Finances and Insurances

Well where do I start, this was one of the first questions I started to ask when we first floated the idea of travelling overseas on a motor bike.

Can I start by asking, please dont shoot us down with whats listed below, I know there will be people saying WTF…. they spent so much. We’ve just tried to be honest in what its cost us so far so others can hopefully learn.

Funny thing I found was that no one could give us an accurate indication of costs as there are so many variables involved. But its not just the cost of the actual trip, its all the bits and pieces to get you to a position where your ready to travel; keeping in mind that many people have travelled for allot less than it has cost us and I’m sure there are many individuals out there who have spent allot more. Below is a bit of a breakdown on things we thought important enough to act on and Ive tried to include everything;

• The Bike;
• Parts in upgrading the bike;
• Money for the actual travel – We are going to try and work on $100 AUD a day….. thats the plan anyway
• Travel insurance;
• Transporting the bike to South America;
• Plane tickets;
• Immunisations;
• Clothing – both casual and protective;
• InReach Emergency beacon;
• Camping Equipment;
• Preparing the house to rent out;
• Updating Will, Life Insurance etc;
• New Helmets
• Go Pro;
• Intercom;

I’ll try and provide a bit of Information on each area

Hard Drives

I estimate we have spent around $5000 AUD changing and updating adding on items to feel comfortable with how the bike is now set up.

Travel Insurance

At one stage I had 20 Insurance Product Disclosure Statements (PDS’s) spread all over the floor. Who reads PDS’s…………….. I do and its so important when looking at a trip like this. Our criteria was the following;

• Had to allow Motorcycle travel with no limitation on CC’s;
• There was no need for luggage protection, delays to flights, loss of items, additional car insurance etc so in most cases this resulted in the most basic version;
• Ideally we could continue coverage while overseas; and primarily
• be covered for Emergency medical assistance and expenses. Its important to note that while there are a number of company’s that provide this type of service to Insurance companies, they don’t receive good reviews.

We have decided to go with Itrek who will cover us for all of the above as well as allow us to renew for 2 years while still OS.

One item through our research was that those company’s that were underwritten by Lloyds seems to provide the most consistent and user friendly options. Lloyds obviously offer provide one product and each insurance company put their little spin on it to sell the product.

Plane Tickets

Qantas special; one way $1100 each

Clothing

Other than our Dry Rider gear which cost around $500 and boots around $200 each most of our clothing will be bought overseas or we simply use cheap stuff we have bought here…………. Op Shops are the way to go!

Communication

• InReach – $600 AUD Monthly Subscription of $30 AUD
• Sena – $250 AUD each
• Ear plugs with speakers – $500 AUD each

Updating Wills/ Life Insurance/ House Insurance

• While these aren’t travel expenses we are trying make people aware of some of the hidden costs. These costs are all related to your personal situation of course.

  • Updating our Will’s should anything go wrong – $2000 AUD
  • Updating Life Insurances, should one of us die – $600 AUD
  • Updating Home insurance to cover the house while renting and for the storage of our furniture while in the shed – $700 AUD

Helmets

• We spent around $1000 AUD each on new helmets. Yes this is at the expensive end but I believe you only get what you pay for in helmets JMO