Motorbike Insurance

Bike insurance provides protection against the risk of you being involved in an accident and the costs that would likely stack up as a result. It is a requirement under the Road Traffic Act of 1998 that any motorcycle that is to be used on public roads is covered by a bike insurance policy with the minimum level of cover being Third Party Only.

If a third-party is involved in an accident where you are at fault, it ensures that they are able to recover the costs associated with the repair or replacement of their vehicle and/or property. It also ensures that you aren’t personally left out of pocket if such a scenario arises.

Not all motorbike insurance policies are created equal, just like car insurance there are three types of cover available in the UK, these are:

Comprehensive

The highest level of cover you can buy for your bike is comprehensive. It covers everything that is covered under a Third Party, Fire and Theft policy and more. Despite this, it won't necessarily be the most expensive of the three.

What does comprehensive Motorbike insurance cover?

• Damage to your motorbike - Repair or replacement of your bike if it is damaged in an at-fault accident.
• Fire Damage to your Bike - Costs relating to the repair or replacement of your bike if it is damaged or destroyed by fire.
• Theft of your bike - Cover for the cost of repairing your bike if it is stolen and subsequently damaged along with cover for the cost of a replacement if it has been destroyed or isn't recovered.
• Damage to third party vehicles - Costs associated with the repair or replacement of third-party vehicles that are either damaged or destroyed in an at-fault accident.
• Damage to third party objects, structures and property - Cover for the costs incurred in repairing or replacing third-party objects and structures that are damaged in an at-fault accident i.e. fences, walls, buildings and trees.
• Bodily injury to third party drivers and their passengers - Costs relating to the treatment of injuries sustained by third parties in an at-fault accident. However, this won't apply if the third party was also travelling on a motorcycle at the time of the accident.

Third party, fire and theft

Third party, fire and theft cover perches itself in between comprehensive and third party cover. It's best summed up as Third Party Only, but with the addition of fire and theft cover.

What does third party, fire and theft cover?

• Fire damage to your bike - Just like comprehensive bike cover, you'll be covered for costs incurred in repairing or replacing your bike if it suffers damage or is destroyed in a fire.
• Theft of your bike - Cover for the cost of repairing your bike if it is stolen and subsequently damaged. This also provides cover for the cost of a replacement bike if it is written-off or cannot be recovered following its theft.
• Damage to third party vehicles - Costs associated with repairing or replacing third party vehicles that have suffered damage in an at-fault accident.
• Damage to third party objects, structures and property - Covers the cost of repairing or replacing third-party objects, structures and property that has been damaged or destroyed in an at-fault accident i.e. walls, buildings, trees.
• Bodily injury to third party drivers and their passengers - Costs incurred in the treatment of injuries suffered by third parties in an accident where you are deemed to have been at fault. However, this is exempt if the third party is another motorcycle.

Third Party

Third party insurance meets the minimum legal requirement to ride a bike on public roads in the UK, it offers only basic protection and often works out more expensive than Comprehensive.

What does third party bike insurance cover?

• Damage to third party vehicles - Costs incurred in fixing damage that has been inflicted upon a third party vehicle as a result of an accident which you are deemed to be at fault.
• Damages to third party objects, structures and property - Provision for the costs incurred in the repair and/or replacement of objects, structures and property that has suffered damage in an accident which you are deemed to be at fault.
• Bodily injury to third party drivers and their passengers - Cover for expenses relating to treatment that is provided to third parties who have been injured in an accident where you are at fault. However, this won't apply if the third party is another Motorcyclist.

There are many different types of bike, each of which has its own insurance implications. Here's a quick run through of the most popular along with some brief guidance:

• Moped and scooter - Mopeds and scooters are a popular choice for both young motorcyclists and those looking to make their first foray into biking. Their popularity can largely be put down to them being among the cheapest to buy, run and insure.
• Sports bike - Sports bikes are built to reach high-speeds and as such the cost to insure one is likely to be higher than that of a moped or a scooter.
• Supermoto - Supermoto bikes are experiencing increasing popularity among bikers who want the flexibility of being able to commute and go off-road without having to own two separate bikes. However, if you do intend driving it off road, you may need to take out additional cover as most insurers won't cover such use as standard.
• Classics – Mainstream motorbike insurers tend to only provide insurance quotes for bikes manufactured post 1970, for anything earlier you're likely to need specialist classic bike insurance.
• Touring - Touring bikes are popular among bikers who frequently embark upon organised trips and rallies. If one such event takes you beyond Europe, you may need to purchase additional cover.
• Off-road - Insuring your off-road bike isn't quite as straight forward as insuring your typical daily commuter bike. For a start, fewer insurers are likely to offer cover and those that do will likely quote a higher price due to the increased risks involved in taking a bike off-road. Furthermore, if you plan to ride competitively in motor cross or track racing, you'll need specialist cover.
• Cruiser - Cruisers tend to be heavy and oversized, they're also often loosely based around the styling found on Harley-Davidsons and other similarly retro American icons. There's often also a tendency for them to be custom built or heavily modified, which may mean you'll need modified bike insurance.
• Chopper - Given the modified nature of choppers, they tend to require specialist modified bike insurance. However, it all depends upon the extent to which your bike has been modified.

Our online bike insurance comparison service has been designed to get you from click to quote in just minutes. To get started you'll need the following information to hand:

• Bike details – Details of the bike you'd like to be insured to ride. If you have it, you can save time by entering your bike's registration number. If not, the make, model, age and derivative can be entered manually i.e. Honda VFR 800 Vtec ABS (2018).
• Intended use – Information relating to how you intend to use your bike and for what purpose. For example, will you use it for socialising, domestic trips, commuting, business or a combination of all? You'll also need to have an idea of the number of miles that you expect to ride over the year. The national average for motorbikes is approx. 3,000 miles per year, but it can vary greatly depending on whether or not your bike is your sole mode of transport or if you intend to use it for commuting.
• Personal details – You'll need your title, full name, DOB, address, marital status, number of dependants, occupation and occupational industry.
• NCD – You will need to declare the number of years' of No Claims Discount (NCD) you have built up. It is important to remember that you can only use your NCD on one bike insurance policy at a time. For example, if you buy a second bike, you can't use the set of NCD you have in use on your first bike. Furthermore, some bike insurers will stipulate that your NCD must have been earned on a bike policy while others are happy to accept it from a car insurance policy.
• Driving history – Information relating to any motorbike claims and convictions within the previous five years. Claims wise, you must declare instances where you have notified an insurer of an incident, even if the claim was declined or no claim and pay-out was made, regardless of the reason. In the case of convictions, you must declare any convictions that have already been handed down, but also any that are pending or that you expect to receive.
• Additional riders – Details of any additional riders that you'd like to be insured to ride your bike. You'll need their title, full name, DOB, marital status, address, occupation and driving history.

At One Call, we understand that our customers value their privacy. This is why we keep your contact details secure, only to be used by us, and never passed on to other companies for any marketing purposes. To view more information on how your data will be used, please visit https://www.onecallinsurance.co.uk/privacy-policy to view our privacy policy.

It's generally considered to be cheaper to insure a motorbike than it is to insure a car. However, this isn't always the case and it's hard to give a ballpark cost as the amount you'll have to pay is worked out based on the level of risk an insurer considers you to pose i.e. how likely you are to make a claim.

Some of the factors that'll be taken into consideration are how long you've held your CBT for, what type of bike you'd like to insure and how many miles you expect to ride over the course of a year. Other factors include your driving history.

As an example, a low risk (lower insurance premium) might look like...

• You ride a 50cc Honda NSC50 scooter to and from work.
• You have an alarm fitted; it is secured with a lock at all times and is kept in a garage overnight.
• You have held your CBT for 10 years and have never made a claim, nor have you received any motoring related convictions.

Meanwhile, a high risk (higher insurance premium) might look like...

• You ride a 675cc Triumph Dayton.
• The bike doesn't have an alarm, isn't secured with a lock and is kept on the drive over night.
• You have held your CBT for 1 year; have 2 previous claims and a conviction for speeding.

Nobody likes paying over the odds for insurance. Thankfully though, there's quite a lengthy list of things you can do to ensure you get cheap motorbike insurance quotes, these are:

Compare quotes from different providers - If you don't compare bike insurance quotes from a number of different insurance providers, you'll have no way of knowing whether the price you've been quoted is 'good' or 'bad'. At One Call Insurance we make comparing bike insurance quick and easy by having a single quote form that connects you to a large panel of providers and subsequently returns a list of price ordered options, potentially saving you a small fortune.

Increase your voluntary excess - Just like car insurance, motorbike insurance comes with a compulsory and voluntary excess. The first of these is set by the providers and cannot be adjusted. However, the latter one is set by you and can usually be specified anywhere from £0 to £1,000. As a general rule of thumb, a higher voluntary excess will enable a lower insurance premium.

However, you must properly consider the fact that both the compulsory and voluntary excesses will be payable in the event you need to make a claim. It's a case of weighing up the benefit of a lower premium, which might not be as much as you'd expect, against the risk of having to pay both at some point in the future.

Build up a No Claims Discount (NCD) - For every year you hold motorbike insurance and don't make a claim, you'll receive a discount in the form of a No Claims Discount (NCD). Over the years this discount can add up to a huge saving on your bike insurance. Furthermore, if you're transferring cover from another provider, you can bring your NCD with you.

Avoid modifications - If you want to keep the cost of your bike insurance down, avoid modifications. Modifying your bike i.e. fitting an aftermarket exhaust, upgrading engine components or adding suspension upgrades can lead to a substantial increase in the price you'll have to pay for cover and could even result in you having to purchase specialist modified bike insurance.

Choose a cheap bike to insure - As a general rule of thumb the lower powered your bike is, the lower your insurance premium will be. For example, a 50cc scooter will be cheaper to insure than a 675cc cruiser.

Adding a named rider - Adding a named rider to your policy can bring the cost of your insurance down, providing they have held their CBT for a number of years and have a clean claims and convictions record.

Secure your bike - Leaving your motorbike out in the open at night exposes it to an increased risk of theft. It therefore makes sense that keeping your bike in a garage overnight will help keep your premium low. Furthermore, some bike insurance providers offer discounts to bikers who secure their bike with a lock and/or have an alarm fitted.

It is a requirement to promptly report all incidents even if you do not wish to claim for your own damage. If you are involved in an incident, or your vehicle is damaged, stolen or vandalised, you will need to call One Call Claims on 0203 738 7300.

To ensure One Call Claims can deal with your claim quickly and effectively, all claims must be reported within 24 hours of becoming aware of the incident, as it may cause difficulties if a claim is reported at a later date.

You must stop if you are involved in any incident. If you own the vehicle, you must give your name, address and insurance details to anyone who has a good reason for asking. This would include authorities and any third parties also involved.

If you do not own the vehicle, you must give the owner's name and address and the registration number of the vehicle. Do not apologise or admit fault in any circumstance.

To help One Call Claims speed up the process of your claim, and contact anyone else that may be involved, please collect the following information in the event of an incident with a third party:

• Full details of the other driver(s)
• Phone Number(s)/ Contact Details
• Any involved registration number(s)

You also need to make a note of injuries caused, witnesses, police officers and report references. One Call Claims will then provide you with the support and information you will need to get your vehicle back on the road as quickly and safely as possible.

An unrated insurer is an insurer that does not carry an insurer financial strength rating given by international rating agencies, such as Standard and Poor’s 500 index (S&), Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and A.M. Best. An insurer financial strength rating ‘provides an assessment of the financial strength of an insurance organisation’ and its ability to pay claims to its policyholders.

Each agency has its own methodology, but ratings are usually organised on a scale based on letter grades to indicate the degree of credit risk. For example, an ‘A’ rating means that the insurers have an excellent ability to pay out claims, while a ‘C’ rating means that the insurer has a weak ability to pay out claims.

Some unrated insurers have been trading in the United Kingdom for many years, and so failure is not seen as likely, but this is not any sort of guarantee and such firms can fail given the appropriate combination of circumstances. However, just because an insurer is rated does not mean they cannot get into difficulty.

Risks of using an unrated insurer include:

• Unrated insurers may be based overseas and outside the influence of UK regulation. The home state regulation they are subject to may be less intrusive, less rigorous or a lighter touch than that of the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) / Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
• In the event of an overseas insurer failing, claims may have to be directed to an overseas equivalent of the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and this may bring delays in dealing with the claim.
• Unrated insurers lack independent corroboration of the quality of their current financial stability. As your Insurance Broker, we carry out monthly due diligence checks on our entire panel of insurers, Underwriting Agencies & Managing General Agents and the underlying insurance provider. We are confident in the panel we choose to do business with.

Some of the benefits of using unrated insurers include the following:

• You may only be able to source cover from an unrated insurer due to your particular circumstances
• They may offer comparably lower prices than an alternative rated insurer
• There is no legal requirement for an insurer to be rated; brokers are not obligated to restrict placing business with rated insurers only