Insurance theft (Morocco and Spain)

[JulesDive]

I have moved this post and edited what were the two unrelated questions into separate threads.

Richard

==========

Hello everyone,

I'm planning a trip to Morocco 10-14 days in October 2024.
Will be taking the Plymouth - Santander ferry, riding through Spain etc.
It will be my first trip to Morocco so will be on road / tarmac.
I've been to Spain a few times on the bike already (Picos, Pyrenees etc).

Theft insurance

Does anyone have UK motorcycle insurance that covers the bike for theft in Spain (and in my dreams in Morocco!) ?
The Bennetts policy that I have only covers my bike (10 year old GS1200LC) for theft when it is parked in my home address garage.
Ideally I would like a UK based policy from a well known / reputable company that covers the bike for theft in EU countries, and with the option to extend for Morocco ;-)

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Jules.

 

[Frankh]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning a trip to Morocco 10-14 days in October 2024.
Will be taking the Plymouth - Santander ferry, riding through Spain etc.
It will be my first trip to Morocco so will be on road / tarmac.
I've been to Spain a few times on the bike already (Picos, Pyrenees etc).

First question :
Does anyone have UK motorcycle insurance that covers the bike for theft in Spain (and in my dreams in Morocco!) ?
The Bennetts policy that I have only covers my bike (10 year old GS1200LC) for theft when it is parked in my home address garage.
Ideally I would like a UK based policy from a well known / reputable company that covers the bike for theft in EU countries, and with the option to extend for Morocco ;-)

Second question :
Does anyone have any recommendations for breakdown cover in Morocco (and in my dreams that also covers Spain) ?
I know I can get breakdown cover for Spain as an add-on to my existing policy (via Green Flag I believe).
But the Morocco breakdown cover seems more elusive / harder to find.

For travel / health insurance, I found this company:

Home Page 1

Travel insurance for adventure travellers backpacking around the world, on a gap year or on working holidays. Whatever you're doing, we've got you covered.

www.bigcattravelinsurance.com

Which you can add on Motorcycles (above 125cc / on road) as an extension to the basic cover (called an activity pack).

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Jules.

Sounds like a strange insurance policy you have ? Nearly all insurance covers EU countries for trips abroad, so Spain should be fine. And as for theft only covered when in your garage ?? I think there is some rule if your bike is parked within a short distance of your home address but not in your garage then could be a problem but anywhere else should be covered?

 

[Wapping]

Are you sure that the restriction / limitation as regards theft, doesn’t only apply to when your vehicle is at your home address?

It would be a very strange policy that excluded theft entirely, when the vehicle was away from its home address.

As to specific theft cover in Spain and / or Morocco, check with your insurer as to what cover your policy already provides.

Return here, when you have established what cover your existing insurer gives, which will save everyone going on a wild goose chase.

 

[JulesDive]

Sounds like a strange insurance policy you have ? Nearly all insurance covers EU countries for trips abroad, so Spain should be fine. And as for theft only covered when in your garage ?? I think there is some rule if your bike is parked within a short distance of your home address but not in your garage then could be a problem but anywhere else should be covered?

Are you sure that the restriction / limitation as regards theft, doesn’t only apply to when your vehicle is at your home address?

It would be a very strange policy that excluded theft entirely, when the vehicle was away from its home address.

As to specific theft cover in Spain and / or Morocco, check with your insurer as to what cover your policy already provides.

Return here, when you have established what cover your existing insurer gives, which will save everyone going on a wild goose chase.

Well it is definitely not a good feature of the policy... not to cover a motorbike occasionally away from home overnight.

Its a motorcycle policy from Bennetts, a quite large / well known motorcycle insurer in UK.
The bit about lack of coverage for theft when away from home is in the small print.
Most people would not even read the small print ... but I used to work in Insurance industry, so I know you need to.

Specifically it says :

Compulsory Garaging Requirement
Section 1 of the policy booklet will not cover you for theft or attempted theft of your motorcycle unless, between
10.00 pm and 06.00am it is kept in a locked building or garage whilst at your place of residence or at another
address which has been specifically agreed with us.

I don't think that is ambiguous, but I will call the insurer tomorrow (because I won't be renewing if my understanding is correct).

 

[JulesDive]

Sounds like a strange insurance policy you have ? Nearly all insurance covers EU countries for trips abroad, so Spain should be fine. And as for theft only covered when in your garage ?? I think there is some rule if your bike is parked within a short distance of your home address but not in your garage then could be a problem but anywhere else should be covered?

Yes, the policy has UK + EU + a few other countries eg. Switzerland, Iceland etc as its geographic coverage.

The issue is the wording of the theft coverage clause which on the face of it appears to exclude theft coverage anywhere apart from my home/garage overnight.

So would exclude Spain, Morocco etc. overnight.
But more importantly anywhere in the UK (apart from my garage) overnight.

 

[Frankh]

Well it is definitely not a good feature of the policy... not to cover a motorbike occasionally away from home overnight.

Its a motorcycle policy from Bennetts, a quite large / well known motorcycle insurer in UK.
The bit about lack of coverage for theft when away from home is in the small print.
Most people would not even read the small print ... but I used to work in Insurance industry, so I know you need to.

Specifically it says :

Compulsory Garaging Requirement
Section 1 of the policy booklet will not cover you for theft or attempted theft of your motorcycle unless, between
10.00 pm and 06.00am it is kept in a locked building or garage whilst at your place of residence or at another
address which has been specifically agreed with us.

I don't think that is ambiguous, but I will call the insurer tomorrow (because I won't be renewing if my understanding is correct).

I think it means if the bike is at your residence it needs to be in the locked garage as agreed. If you are 100 miles away from home in a hotel, and your bike is in the hotel car park then you would be insured for theft surely ?

 

[wessie]

Compulsory Garaging Requirement
Section 1 of the policy booklet will not cover you for theft or attempted theft of your motorcycle unless, between
10.00 pm and 06.00am it is kept in a locked building or garage whilst at your place of residence or at another
address which has been specifically agreed with us.

I don't think that is ambiguous, but I will call the insurer tomorrow (because I won't be renewing if my understanding is correct).

No, it is not ambiguous at all

your bike must be in a garage when both of these 2 conditions apply:
a) it is at your home
b) between 10pm and 6am

If it is in a Le Clerc hypermarché car park in Dijon when it is stolen you are covered.
If it is parked on your drive at 4pm and nicked you are covered
If it is parked in the Travelodge at Portsmouth overnight, you are unwise but still covered when is gets lobbed in the back of a van and exported to Turkmenistan.

 

[Wapping]

but I used to work in Insurance industry

Blimey, what did you give it up for?

 

[OnHellas]

Blimey, what did you give it up for?

He now works for The Labour Party.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Blimey, what did you give it up for?

Comprehension trainer, no doubt

 

[Mitkev]

Sounds like an amazing trip you're planning! For insurance that covers theft in Spain and ideally extends to Morocco, you might want to look into Carole Nash or Adrian Flux—both are UK-based companies with solid reputations for covering motorcycles abroad. Carole Nash, in particular, offers European coverage and can sometimes extend policies to non-EU countries like Morocco, but it's worth giving them a call to confirm.
Another option could be Hastings Direct, which provides comprehensive cover in the EU, and they might offer an extension for Morocco upon request. Green Card insurance is typically needed for countries outside the EU, so be sure to ask about that.

 

[russ996duke]

Buy cover for Morocco at port of entry
There is a little booth that lurks just past customs where those insurance bids will happily rip you off!

 

[JulesDive]

I think it means if the bike is at your residence it needs to be in the locked garage as agreed. If you are 100 miles away from home in a hotel, and your bike is in the hotel car park then you would be insured for theft surely ?

Yes, you are correct.
The clause only applies when bike is at your home address.

I called Bennetts just to check.
Apparently they have a lot of calls on this point - so I hope they will make the clause a bit clearer in future.

If your bike is at your residence then it must be in the garage overnight to have theft cover.

If your bike is away from your residence then it is covered for theft.

 

[JulesDive]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
Mostly very helpful - as so often in this parish.