Where else to come but STW for the info…

I have a friend who needs to drive to Ukraine in the next couple of weeks. It’s all bit frightening when one of the busiest threads is about the possibility of impending war in the country. This trip really can’t be put off – certainly comes under any description of “only travel if absolutely necessary”.

Question is – anyone know how to insure a car to drive from UK to Ukraine and back again? It seems no insurer will insure you to drive there. You can get as far as Romania but it seems very hard to get cover further than that. They’ve gone through about 10 insurance companies but no joy yet the stress levels are rising.

Have they tried any Ukranian insurance companies? They might be more willing to cover a car in the UK, and various points in between, rather than the other way around.

Good thinking – no idea but I’ve passed it onto them. Thanks.

Is it a legal requirement? If not I’d be tempted to self insurance, drive carefully and chance it if it is an essential journey.

Is it a legal requirement? If not I’d be tempted to self insurance, drive carefully and chance it if it is an essential journey.

Clearly spoken by someone who’s not driven in Ukraine – I have number of times down in the Crimea admittedly

I’ll take a hard pass on that.

Hire car? Drive UK car to Polish border town and hire a car?

some countries in eastern europe have insurance on the border. Romania might be one of them (not sure)

otherwise contact a proper insurance broker not an online shop (adrian flux have a good rep in modified circles), or have a look on overlanding forums, both with know

Try asking on horizons unlimited Facebook group (or I think they have a forum on the website). Green card from current insurer should cover most countries, for others you can usually buy the legal minimum 3rd party insurance at the border. I doubt you will get more than 3rd party outside EU

Fascinated to know the purpose of this trip. I’d love to have a life interesting enough that it requires driving to the Ukraine

You’ll be covered as far as Romania, from there on you can generally buy insurance just past the border post.

Worth an ask on overlanding forums as said, and maybe ask the Pub2Pub boy, since he’s driven most of the world in unsuitable vehicles.

Fascinated to know the purpose of this trip.

Probably delivering a bootload of NLAWS as a gift from UKGov!

You buy insurance at the border.

Ive got my paperwork upstairs somewhere from last time I drove there. Turned out it’s an invoice for a boiler. Not that the police in the Ukraine were bothered. $10 every traffic stop did the trick.

Buying it may be possible, claiming on it or using it to pay for a claim is probably a bigger issue. Id just leave as fast as I could in that event.

Bet no one was expecting WW3 to kick off following an STW insurance thread!

’d love to have a life interesting enough that it requires driving to the Ukraine

I definitely wouldn’t!

Hire car? Drive UK car to Polish border town and hire a car?

🙂

That’ll be like the time many years ago I was picking up a Merc at a hire company in a Berlin airport. They asked where I was going, “Berlin and then on to Chelm” (eastern Poland and on the Ukraine border).

The keys were removed from the desk, and a set of Ford keys put down.

Is it an auto I asked.

Nope.

We then played a game of ‘chicken’ until they supplied me with a auto (Ford Explorer V8).

Was a good trip though, but I did pay a Pole to sleep in the car in Chelm as an ‘insurance’ against it going missing. He asked for 10DM per night, I agreed and said if we had no issues I’d double his money. No issues and one happy Pole.

I’ve to concur with someone above, paying for insurance and then actually having a claim paid out are two separate issues.

Just checked the “For Sale” section of Withams. No obvious armoured bargains taken off the site recently, so the OP’s mate might not have bough a second hand Snatch from them.

Good luck to your friend by the way. If they are going there to get some friends/family out of danger, they are a step above a lot of people. If UK.gov have given him/her two euro pallets of Jevelin and asked if they can drop them off, then, well, good luck.

OP – take a lesson from your colleagues. Toyota and some pals…

What is the insurance for?
Actually being able to make a claim if anything happens, either to the or the vehicle, or just a box to tick to comply with a minimum legal requirement? I would approach these two things very differently. In the latter case almost certainly taking a disposable vehicle across the border, whatever I had actually driven to Romania in.

Get on ukriversguidebook and hit up Dave Manby ( or Google him)

Last time I met him was on the Armenian border of Turkey and he was on his way back from Iran in a Transit. He must have got insurance for that somehow.

Odly enough, my grandparents did the same journey by car, but:
A) they’re dead so you can’t ask them
B) it was 53 years ago so things will have changed.

I doubt any insurance will cover you your friend for transporting military equipment.

You are The Night Manager and I claim my £5

Not that the police in the Ukraine were bothered. $10 every traffic stop did the trick.

Just like to point out that bribery* of anybody, anywhere in the world, is an offence under UK law. Not that your chances of prosecution are high, just don’t claim them on your business expenses!

* including “facilitation payments” like these

OP – take a lesson from your colleagues. Toyota and some pals…

I have heard “T34.com” hire cars offer a safe vehicle….

Dont Google it….

I’m going to Google that.

Edit: Link broken. Bah!

Might not be so good and fall foul of all those NLAW’s that the UK has gifted the Ukraine. I’m not sure the average Ukrainian squaddy can tell the difference between an aggressive Russian battle tank and a touring tank

. I’m not sure the average Ukrainian squaddy can tell the difference between an aggressive Russian battle tank and a touring tank

Russian dogs can.
During the war they trained dogs that there was food underneath tanks. Then, when going into battle, strapped mines to the dogs and released them.
They had been trained on Soviet T34s and so headed straight for those, no food under a Panther, totally different vehicle. The project was quickly abandoned

I drove through Ukraine, but more than 10 years ago now.

We couldn’t find a UK policy that covered driving abroad in Ukraine.

The only way we could have gotten cover would have been via a Ukrainian broker or insurer, but we didn’t bother due to the cost and paperwork.

We just accepted the risk and bought the tick box ‘insurance’ at the border. We also had our insurance certificate and ‘green card’ as back up, and also our international driving permits, and most importantly, plenty of USD in cash to pay the inevitable bribes.

Ukraine border guards and police were by far the worst when it came to bribes, of all the countries I’ve driven through. The people were great though.