Insurance with foreign licence

[racerhead]

Hi all
Im going to be in NZ next week for a year and will be getting a bike pretty much straight away.
My question is has anyone got insurance using a foreign licence(in my case irish)?
If you have gotten insurance has this loaded your premium by much?
I can get my licence changed over if I have too but just want to see if its possible on my licence.
Thanks

[BirdXX]

Hi Racerhead

I think we've met before on biker.ie?!

Don't know the answer to the insurance question but bear in mind that while the lunatic Irish government will exchange an EU goatherd's licence for an Irish licence they will not do the same for a NZ full licence. You can however exchange your Irish licence for a NZ licence.

What this means is that if you go back to Ireland with your shiny new NZ licence you will have one year on the road, then you will have to do your test again.

Only in Ireland...

[FJRider]

As I understand, if you are legally allowed to ride the bike you are insureing...there should be no issues. Check with a few different companies before you sign anything though...

[racerhead]

Hi Racerhead

I think we've met before on biker.ie?!

Don't know the answer to the insurance question but bear in mind that while the lunatic Irish government will exchange an EU goatherd's licence for an Irish licence they will not do the same for a NZ full licence. You can however exchange your Irish licence for a NZ licence.

What this means is that if you go back to Ireland with your shiny new NZ licence you will have one year on the road, then you will have to do your test again.

Only in Ireland...

Yep Id be the same person off biker

Its funny alright the whole swapping licences because I worked with a guy from NZ that had looked into it before he came over and what he did was swap his NZ licence for a Australian one and then swapped this straight over to an Irish one
Think I might have a trick for keeping an irish licence though, fill out a form for a duplicate licence and leave it at home for when Im back. It might work, I hope.

Ive tried a few different quotes over the internet saying I have a foreign licence and they all say they wont quote me so think Ill just wait till I arrive and ring around a few of them and see what they say then.

[sinfull]

Some form of letter from the (equivalent of) ltsa, stating your driving record over there might be a go, if its a clean one that is lol

[racerhead]

if its a clean one that is lol

Ummm, that could be a slight problem

[portokiwi]

you keep your Irish licence just take it into AA with your passport and the $46
NZ and you have two licences. just makes it a bit easer to have nz id in nz.
Gabby got her temp one stright away and the real one arrived about a week or two later. so she has both her Portuguese and NZ licence. easer for insurance too.
Wish I could have done the samo overe there I had to get a international one for the EU.

[racerhead]

you keep your Irish licence just take it into AA with your passport and the $46
NZ and you have two licences. just makes it a bit easer to have nz id in nz.
Gabby got her temp one stright away and the real one arrived about a week or two later. so she has both her Portuguese and NZ licence. easer for insurance too.
Wish I could have done the samo overe there I had to get a international one for the EU.

Ok thats perfect
I have the international licence myself but if I can get the NZ one that easy thats brilliant
Thanks

[portokiwi]

http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/56.html
look this up bit back to front but I hope it helps.....
Do I have to sit any tests?
All drivers must know the road rules, what the road signs mean and how to drive safely. Learning the road rules is particularly important because of New Zealand's unique Give Way rule (when you are turning left, you must give way to vehicles that are coming from the opposite direction and turning right). You can find out more about this rule and others in The official New Zealand road code.

Some countries require similar driving skills and have similar licensing systems to New Zealand's. Depending on the country you have come from and the class of licence you are converting, you may not have to sit theory and/or practical tests. Other countries may have driver licensing systems that are very different from New Zealand's. People from these countries do have to sit both theory and practical tests.

Theory test?
You do not have to sit the theory test if:

you have a licence from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States of America, and
your licence is current (or has expired less than 12 months), and
you are converting a car or a motorcycle licence.
You do have to sit a theory test if:

you have a licence from a country not listed above; or
you are converting a heavy vehicle licence from any country.
Practical test
You do not have to sit the practical test if:

you have a licence from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States of America, and
your licence is current (or has expired less than 12 months), and
you have held that licence for more than two years.
You do have to sit the practical test if:

you have a licence from a country not listed above, or
you have a licence from a country which is listed above but you have held that licence for less than two years.
What about motorcycles and heavy vehicles?
Different types of vehicle are grouped into 'classes'. There are different theory tests and practical tests for different classes:

Class 1 covers cars and other light-weight motor vehicles.
Classes 2–5 cover different types of heavy vehicle, such as trucks.
Class 6 covers motorcycles.
Most people will sit the theory and practical tests for a Class 1 licence. If you had a motorcycle licence and wish to continue riding, you will need to sit different theory and practical tests for a Class 6 licence. If you drove trucks and want to do so here, or want to have both a car and a motorcycle licence, make sure you tell the driver licensing agent which licence classes you want to sit tests for (see Factsheet 11 Driver licence classes for more information).