC TYPES TO USE (WE WOULD THEN CLASS IT AS ON-ROAD RIDING).

IF YOU ARE NOT SURE ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE TET/ACT TRAILS THAT YOU WILL BE RIDING, THIS IS NOT A SUITABLE POLICY FOR YOUR TRIP.

We have recently lost our off-roading (Motorcycle Silver and Motorcycle Gold) policies, due to the underwriter pulling out.

We have motorcycle travel insurance policies with another underwriter, the Navigator Silver, Navigator Gold and Navigator Diamond, but these are principally for on-road motorcycling. True Off-Road motorcycling on personally guided organised tours can be covered, but only for a MAXIMUM of 7 days and at the Action Plus sport supplement, which doubles the cost. However, we have been talking to the underwriter and have agreed to relax rules relating to what constitutes on-road motorcycling. We now regard on-road motorcycling as :

1 – Riding legally on Highways and Byways that are available for motorised vehicles (i.e. green laning etc). They should be substantial enough for a 4WD to negotiate.

2 – They MUST be marked on a map as roads (not footpaths/bridleways, for example)

3 – They MUST be rights of way for motorised vehicles, i.e. NOT restricted byways for walkers, push bikes and horses, and NOT forest fire roads which are not open to unauthorised motorised vehicles.

4 – As a rule of thumb, if you don’t need a licence, motor vehicle tax and insurance to ride on it, we would regard it as off-roading and you would NOT be covered. Highways and byways with legal access for motorised vehicles would require these documents. Strangely, our insurers still require you to hold a FULL licence for the size of bike being used, even when off-road riding (don’t ask!). I suppose it’s the only way they have of knowing that you have some experience on a motorcycle…

5 – Unfortunately, Navigator Silver and Navigator Gold policies are not as generous as the old policies. These will NOT cover motorcycle touring trips of more than 31 consecutive days unless you pay the Action Plus sport supplement which increases this to 62 consecutive days. There is NO cover for the bike or your gear (helmets/leathers and boots etc) and NO cover for Motocross or competitive riding of any sort, and NO cover for Track Days, or true off-roading (other than 7 days guided organised tour at Action Plus supplement), Enduro etc. 

Long term on road motorcycling and competitive motorsport can be covered on our new AIG Backpacker & Longstay policies – call 0161 973 6435 or email sales@navigatortravel.co.uk for a quote.

6 – If there is any doubt about the nature of the riding that you may encounter on your trip, we strongly recommend that you pay the Action Plus sport supplement, which extends cover to true off-roading for a maximum of 7 days of the trip, though this travel insurance for motorcyclists is only for organised guided (by a human!) motorcycling tours.

If you buy one of these Single Trip policies online, it is important that you start the cover on the date that you leave the UK (or your home country) and end it on the date that you get home. If you just buy the motorcycle travel insurance policy for a few days in the middle of a trip when you are booked on a motorcycling tour, the policy will be completely INVALID. These are not top-up policies, they must cover the whole trip.