Balkans Motorhome Insurance

[Roger Haworth]

I am planning a trip down the eastern shore of the Adriatic but have run into an insurance problem. Slovenia and Croatia are both in the EU and are covered by my AIB brokered insurance. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania however are not covered.

I phoned AIB to see if they could issue me with a Green Card for these countries. They said that Markerstudy, the company I am currently insured with does not issue Green Cards. They reckoned that they could insure me with another company which does issue Green Cards but at more than twice the price of my last renewal! I really don't think that it's worth paying an extra £200 plus for the privilege of driving through the aforementioned three countries en route to Greece

The other alternative is to see if I could buy insurance on the borders. My understanding is that this would just be 3rd Party cover and I'm not sure I'm prepared to take that kind of risk.

There are of course other ways to get to Greece overland which do not involve insurance problems - by ferry from southern Italy or via Serbia (though not in the EU but covered by most insurers) and Bulgaria - but they're a long way round.

Has anyone any experience of travelling overland through Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania and if so how did they deal with the insurance issue?

 

[wildebus]

Not got an answer but interesting. How did you find out those countries were not covered?


Markerstudy are a major insurer of campervans, especially in the self-conversion market and I was with them (via Brokers) for the last 5 years. Now with someone else (but through AIB interestingly enough).

 

[cliveandann]

Some background information first which you will probably know already. EU countries are automatically included in your insurance policy for the basic cover required by law in each country. This is referred to on the back of the Certificate of Insurance. Many insurance companies do not extend comprehensive cover for use in EU countries so you should check that you are fully covered once you cross the Channel.

EU countries and a number of other countries belong to the Green Card Scheme. Some insurance companies include some or all of the Green Card countries not part of the EU on request at extra cost but they are not obligated to do so. As your own Insurance Company does not provide the cover you require you have a few options
1 Terminate your existing insurance and get a pro rata refund (less an admin fee) and apply for a new annual insurance with another company which will provide cover
2 Apply for an annual Green Card extension to top up your existing policy.
3 Apply for a temporary Green Card extension for the required period to top up you existing policy.
4 Apply for a temporary policy including the Green Card extension for the required period. in place of your existing policy.
5 Buy insurance on the border. There are kiosks selling minimum cover policies just inside the borders. These are relatively cheap. Driving without full (or no insurance) is a state of mind as well as a risk. We have driven in many countries of the world where insurance is not even available. This means driving very defensively and never at night.

As to where to get insurance you could start with
Balkans Motor Insurance
who would seem to provide extended Green Card cover for the Balkans.
Another option is Adrian Flux who specialise in obscure problems.

As for alternative routes the ferry option will cost around 400 pounds return from Bari to Igoumenitsa although you may find some of the ships fully booked for campers. There is a good motorway straight out of the Greek port. Generally the ports are fairly disorganised when compared with say Dover.
Bari ferry, compare prices, times and book tickets
Note that the prices are demand sensitive and can rise.

 

[Roger Haworth]

Not got an answer but interesting. How did you find out those countries were not covered?


Markerstudy are a major insurer of campervans, especially in the self-conversion market and I was with them (via Brokers) for the last 5 years. Now with someone else (but through AIB interestingly enough).

Hi Wildebus,

If you look on the back of your insurance certificate you'll likely find something that says you are covered for all countries in the EU and those countries complying with the EU directives on motor insurance. The main countries in the latter category are Switzerland, Norway and Serbia.

Roger.

 

[Geraldine]

Hi Wildebus,

If you look on the back of your insurance certificate you'll likely find something that says you are covered for all countries in the EU and those countries complying with the EU directives on motor insurance. The main countries in the latter category are Switzerland, Norway and Serbia.

Roger.

Wonder if it's worth sending a message to Alshymer on the Corfu wildcamping thread to see what insurance cover he has. He is currently in Albania.
Cheers David.

 

[wildebus]

Hi Wildebus,

If you look on the back of your insurance certificate you'll likely find something that says you are covered for all countries in the EU and those countries complying with the EU directives on motor insurance. The main countries in the latter category are Switzerland, Norway and Serbia.

Roger.

Cheers. Looked at mine and I see "to all member countries of the European Union, Andorra, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland". So similar to yours (but no Serbia). Asking as I quite fancy a random Euro tour next year

 

[shaunr68]

When I did the big continental trip from 2014-15 our MH insurance was with Club Care Home - Club Care Insurance

They were more than happy to issue a green card for 30 days travel across Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia.

Later in the trip they issued another for 30 days across Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and Russia (though we changed our route due to the political tensions over Crimea and trouble getting visas for Belarus so of those 4 only visited Russia).

I think they will allow up to 3 months green card coverage over a 12 month period, there was a small charge for each green card.

EDIT: I was under the impression at the time that green card cover was on a third party only basis.

Good luck!

 

[iampatman]

We had the same difficulties when we wanted to drive overland to Greece a few years ago. In the end we went the “long” way round; Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and then into Greece. We couldn’t find anyone to insure us for the countries you mention before we set off and didn’t fancy buying insurance at the border - suspect making a claim in the event of an accident might have been a bit problematic.
rotieontour from Germany, who used to be a regular poster on this forum but who I haven’t seen for a while, used to take the Adriatic route from Germany to Greece and said that German insurance companies had no problem with his route. If you search some of his posts regarding the routes he took you’ll see what you (and I) are missing. It’s a mystery to me why German insurance companies take a different risk assessment to those in the UK.
We’ve been to Greece a few times since and have taken the ferry from Italy. Whichever way you go you’ll enjoy touring and wild Camping in Greece.

Pat

 

[witzend]

A Dutchman I spoke to about insurance also said he had no restrictions on his and couldn,t understand why we did. We just took ferry from Venice to Igomenitsa and think it was cheaper than driving. Drove in Yugoslavia years ago make sure your green card is really green as ours wasn,t and caused us a problem