Coverage explained
Insurance
Three different things can go wrong on a rental, and a different policy covers each one. Here is exactly what is included, what costs extra, and what nothing covers at all.
Who pays for what
Most renters assume one purchase covers everything. It does not. Read this grid across before anything else on the page — every section below simply expands one of its columns.
| If this is damaged | Compulsory พ.ร.บ. Included | Third-party ฿1,500 + ฿100/day | Bike cover from ฿190/day | Your travel policy Bought at home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Another person is injured | Compulsory พ.ร.บ.: Partly covered | Third-party: Covered | Bike cover: Not covered | Your travel policy: Not covered |
| Another person's vehicle or property | Compulsory พ.ร.บ.: Not covered | Third-party: Covered | Bike cover: Not covered | Your travel policy: Not covered |
| The motorcycle you rented from us | Compulsory พ.ร.บ.: Not covered | Third-party: Not covered | Bike cover: Covered | Your travel policy: Not covered |
| Your own injuries | Compulsory พ.ร.บ.: Partly covered | Third-party: Not covered | Bike cover: Not covered | Your travel policy: Covered |
| The bike is stolen, or you lose the key | Compulsory พ.ร.บ.: Not covered | Third-party: Not covered | Bike cover: Not covered | Your travel policy: Not covered |
Look at the last row. Theft and a lost key are covered by none of the four — not by us, not by the compulsory policy, not by third-party. Park where we recommend, use the lock, and keep the key on you.
Compulsory insurance (พ.ร.บ.)
Every motorcycle we rent carries compulsory motor insurance as required by Thai law. It is included in your price and you do not need to arrange anything — it is the same cover every rental company in Thailand provides.
It pays for bodily injury to people: third parties, and your passenger. It pays nothing towards any vehicle, including ours.
What the compulsory policy pays
| Medical expenses, preliminary per person | ฿30,000 |
|---|---|
| Medical expenses, if not at fault per person | ฿80,000 |
| Loss of limbs or organs, preliminary per person | ฿35,000 |
| Loss of limbs or organs, if not at fault per person | ฿200,000 – ฿500,000 |
| Death or permanent disability, preliminary per person | ฿35,000 |
| Death or permanent disability, if not at fault per person | ฿500,000 |
| Daily compensation while injured per day, max 20 days | ฿200 |
Statutory amounts, shown for orientation. They are set by law, not by us, and can change.
333× That is the gap between the cover you get for free and the cover you can buy. Both bars are drawn to the same scale.
What it does not do
- It pays nothing for vehicle damage — not the other party's vehicle, and not the motorcycle you are riding.
- It pays nothing for theft, fire, flood or any other natural disaster.
- The sums are small against a serious hospital bill in Phuket. This is a legal minimum, not real protection.
Third-party liability
This is the policy that matters if you hurt someone or damage their property. Thai medical costs and vehicle repairs are recoverable from you personally, and the compulsory policy runs out almost immediately. Third-party liability takes over where it stops.
What it covers
| Bodily injury or death, per person | ฿500,000 |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury or death, per accident | ฿10,000,000 |
| Public liability — property damage | ฿200,000 |
| Bail bond | ฿200,000 |
We arrange this for you — message us with your rental dates and we will come back with the paperwork. Allow one to one and a half working hours for the policy to be issued, so tell us before you collect the bike rather than on the day you leave.
Ask about third-party coverBike cover — a ceiling on what you owe us
Third-party protects other people. This protects you, from us. It puts a hard ceiling on the amount you can be charged for damage to the motorcycle you rented, and we absorb everything above that line.
The deposit is not a ceiling. This is the part renters get wrong most often. Your deposit is collateral we hold, not the limit of what you owe — without bike cover you are liable for the full repair bill, whatever it comes to. A dropped big bike can pass ฿100,000 in parts and labour.
Worked example on a bike with a ฿20,000 deposit and a ฿10,000 ceiling.
Without bike cover
There is no upper limit. Whatever the workshop invoices, you owe — and the deposit is only the part we already hold.
With bike cover, ฿290 per day
Notice that your ceiling is lower than the deposit you already paid. Worst case you lose ฿10,000 out of the ฿20,000 we hold and the rest comes straight back to you. You never pay us a baht more than the ceiling.
| Class | Deposit held | Cover per day | Your maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | ฿10,000 | ฿190 | ฿5,000 |
| Class B | ฿20,000 | ฿290 | ฿10,000 |
| Class C | ฿45,000 | ฿500 | ฿15,000 |
Which class applies depends on the motorcycle. See the class on each bike's page
When the ceiling does not apply
Bike cover caps your liability in an ordinary accident. It does not cover you in these situations, and in each of them you are back to the full repair bill:
- Riding after drinking alcohol
- Riding under the influence of drugs
- Riding without a valid International Driving Permit for motorcycles
- The police at the scene find that you caused the hazard
- Theft of the motorcycle
- A lost key
The reckless-riding exclusion turns on what the police record at the scene, not on our opinion afterwards. We would rather tell you that here than at the counter.
Damage you cause to other people
Third-party liability
The insurer pays, up to ฿10,000,000.
Bought through us for ฿1,500 plus ฿100 a day. Nothing to do with our motorcycle.
Damage to the motorcycle you rented
Bike cover
You pay up to your ceiling. We pay the rest.
Priced per day by bike class. Nothing to do with anyone else's car.
Two different risks, two different payers, two separate prices. Buying one does nothing for the other.
The cover you bring with you
Neither policy above pays for your own hospital treatment beyond the small compulsory sums. That part comes from your own travel insurance — and whether it pays out depends on things you can check before you fly.
Travel insurance
Phuket Garage is a legally registered Thai company and we issue a proper rental agreement. That matters: most travel policies only pay out when the vehicle was rented legally and you were licensed to ride it. Two things need to be true:
- Your policy explicitly covers riding a motorcycle, at the engine capacity you are renting
- You hold an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category, alongside your home licence
Credit card cover
Banks in the UK, USA and Canada sometimes include travel and rental vehicle cover as a card benefit. It is worth one phone call to your bank before you travel — ask specifically about motorcycles abroad, since many cards cover cars and exclude two wheels.
We accept card payments
Questions we get asked
Is my deposit the most I can lose?
No — not unless you buy bike cover. The deposit is collateral we hold against the rental, not a limit on what you owe. Without bike cover you are liable for the full cost of repairing the motorcycle. With it, your liability stops at the ceiling for that bike's class, which is lower than the deposit.
Is theft covered if I buy everything you sell?
No. Theft is not covered by the compulsory policy, not by third-party liability, and it is excluded from bike cover. If the motorcycle is stolen you are responsible for it. Use the lock we provide, park in the places we recommend, and never leave the key in the bike.
Do I really need an International Driving Permit?
Yes, and in two separate ways. Riding without one is an offence in Thailand and the police fine for it. It also voids your bike cover ceiling and, in most cases, your travel insurance — so an accident without an IDP can turn a manageable bill into a very large one.
What is the difference between third-party and bike cover?
Third-party pays for harm you cause to other people and their property. Bike cover limits what you owe us for damage to our motorcycle. They are separate policies at separate prices and neither substitutes for the other.
How long does third-party insurance take to arrange?
One to one and a half working hours to issue. Message us before your pickup day rather than on it, and it will be ready when you collect the bike.
Can I add bike cover partway through my rental?
Yes, for the days that are left. It is priced per rental day and it only ever covers from the moment it is added — damage already done stays yours in full. That is why the decision belongs before you ride away, not after. Message us on WhatsApp and we will add it to your booking.
Not sure what you need?
Tell us which bike and how long you are renting, and we will tell you plainly which cover is worth buying and which is not.