insure bike on EU license become an issue now?

[mjojom]

Hi Guys,
maybe someone can shed a bit of light on this one.
As the title say, since last year i am having an issue getting insured my bikes.
Ive been living/working in the UK for better part of my life but never really considered need of switching my license to UK one. why? - because i do drive/ride here and in the europe mainland so i never feel the need even I do pay higher premium for this.
until last year insuring my bikes on full EU license that i hold for over 20 years was not a problem, however last year MCE did not renew with me stating they do not insure on non UK licences, and only insurer I found was a lexham.
Was just tinkering on confused site as im thinking of getting a new bike, and on eu license ive got two quotes on comprehensive and fire and theft, lexham and right choice where lexham is 600 and right choice 7000+ ??
switching to UK license, I get long list of happy insurers.

dont have this issue insuring my car, so what is the problem really?

cheers
jo

[daveuprite]

so what is the problem really?

cheers
jo

Hi Jo. Sorry, but your problem is called "brexit". You are encountering one of the many red-tape / bureaucratic problems that brexit is causing, as a smooth simple EU-wide system is replace by a mess of individual policies.

I'm a UK passport holder resident in France (the other way around, if you like) - and thousands of us in the same position are trying to get our UK EU driving licences changed to French EU licences before the brexit transition period ends. It has crashed the french system and there is a large backlog of applications.

However, in the meantime, we're not having any particular problems with insuring our vehicles (as far as I'm aware). So it looks like the UK insurers are having trouble understanding the transition period, how it works, and what they are required to maintain after brexit comes into force. It might be worth speaking to someone senior at the insurer that you are interested in and talking through the issues.

At the end of the day you have a perfectly valid EU drivers licence. They should be insuring you without question, at least until the end of the transition period (which will almost certainly have to be extended by a year or so anyway, due to covid).

Best of luck, Dave

[Tonibe63]

Why not try a broker like Adrian Flux or Footman James? Not used them myself but heard of many getting competitive quotes for both 'non mainstream bikes/cars' and straight forward quotes.

[mjojom]

i understand brexit bureaucracy, but wouldn't same apply to cars? - now i said it...
im thinking maybe too many little moped riders from all over the world maybe on dodge licences? - hm but the same would go for uber drivers swapping 1 license between four of them

ill try to ring them two, my car renewal is due.
cheers

[daveuprite]

i understand brexit bureaucracy, but wouldn't same apply to cars? -
cheers

Yeah, it should of course. I know a consultant who lives in West London (has done for years) but he's Austrian. He has also had trouble with silly quotes and rejections to insure his car. Some companies seem to be asking questions with brexit in mind and some are ignoring it until it happens. As I said, above Allianz here in France have not even mentioned it for me.

[garyboy]

to my simple but creative mind
it seems quite simple. ..
at the end of the this year, mister Boris will make damn sure we, the UK, leave that bureaucratic, but generous to Wales, EU.
Insurance companies usually operate an a yearly basis, so need to look ahead a full year,
as it stand your eu licence will not be valid before the end of that time.
I expect the eu are deliberately dragging their heals on reciprocal arrangements, to claw the last dregs out of out wonderful UK.

trouble is.. if the eu dont do reciprocal .. will it mean a re-test?

[daveuprite]

to my simple but creative mind
it seems quite simple. ..
at the end of the this year, mister Boris will make damn sure we, the UK, leave that bureaucratic, but generous to Wales, EU.
Insurance companies usually operate an a yearly basis, so need to look ahead a full year,
as it stand your eu licence will not be valid before the end of that time.
I expect the eu are deliberately dragging their heals on reciprocal arrangements, to claw the last dregs out of out wonderful UK.

trouble is.. if the eu dont do reciprocal .. will it mean a re-test?

I wonder, if ever Gary, you will grasp that it is the UK leaving the EU and not the other way round. Do you blame the hammer when you stupidly bash your own thumb with it?

[garyboy]

Well .. I certainly Swear at it, Dave

[DavidS]

Have you heard of cutting off your nose to spite your face?

[Tourider]

You should have changed your licence to a UK licence after 6 months of being in the country, no need for another test, nothing to do with Brexit. You've been driving illegally in the UK since then, you've obviously not had to claim on any policy in that time because the insurance company would have cheerfully pointed this out had you tried to claim.