INSURANCE FOR YOUR VIETNAM MOTORBIKE TOURS
If you want to be fully covered while riding a motorbike in Vietnam, you should consider the following types of insurance:
- Personal medical insurance
- Third-party liability insurance
- Motorbike theft insurance
- Damage waiver
Of the four types of insurance mentioned above, travelers can typically obtain only one or two of them directly for themselves in Vietnam, depending on their licence and eligibility. In most cases, personal medical insurance is the easiest and most important coverage to arrange before your trip.
Below, we explain each type in more detail to help you understand the risks and how to ensure a safer motorbiking experience in Vietnam.
Personal Medical Insurance
This is the most important type of insurance, and we strongly recommend all riders in Vietnam to have it. It covers medical costs in the event of accidents or injuries.
The good news is that the International Driving Permit (IDP, 1968 Convention) has been recognized in Vietnam since August 1st, 2016 under Decree 46/2016/ND-CP. In practice, police may accept both the 1968 and 1949 Convention IDPs. However, insurance companies generally require a valid 1968 IDP to provide coverage. If you have one, you should also carry your home country driving licence with a motorcycle endorsement.
As tourists cannot obtain a local Vietnamese driving licence, and even long-stay visa holders must wait 7-10 days to complete the process, it is often not practical to get a local licence during a short visit. As a result, most travelers rely on international insurance instead.
Fortunately, personal medical insurance can be purchased from international providers such as Allianz, CHI, or World Nomads, or through platforms like Lonely Planet. These policies typically require only your national or international motorcycle licence. With proper coverage, you will be protected in case of accidents or injuries.
Third-Party Insurance
This policy covers third-party damage or injury in the event of an accident. It is relatively inexpensive in Vietnam, typically around $4 USD per year. However, coverage is limited, with a maximum payout of around $2,000 USD per incident.
In practice, obtaining this insurance usually requires a valid Vietnamese motorbike driving licence, which is difficult for most tourists to obtain during a short stay.
For this reason, many riders choose organized or guided motorbike tours, where support is available in case of an incident and procedures can be handled more smoothly.
FYI, the most a customer had to pay was 600$US when he hit a young local girl and unfortunately broke her leg. If you do a self-guided trip, call us right after you hit anyone or anyone hits you. We can talk and solve the situation as smoothly as we can.
Even local Vietnamese people wouldn’t use this policy to claim insurance because the coverage is very little. When accidents happen, they just talk and find out how much to pay. If the police come, they allow the involved parties to solve the incident before they file anything.
Bike Theft Insurance
Bike theft insurance is not widely available in Vietnam for most rental or touring motorbikes. Fortunately, manual clutch touring bikes are relatively uncommon in everyday use, as the majority of vehicles in Vietnam are scooters.
To reduce risk, it is recommended to use secure paid parking where available (typically around $0.25-$0.50 USD), and always keep the key with you when leaving the bike unattended.
Some insurance providers in Vietnam, such as Liberty Insurance Vietnam, offer products like MotoCare, which may cover theft, fire, explosion, or burglary. These policies usually require proper documentation, including a valid registration certificate and driving licence.
Bike Damage Waiver
In Vietnam, standard insurance companies typically do not offer a dedicated bike damage waiver for rental motorbikes. However, some rental companies may provide their own optional damage waiver, which can cover most types of damage to the bike, with certain exclusions such as theft, loss, or third-party liability. Since this type of coverage is not an official insurance policy provided by a licensed insurance company, it may not always follow standardized terms and conditions. As a result, clarification of responsibilities and potential costs may be required in some cases.
This type of waiver is usually non-refundable, and the cost may vary depending on the motorcycle model and rental duration.
In our case, as our bikes are reasonably priced and well-maintained, we do not currently offer a separate damage waiver option. In the event of damage, charges are assessed based on actual repair or replacement costs.
To decide whether a self-guided or guided tour is right for you, please follow this link on our website for more information.
If you have any further questions about your Vietnam motorbike tour, feel free to contact us anytime.
Other Essential Things
Safety riding gear
Motorbike lesson
Driving license
Things to bring
Mechanic basics
Terminology
Travel documents
Actually the is an agreement in place that the standard UK driving licence is accepted in Vietnam for both Cars and Bikes until March 2019.
However if stopped on the road by police it will still be a load of hassle.
As to Insurance some would say it is not worth the paper it is written on when things go wrong.
However it is a must. You can always pay off the police, just as you would the establishment through courts in the west.
Vietnam is a liability whichever way you look at it, so the more risks you can cover the better.
Purchasing insurance through any company in the west is a ripp off when you compare it to prices in Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand.
Yes, the UK government website mentioned that but honestly almost no police knows about it. You get charged about the same in case you violate the laws, with or without proper license. The only difference is if a serious accident happens, you pay less if you have a proper license. Insurance is cheap here but is useless, you pay a little and it’s not worth to claim.
I have a UK licence which I can ride a motorbike up to 125cc with L plates (learner plates displayed). if I get an IDP am I legal to ride a 110cc bike in Vietnam?
Hello Nathan. Sadly, both UK license and UK-issued IDP are not accepted in Vietnam due to the different Conventions our countries signed. Accept the risk because you are not legal in any way here but who cares? Make sure your riding skills are good, CBT license holders from UK are in fact some of the worst riders we’ve ever seen.
What permits do I need to drive in Vietnam?
In order to legally be allowed to drive in Vietnam, you need a (1) valid A1 or A2 driving permit from your home country, in combination with a (2) International Driving Permit (1968-version). Please check which kinds of motorized vehicles you can drive in Vietnam with your driving permit:
AM license: 2 or 3 wheeled vehicles with an engine size up to 50ccA1 license: you can drive light motorbikes with an engine size up to 175ccA2 license: you can also drive bikes in category A1, as well as motorbikes with an engine size over 175ccB(1) license: carResidents of which countries can use an international driving permit in Vietnam?
The validity of the International Driving Permit in Vietnam has been arranged through the 1949 Convention and the 1968 Convention. The latter convention was signed by Vietnam in 2014. However, it has not been ratified by countries as Australia, Canada, Ireland, and USA. Experience tells us that Vietnamese police officials treat every IDP as an IDP.
Click here for a list of all countries who signed the 1968 Convention. IDPs from those countries are valid in Vietnam.
It’s easy to get a driver license in Vietnam!
U must let translate your driving licenses and after that go to the traffic office.
In 7 days you have your Vietnamese driving license.
The only thing u need is a visa for 3 months.
I did this September 2017.
Hello Ben. You must also need to notarize all papers like passport, home country driving license and have a business visa. Tourist visa holders can’t get a local license or they have to pay a lot (around 200$US) for a service company to arrange a license. In addition, not many of our customers have 7-10 days to wait for a local license.
There is NO insurance policy that covers Australian riders in Vietnam. It doesnt matter whether you have IDL or Home licence….the rules for travel insurance state “If you act illegally/break law of country you are in. YOU ARE NOT COVERED” So even though Viet police dont care, the bike hire shop doesnt care…your insurance company will! If you get hurt you are on your own.
I cant believe the Vietnamese Govt hasnt cottoned on to what a money maker this could be….every rider must have “Visitor Licence” @ ,say, 50$ USD pp plus the revenue from fines from NOT having this licence!!!!
Hello Sue. You are right. Australia signed 1949 Convention while Vietnam signed 1968 Convention. Therefore, both Australian or IDP are not legal in Vietnam. Unfortunately, Vietnam is not that flexible and there are nearly FIFTY MILLION motorbikes in the country for nearly ONE HUNDRED MILLION people. FYI, Australia is 23.2 times larger than Vietnam! You know how traffic will be. So the government won’t need more foreign riders and those who want to experience Vietnam on two wheel will need to accept this risk or try to get the 1968 Convention IDPs.
There is a Dutch guy (Tim Valk) who got into an accident outside his fault and the victim died of his injuries. He was on a motorscooter and went to jail. His family had a fundraiser to raise money (several thousands of euros) to pay the family of the deceased man. After this he was released. So it is illegal to drive a motorcycle in Vietnam without a license and you will go to jail if you hit somebody.
Thank you for your info. Honestly, first the authorities will let the two sides to discuss before they take any legal action. In Tim’s case I suspected that he didn’t want to pay anything (as you said outside his fault). Things could have been arranged in a much easier way. Now the 1968 Convention (not 1949 Convention) international driving license is accepted in Vietnam, bring that and your country driving license and you will be riding legally in Vietnam.
I have a A2 Cambodian bike licence. Is this licence legal in Vietnam?
Sadly, the answer is no. You must have 1968 Convention international driving license (not even the 1949 Convention) or Vietnamese driving license.