As with any type of vehicle insurance, there are a whole range of options to pick from when it comes to covering your motorbike.
Once you’ve picked your policy, you don’t want that nagging feeling that you might have been able to get better cover here or a lower price there, so it’s important you carefully consider every option out there.
When it comes to nailing down the right policy for you, here are the things you should be thinking about.
What are You Riding?
It’s important you classify your bike correctly based on its engine size, as certain policies have a limit on the engine size that they cover.
You will most likely find yourself in one of the three main categories: a motorbike, a scooter or a moped. Whilst what you’re riding may seem pretty obvious to you, it’s worth checking.
The comparison site The Bike Insurer lists sub-50cc, 51-125cc, 126-650cc and over 1000cc as its four main tiers. Typically, the bigger the engine, the bigger the cost to insure.
One final note: if you’re riding a classic motorbike or a quad, you’ll need to look for specialist cover.
What Are You Using Your Bike for?
This tends to be a much more relevant question for motorbikes than cars. While pretty much everyone uses their car every day for all purposes, many motorcyclists are weekend riders for social pursuit only.
Insurers break use down to three areas: social only, social (including commuting) and business. Thus, if you’re only riding for pleasure every now and again, make sure to choose ‘social only’, as this will give you a better deal.
Level of Cover
Again, three main options to choose from: comprehensive, third party (fire and theft) and third party only. Legally you must have third party insurance at the very least, however choosing comprehensive cover tends to make more sense.
Third party simply covers damage to other parties. Depending on what options you choose, comprehensive insurance can cover third party injury, property damage, theft and damage, vandalism, riding other bikes, legal expenses, equipment and personal accident.
And you may be thinking about going for third party to save money, but this isn’t a safe assumption. Insurers often charge more to third party policy holders as they’re seen as a higher risk.
Getting the Best Deal
Once you’ve found the right level and type of cover, you’ll naturally want to get the best deal possible. Here are a few ways to cut your costs:
- Do your research: Use comparison sites to find the best cover at the cheapest price.
- Pay up front: If you can, paying the full yearly amount means you avoid the interest that comes with a pay-monthly plan.
- Up the excess: Accepting a higher voluntary excess will drop your overall premium, however you must be prepared to pay this amount in the case of an incident.
- Adding other riders: Depending on the level of your co-holder’s experience, this can move the cost higher or lower. More experienced riders will drop the cost of the premium, whilst younger riders will push it up. Avoid ‘fronting’, however, where you incorrectly name a more experienced rider as the main policy holder. If you’re found out, this will invalidate your policy with no refund.
- Multi-bike: Insurers like Devitt offer multi-bike insurance on top of their standard policies, which will reduce your collective spend.
When it comes to motorbike insurance, your primary concern should be making sure you’re covered correctly across all the areas you need, but it always helps to save a bit of cash as well. Take your time to do the necessary research and you should be able to find the best cover for you at the best price on the market.