Motorcycle Insurance

Are you paying too much for your motorbike insurance? The answer is probably YES! The best advice we can give is to shop around as motorcycle insurance offers are many and varied.

Do not assume that a renewal premium is the best available. For example, my insurance renewal came through and it was only a little more than last year but I checked on Confused.com and found offers around £30.00 less, so I contacted my broker to ask if they would price match. I was told they didn't price match (they had before) but would get me a new quote. The new quote was about £60.00 less than the renewal quote and better than any other price on offer!

With my other one, I checked the specialist advertisers and the first quote was about £140.00 for an agreed value of £4000.00 and 5000 miles a year. Second quote was £240.00 and then I tried Carole Nash who gave me all I wanted plus free European Assistance for below £100.00.

With my motorbikes I have my main insurance via a local broker and I pay £112.37 for cover on my 1989 GSX 750ESF, BSA M33, BMW R100 and CZ 175. This covers me for Third Party Fire and Theft with 90 days Foreign use as a free extra. The excess is £175.00 and I have 9 years no claims bonus.

You can often reduce your motorcycle insurance premium by having a larger excess (the amount you pay in the event of a claim). You can also get reductions by limiting the period of cover if you ride only in the summer months.

If you take your motorcycle abroad it is always best to get European Breakdown Assistance as part of your package as it can be impossible to get separate cover for a bike over 10 years old. If you plan to buy a motorcycle abroad you can get 14 days cover from Carole Nash to allow you to drive it home. A friend recently bought a 2CV van in France and this was the only insurer to offer this type of cover.

Be sure of your needs and don’t be afraid to go back to an insurer to ask for a better deal. Some policies even cover motorbikes when in pieces during restoration.

By Pete Edwards

Cover your bike to be prepared for the unexpected!

A 1930 Scott Flying Squirrel, a tin of paint and a nasty accident are all part of Footman James’ warning to bikers to make sure their machines are fully insured before they store them away for the winter.

Enthusiast and Footman James customer Bruce Moore learned all too well the value of proper insurance cover when his treasured bike met with an unexpected accident whilst in his garage.

“I’d just taken it out for a quick spin and left the covers off it in my garage while it cooled down,” he explained.  “I was outside in the garden when I heard a noise, went into the garage and found the lid had blown off a tin of paint on my garage shelf, which had then covered the bike from back to front in paint. It was unbelievable, I would never in a million years have expected it to happen, but it did. Luckily I have always had full insurance cover for all my bikes, so Footman James was able to sort it all out. I would thoroughly recommend that all bikers ensure their machines are covered at all times, even when they are off the road, it’s not worth being caught out.”

Emma Merwood, of Footman James, said: “Bruce’s story just goes to show how essential proper insurance cover is. "Accidents happen even when you think your bike is safely stored away in the garage – just look at last summer’s floods, which damaged dozens of bikes across the country, who could have predicted that?” She added: “Whether you opt for laid-up cover, or full insurance cover, just make sure your bike is insured at all times to prevent the heartbreak of having a damaged bike, and no money for repairs.”

Footman James now insures more than 50,000 bikes, and offers a range of policy options, from laid-up cover, agreed value, limited mileage and multi-vehicle.

© Chris Baddiley / JAWA CZ Owners Club

Last Updated: 16 March 2011 - Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Email Us