It’s a question we get asked on a weekly basis, sadly there is no straight forward answer however we are happy to share what we have learnt so that you can hopefully find a company to insure you or know what to look for.

Below are the updates i’ve been getting through and chasing. I will update this as often as I hear anything new. Also keep reading for our experiences on taking our 1969 Vw Bus to Canada and the USA 2016/2017. For a shipping guide click here.

24.10.2017

UK plated Citroen 2CV from 1985

STATE FARM^® INSURANCE AGENT, VANCOUVER, WA

Erik Morton

https://www.statefarm.com/…/Van…/Erik-Morton-4JSD077YXGF

01.07.2017

06.06.17

Contact : Seabridge Insurance

Vehicle over 19 years old but was recently converted so was registered as a new build, i.e from 2017 and not 1993.

The conversion was done professionally and receipts could be provided for proof of the build.

Quotes : Euro 1300 for 5000,000 liability and Euro 1700 for 1 million liability for 6 months.

Contact : Phyllis@fernet.com – Advised US address was required. New York was not accepted as an address as apparently they don’t accept international driving licenses in that state?

03.05.17

Contact : Phyllis@fernet.com

A swiss guy i met in halifax recently insured his 30year old Iveco truck… he could choose the amount he wanted to insure…. cheapest option was round 600dollar… he raised it a bit… so didnt insure the minimum and payed like 900 canada usa 6 months….

15.03.17

Contact : Dairyland Auto in San Diego

1986 pickup insured

Mark@Insurance4Less.net

Tel: 858 694 8600

4425 Genesee Ave.

San Diego, Ca 92117

He can only provided Liability, we payed 600$ for 6 Month

01.09.16

Other companies we tried….. Potentially will insure vehicle 1976 or newer :

sales@blueskyrvinsurance.com

Would Insure us but only if we got the condition inspected by their representitive in California

georginaverdugo@sbcglobal.net

20.03.17 (no longer offering Insurance) jens@lionsgroupinsurance.com

Jenn from the Lions group which is think is part of Progressive insurance. Although our insurance only covers the US not Canada or Mexico, and it was quite pricey at $1200 for 6 months, but we are both under 25 and the vehicle is worth a lot so we kinda expected it. We didn’t need an address either which was idea ”

We knew of  other people previously getting insured with the below but sadly after contacting them the below no longer provide insurance for vehicles over 19 years of age / or outside of teh USA ;

alessie@alessie.com

jens@lionsgroupinsurance.com

SeaBridge

Tour Insure

AIG

Our Experience over the last 2 years of checking, trawling, begging and going for it

Most people that I have come across that have got insurance are not from the UK .They are from somewhere in Europe where insurance is based on the vehicle and not the person. In the UK the insurance is based on the person and not the vehicle so it kinda screws things up for uk residents finding insurance from a company in the UK. Most people who have managed to get insurance get it in their home country with a policy that covers them in the USA/ Canada.

It’s one thing being from the Europe with a EU registered vehicle but it’s an entirely different thing if that vehicle is old!

Our main issue was that our camper is 47 years old. No company would insure us and either stated they wouldn’t insure a vehicle over 40 years old or 19 years old. Don’t ask me why!

We had an insurance company willing to insure us before we left in 2015/16. It was a recommendation from a Vanlifer who had done it a year previously. All we had to do was contact them when we knew the exact dates of our travels. However you will only know your exact dates when the ship sailing is confirmed 2-4 weeks before you leave. The company contacted us a few days before we were leaving and said they can no longer insure us as they no longer offer that type of insurance. So we tried more companies, after the 50th time of filling out forms, scanning printing and emailing (not easy when on the road) we were rejected each time so we gave up. We kept our eyes on various forums but never had any luck. We ran with no insurance, It sounds bad but we had no choice.

A few things to note :

We have close friends that travelled to just under 70 countries in their 1970’s camper……never had insurance. There is no company in the world that insures you everywhere, most don’t in their neighbouring country or in their own country if you are from abroad.

Also it is a massive grey area / legal loop hole, in the USA many people don’t run insurance. We didn’t do it but heard stories of people having an issue then just moving on out of state.

We got pulled over twice (just because we had a foreign plate) they could not trace our vehicle having come in to the country (they don’t link shipping records with police / vehicle records) and they have no link to the UK system so they had no idea what to do with us. They just talked to us and let us on our way!

We also went through Canadian customs twice and USA customs twice, when arriving in the country and bringing in our bus by sea and overland. As they are federal they are not interested in insurance, just that you don’t plan to stay in the country.

We have seen a number of people from Europe get insurance but it always follows the same pattern. The first person gets insurance with their existing insurance company. This company sees it as a big risk but does it as a one off for their customer. They share this information with the vanlife community and maybe one or two other people manage to get insurance too before they stop offering it because of the high risk.

So keep your eyes open on forums and FB groups such as (Pan-American Travellers) to see if anyone else gets insurance and jump on it before they stop. I also keep my eyes open and contact any companies I come across that have insured any Transatlantic travellers as we get asked on a weekly basis!

We hope that helps, sorry it’s not easier and we hope it doesn’t stop you from having the adventure of a lifetime. If you have any other questions about vanlife please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Best Wishes

Michael & Andrea

Follow our adventures 🙂 Thismakesustick