Travel Insurance - read the fine print

[Chelseapop]

The report said her insurance company refused her claim because she didn' t have an australian motorbike licence. In Australia you don't require a bike licence to ride a scooter/moped, just a normal drivers licence.

 

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[kerryincork]

In Ireland you automatically are given a moped licence if you pass your driving test up to 125cc

 

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[cheznandy]

Do you mean an International Driver Permit as issued by the RACV. NRMA and RACQ?

 

Thats is what I meant.

 

I would assume they mean that as the international licence as some places will not let you hire the car/bike unless you have one.

Generally, most insurances would be voided due to being unlicensed and thus leaving the passengers uninsured as well.

 

We have not been asked to show the International permit when hiring, and to be honest we cannot remember showing our Australian drivers license either:eek:although we take them and have photo copies with us too.

We also always take photos of the vehicle before we drive off, easy these days with phones etc.

As long as they have the $$$ they dont care about all the legalities hahaha!!

[Aus Traveller]

I would assume they mean that as the international licence as some places will not let you hire the car/bike unless you have one.

We have hired cars or motorhomes in many countries and they have never been interested in looking at an International Driving Permit. The companies have always asked to see the Australian driving licence and photocopied it.:)

[Lifesaver1984]

The report said her insurance company refused her claim because she didn' t have an australian motorbike licence. In Australia you don't require a bike licence to ride a scooter/moped, just a normal drivers licence.

 

The article mentions both the words "motorcycle" and "moped" as being what the woman was riding at the time. So it's hard to say exactly what the classification is based on this article alone.

 

However, https://travel.allianz.com.au/File/Download?docType=PDS in regards to general exclusions on page 41 - clause A.13:

* you driving a motor vehicle or riding a moped or scooter without a current Australian drivers licence or drivers licence valid for the country you are driving or riding in. This applies even if you are not required by law to hold a licence in the country you are driving or riding in;

* you riding a motorcycle without a current Australian motorcycle licence or motorcycle licence valid for the country you are riding in. This applies even if you are not required to hold a motorcycle licence because you hold a drivers licence, or a motorcycle licence is not required by law in the country you are riding in;

 

So if it is classed as a "moped" then there might be an argument with the Allianz about it. If it is classed as a "motorcycle" then there's not much of a defence to that one.

 

Unfortunately, the "no one ever told me about that" defence doesn't work when you agree that you have read/received these PDS documents.

[MicCanberra]

We have hired cars or motorhomes in many countries and they have never been interested in looking at an International Driving Permit. The companies have always asked to see the Australian driving licence and photocopied it.:)

 

The international driving permit is basically a translation to say that the holder has a valid drivers licence, it is really only needed in non English countries where they do not speak/read English.

 

I have not been asked for it anywhere but in KK, Sabah, Malaysia.

Edited January 30, 2017 by MicCanberra