You are packed and ready to go on your motorcycling holiday abroad. Maps, Sat Nav, credit card, and toothpaste. Just the mosquito spray and clean underpants to get. Your bike is brimmed with petrol and ready to board the ferry for France or Spain. Your Passport is up to date and all the arrangements for contact numbers with friends and relatives have been made; but what about motorcycle repatriation insurance?

You are fit and healthy and your motorcycle is in good condition and only has nine thousand miles on the clock which brings it well within the guarantee period.  

Your aged parents need travel insurance, so why should you? If need be, you’ll push your motorcycle back to the Ferry in the event of a breakdown, or if you have to, in the event of a motorcycle accident you can leave it at the roadside and get the nearest plane back.  

But what if you are so seriously injured that you have to be flown back to the UK by air ambulance (repatriated)? What if you contract a disease that renders you unconscious? What if you injure other people and you are at fault? The ‘what ifs’ are endless and so are the bills that will follow you around if you aren’t insured, this is when you think “I should have taken the motorcycle repatriation insurance option on my bike policy”. Cases have been known to attract bills that can amount to hundreds of thousands and sometime millions of pounds.  

These aren’t the kind of cases that you can go to the County Court with and offer to pay at £5 per week. Medical Insurance companies don’t mess around for their money and usually bankrupt you and take your home and possessions from you. And all because you decided that you didn’t need motorcycle repatriation insurance.  

Repatriation for injured motorcyclists is a costly procedure. Imagine the hospital bills and travelling bills that have to take into account the recovery of your machine. So, what sort of Insurance will you need? How much will you need to be covered for? To be on the safe side, two million pounds worth of cover should be adequate to take care of your needs. You must also make sure that your motorcycle insurance policy covers you for motorcycle repatriation. Another essential is the need for 24 hour coverage. Accidents and illness don’t take heed of what time of day or night it is; but motorcycle insurers and the emergency services do. You must read the small print and understand what you are and are not covered for BEFORE YOU GO.  

‘Support’ insurance will offer you exactly what it says on the document. It will offer you accident assistance and medical treatments. It will also offer you motorcycle legal assistance when you need it most. In some countries, once you are involved in an accident, the matter involves the Police that will usually want to arrest you and incarcerate you in a cell from the moment you are well enough to be imprisoned; guilty or not!   Also check with you bank or any personal insurance you may have. Check with your credit card company to see if they offer you insurance that includes motorcycle repatriation.  

Members of the European Union can obtain basic motorbike insurance cover for medical emergencies and treatment through the EHIC scheme. It is worth looking at the terms and conditions that it offers. Remember, it is only basic insurance and will not cover emergency motorcycle repatriation.   Always take copy documentation with you and leave copies with people who are the first point of contact. Always leave contact details about your person in case you are rendered unconscious and details of your identity are needed as a matter of urgency by the emergency services.