Insurance when abroad - hired bike

I'm hoping to make a last minute trip to Italy, hire bike, trundle
around, come home. Unfortunately standard medical insurance doesn't
cover this (not surprisingly) and I'm finding it difficult to find
someone who will provide cover when not riding my own bike. Has
anybody done this and, if so, what did you do? Or do you just assume
you're not going to fall off?

TIA

 

loads of firms will cover you. Easiest to arrange is from
http://www.direct-travel.co.uk/ as you can do it online. Full policy
wording is there too. This is the key phrase on p37
"you travelling on a motorcycle over 125cc, unless the rider holds a valid
licence which lets them ride a motorcycle of more than 125cc;"

In the High St, policies from Nationwide and the Post Office have simialr
wording.

Then there's Churchill, Carole Nash and a googlegroups search...


--
wessie at tesco dot net

BMW R1150GS

"Wessie is a lovely man with many wonderful qualities" TM Blaney

 

Oh, BTW, I've made 2 trips to Italy this year. Bike hire shops do exist but
are scarce. Like most elsewhere in the Med, scooter hire is available on
most street corners. Unless you are planning on going up an Alp or two, a
scooter is more practical anyway...

--
wessie at tesco dot net

BMW R1150GS

"Wessie is a lovely man with many wonderful qualities" TM Blaney

 

Thanks Wessie. Appreciate it. I'll give them a go (direct-travel).
I'm actually planning to hire a Guzzi Breva and am talking to CIMT
about a last minute deal. It's expensive but will (hopefully) be more
fun than a car. We'll be going up to Lake Como from Milan and staying
there FOC then using it as a base to explore the area.

Any tips or warnings since this will be my first Continental trip?

 

AFAIK, BUPA (who I'm with) has no restrictions. In any case, if you've
got an E111 card, you'll be OK.

 

I had a hire car on my last 2 trips to Italy. I've ridden my own bike there
several times too.

As far as driving/riding is concerned: don't hesitate is the best advice.
Take care on the Milan ring road. Speeds are much higher than the M25 and
lane discipline is mental in comparison. In reality, there are very few
accidents. Get your head around their mindset and you'll be fine. It all
looks very chaotic but it works.

Petrol is widely available even in rural areas. The pumps are often
unmanned. The machines take cash so make sure you have small denomination
notes as you won't get any change for that 50 Euro note. The machines have
a card reader too. A few years ago they rejected UK cards with a magnetic
strip. Chip/PIN cards work fine in shops but I don't know if the pumps have
been brought up to the same spec.

I don't know the Como area so can't offer advice about there. If you think
you will make it as far east as Lake Garda then let me know, as I know
parts of that area very well.

--
wessie at tesco dot net

BMW R1150GS

"Wessie is a lovely man with many wonderful qualities" TM Blaney

 

Really? E111 does not exist any more. EHIC is what you want.

However, holiday insurance does not only cover hospital bills. There are 2
cases over on UKGSer where people had not read their insurance documents
properly.

Case1: bloke dies in a motorcycle accident. Wife presented with a huge bill
to repatriate his remains.
Case2: bloke 2 repaired in foreign hospital after a bike crash. Airlines
refusing to carry him home on scheduled flights due to medical issues. Cost
of medivac not covered by EHIC.

As insurance is about £15 for a week or £65 for a year I think it is
worthwhile for every trip.

--
wessie at tesco dot net

BMW R1150GS

"Wessie is a lovely man with many wonderful qualities" TM Blaney

 

As Wessie says it's the getting home bit which the EHIC doesn't cover
you for. Insurance sorted now but I'm going to try really, really hard
not to crash in any case!

<fx: crash>

 

Mate of mine dies running his VMax into the Armco in the middle of the M32.
Family wants to repatriate the bin-bag full of gobbets and bone fragments
back to Jockland. Considerable financial obstacles, charges for every
authority through whose area the remains would pass tot up to about £7K.
Remains finally interred in Bristol.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Bear

Regardless of the distances, why the hell is an authority even allowed
to levy a charge for transportation of remains through its area? What
possible justification can there be?

It's like insurance premium tax. No possible justification, just a
random charge associated with something someone dreamt up as a
chargeable "event".

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Honda ST1100 wiv trailer Norton 850 Commando
Kawasaki GTR1400

 

Apparently seven different authorities to pass through, all wanting a grand
to cover costs. Alan didn't give a ****, and would have been happy if we'd
just slopped some petrol on the carcase and cremated him on the hard
shoulder, but the family wanted to plant him back in Glasgow. This turned
out not to be doable, thanks to the greedy fuckers who control these things.

 

You're not the only one.

In fact, this law-abiding boxhead here would've been tempted to hire a
Transit and indulge in a bit of corpse-smuggling.

 

Useful stuff ta.
I doubt we'll be venturing that far east but there's always a chance.
Are there any 'must-see' type places in that area?

 

The SE corner is a bit tacky: lots of campsites, man made beaches etc.
Malcesine is lovely. There's a cable car that takes you to the top of a
mountain, although there is a road up there too.

The northern end of the lake is great too. Super restaurant in Torbole
across the road from the harbour. Goethehaus IIRC - bike parking bays right
outside.

The western side of the lake has some superb roads that climb to some
spectacular viewpoints.

North of Lake Garda you get into the Dolomiti Alps proper. We found some
super roads on a circuit from Riva-Molveno-Madonna di Campiglio-Riva. Some
of the passes were around 2000m above sea level.

We liked our base resort of Limone too. Very little modern development in
the town itself. Most of the big hotels are on the outskirts. Watching the
sun set behind Monte Baldo on the other lake shore whilst slurping far too
much Prosecco was a highlight.

--
wessie at tesco dot net

BMW R1150GS

"Wessie is a lovely man with many wonderful qualities" TM Blaney

 

The costs of doing what, though? I know the undertaking business is
hugely full of greedy cunts nowadays, but this LA nonsense is taking the
biscuit.

As Timo says, once the body's been released to the rellies you could
simply shove the coffin in a van - which is what would happen to it
anyway.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the
river cleaned out in a day.