Shipping Internationally and Insurance

Shipping a Vehicle

We learned a lot in this process, and were humbled by how little we actually knew the day we showed up at the Baltimore, USA port to ship our truck to Liverpool, England.

We worked with International Vehicle Shipping Services (IVSS)- a broker that places vehicles on ships - and contacted them about 10 weeks in advance of our desired shipping date. Although we reached out early, we did not start the detailed conversation until six weeks in advance. The individual we worked with was Martin McGowan and he was great - very responsive.

We opted for RORO (Roll On Roll Off) as opposed to a container as the cost was substantially less. This meant we would be leaving the truck at the port to be driven off and on the ship by a port employee. Our initial quote was under $2,000 but by the time the taxes and fees were added the total cost came out to close to $2,300

As we neared our date we started lining up our driveway cleaning options. We knew that there were strict regulations for vehicles being scrubbed before shipping so we wanted to make sure we would pass.

Thanks to friends and family on the east coast we were able to access hoses, vacuum cleaners etc to get the truck ready. (To be fair, this is the royal “we,” Dawn is writing this and took photos but Andy did all the work.)

So clean!

Engine de-greased too

In addition to cleaning and scrubbing, we cleared all personal items out of the cab and emptied all the external lock boxes on the Norweld flatbed, leaving them unlocked. We took off the Maxtrax, Rotopacs and hi lift jack and put everything into the camper. We shipped the camper locked, but hid a key in case the shipper needed to access the camper for customs.

We were also told we needed our original title document to show the shipper so we had our daughter mail that to us. The day of shipping, we were ready with our clean vehicle with everything stored away, our title and a copy of the dock receipt from the shipper.

According to our paperwork, the first step was to call for a Port Escort, basically a guide who would take us on our bureaucratic journey inside the port security gates.

The first hiccup, we called the Port Escort service and the gentleman we spoke to said that if we had a camper on the truck, the camper needed to be named on the dock receipt paperwork. It wasn’t. The measurements Andy gave Martin included the camper but the camper was not specifically named. We called the shipping agent and she said we would need a new dock receipt provided by Martin in the UK. We initiated panicked calls and emails to Martin. He responded immediately and let us know that the camper did not actually have to be named in the paperwork if it was attached to the truck. A call back to the escort service to explain this and we were given a 9am appointment. But wait, did we have four copies of the title in addition to the original and four copies of our dock receipt? No. Somehow we were not privy to this internal knowledge so a quick trip to Staples, then more fully prepared we were given a 9:30am timeslot. This was the latest recommended time as apparently the longshoreman in the port go on a mandated 11:30am - 1pm lunch break and everything shuts down.

Next step, meeting our escort. We were given an address near the port and made our way there. The first guard we encountered at the address told us we were at the wrong place and instructed us to move ahead to an obscure parking area down the street. We pulled in as expected and waited. And waited. Vehicles with drivers who clearly knew what they were doing wizzed past every which way. We felt very lost. 45 minutes later our friendly guy showed up. Paperwork in hand we followed him through the first guard station and on to the next stop, customs. We wove our way past a dizzying display of vehicles, cranes, trucks and infrastructure.

The next minor snafu was the realization that we did not have safety vests, but our escort had us covered with emergency supplies in his trunk. (We have since purchased safety vests, an emergency triangle, first aid kit and extra headlight bulbs as these are all required supplies for an onboard emergency kit for driving in Europe).

First stop was the Customs shed. A cursory look at the truck, then an examination of our original title, dock receipt and stamping of copies and we were good to go.

Next stop, the shipping agent. After standing in line with professional truckers who looked much more like they knew what they were doing, we were told we were in the wrong place. Apparently our escort had brought us to the truck/rv building, but our camper was actually classified as a vehicle - who knew?

So on to another building for vehicle shipping. Only now, Oh no, it was 11:25 and everything was shutting down. We prepared for a hot 90 minute wait in a parking line with transporters filled with cars all waiting to complete paperwork.

At 1pm sharp, our escort managed to get us front of the line and we finalized the drop off. We were treated amazingly well, the shipping supervisor came out to inspect our truck, was impressed and acknowledging that it was our home, promised special attention. We left it parked tucked alongside his office awaiting loading.

Andy said it felt a bit like leaving a child at college the first day.

We said our goodbyes

Shipping supervisor moved it close to his office to keep an eye out for us.

Insurance

A quick note on insurance. We signed up for World Nomads travel insurance. We paid $1,000 for a year for both of us. It is a secondary insurance program to cover any costs while travelling. Currently we also have COBRA through Andy’s past employer. Once that expires we are in contact with another insurer to be our primary.

For auto insurance, we received some recommendations from our shipper, Martin. We knew we needed proof of insurance to drive the truck out of the port in England. We chose Travel Insure and paid for general liability for Europe for 5 months for $621 (in December we will be leaving Europe to comply with Schengen regulations, leaving the truck for a bit, then will resume insurance when we return). The other recommended option, Alessie, was slightly higher rates. We also investigated Geico International but they only cover military families.

Next week, we fly to England to reunite with our Tacoma home!

Wishing our truck a safe journey. Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep.