Insurance in Russia - help needed a bit lively!

Hi
We entered Russia today from Finland (Imatra) expecting to be able to buy insurance at the border, we could not get bike cover only car cover available. Made calls to our insurers, Real Russia, even the embassy but had no luck from anyone. Bikes are now safely parked in St Petersburg but we need to sort something before we leave on the 3rd July. Can anyone give us a pointer please? We winged it coming in but are leaving via Estonia and don't really want to ride our luck again. Internet access is sketchy so if anyone can offer any advice please email mike.edkins@blueyonder.co.uk and I can pick it up on my Blackberry.

PS. This place is nuts! I certainly don't advise anyone to ride the road from Imatra to Vyborg on anything but a GS or similar, great day though!

Thanks in anticipation!

Cheers
Mike

Try "motorsickle stra-hovka, neit machina, motorsickle" next time you can ask someone. Probably terrible russian, but might mean "motorbike insurance, not car, motorcycle". Worked for me in Russia.

Did the same crossing and ride to St. P last year. Luckier than you. Bought insurance at the border for what it's worth. Also told insurance can be bought in every town. Ask hotel?

Also understand but it needs checking, that you don't need insurance in Russia, not at least for police stops, only if you have an accident.

Take care crossing the border to Estonia at Ivangorod. We got caught in a scam. As you enter the town from the east you will come to a stop sign. Stop and do not move until you are directed by officials who will try to ignore you. You should then be directed into the filling station on the right to buy a ticket. After that you should be directed to carry on to the other side of town. As you start to drop down to the border crossing another official will take your ticket and then you proceed to the border crossing.

We didn't and got 'fined' for a 'TRAFFIC VIOLATION'.

Good luck

Whilst you might not need the insurance, every little helps. They love their paperwork, so having less than expected when pulled is never a good start. Adds to the bribe!

If you do find yourself in a muddle, you could try getting out your medical insurance paperwork and passing it off as either full blown motorbike insurance, or that it includes it. If they say it doesn't apply in Russia, say it's global and point to any logo that might suggest so. This has been known to work in the past...

if you have bought insurance bluff it tell'em that's what you got told to buy. At the border, the bloke charged 10x as much as you really paid lay it on thick and if it's wrong then they should take it up with mushtie, now be good chap Mr. Border blokey and let me pass, cos I've no money it's brilliant country I must come back but your roads a shit and I think I've been ripped off....

Your bound to get a fine but if your hold your ground what can they do, you've got insurance the fact it's wrong is a minor issue the word flexible rules and russia goes hand in hand....

bottle of cheap vodka + 100 snouts and your outta there...

drive carefully and post some pictures.

Sorted

Thanks Guys, we are sorted. Stumbled across a company called Elite Holdings, absolutely nothing to do with insurance but they had signs in the window in English, went in and the receptionist spoke great English and got one of the girls in the office (the lovely Natalia) to help us, she spent 20 mins on the phone with the yellow pages in front of her sorting it out, gave us directions and notes written in Russian for when we got to the brokers, filled in a few forms and paid 600 roubles each and came out with volumes of paperwork. Not sure how easy it would be to make a claim but hey. For reference the companies name is Pocha.

We have a blog going at http://teekondbaltica.blogspot.com and will post some proper pictures when we get home.

Met a Portuguese guy called Carlos who is in the midst of a pole to pole trip on a steroid injected 1100gs with 150K on the clock, top man and riding our route a day ahead of us so will let us know how the road (or lack of) into Estonia is.

Cheers

PS. Link to Carlos (the adventurers adventurer's) blog http://www.ateaofimdomundo.net/