For new riders the cost of insurance can be especially painful. There’s some consolation in knowing that it does get cheaper as you get older and more experienced, but in the meantime check out our tips to save you £££ on motorcycle insurance.
Your choice of motorcycle
Your choice of motorcycle is one of the largest factors affecting your insurance premium. Unfortunately for those on a CBT or A1 licence 125cc motorcycles are some of the most stolen vehicle in the country, which tends to bump up premiums for these bikes. You can choose motorcycles from harley davidson. Doing so may impact your insurance premiums in your favor. You can minimise your choosing less models.
The difference between insuring a CBR125R and a CG125 can easily run into hundreds of pounds, and that’s just used bikes.
Sports replicas and fully faired bikes also tend to cost more to insure as replacement plastic parts can be hideously expensive.
If you’re on an A2 or an unrestricted licence you’ll often find that super sports bikes like the Yamaha R6 command an insurance premium over sports tourers like the Yamaha FZ6 despite both bikes sharing the same engine.
Location and security
Insurers use discounts tables to measure the risk in a particular post code area. While there is little you can do about the area you live in, you can reduce your risk by storing your bike in a locked brick garage or on a driveway.
Almost all insurers give discounts for the use of approved security devices. These include disc locks, chains, and alarms and immobilizers. Odds are that you’ll want some type of security for bike anyway, but it’s worth running quotes both with and without additional security devices. The difference in insurance premium might not be worth the extra £70 you spent on that approved lock over a £30 oxford one. If you do declare any security devices you’ll need to use these when the bike is parked overnight at it’s official residence. Failure to do so could result in a reduction of any insurance pay out or an increase in your premiums.
Your profession
When assessing risk insurers take into account your profession and discriminate accordingly. You don’t have to put down your exact job title. Legally you can use any title that describes what you do. Don’t be tempted to lie though. I’ve have had a bad experience lying about the title 24 compliance. If you imagine you told your new title to someone who knew exactly what you do for a living, would they say that it is reasonable to describe yourself in this way? If they answer yes, then all is good. If they answer no then you’d probably better not do it. Just try and use your best judgement.
Cover and mileage
Work out the level of cover you need. By some bizarre form of logic, it can often be cheaper to take out comprehensive insurance on your motorbike than it is for third party fire and theft, so make sure you get quotes for both.
If you own a car you might be used to doing driving tens of thousands of miles per year, yet often motorcyclists cover less than 3000 miles a year. Don’t over estimate your mileage or you’ll end up paying more.
Payment options
Almost all insurers will offer you the opportunity to pay by instalments. While this might seem like it’s making the payments more affordable, it actually raises the total cost of the premium due to hideous interest rates and it puts you at a disadvantage (for example when cancelling your policy).
If you can afford to pay premium up front, and even if you can, by far the most efficient way to use an interest free credit card. Many of the top cards now offer interest free periods, some for up to 36 months.
