It’s possible to grab quotes from scores of motorbike, moped and scooter insurers in minutes; saving you £100s. Yet it needs to be done carefully, many big name insurers think motorbike, moped and scooter insurance is risky and steer clear of it, leaving smaller companies to cover the market. Though follow this article and you’ll have an easy ride.
These savings can be had anytime. Provided you haven't claimed, most insurers allow policies to be cancelled with a refund, and while a few charge penalties, you’re still likely to save more than they cost.
Motoring MoneySaving Checklist
Ten Second Summary
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Lower your risk category Read Step 1 |
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Combine comparison sites for the best search Read Step 2 Top 3: The Bike Insurer*, GoCompare*, Beatthatquote* |
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Get cashback and haggle Read Step 3 |
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Remember next year Read Step 4 |
Step 1: Getting the right cover
Insurance premiums, the name for payments made to insurance companies, depend on the insurer, the level of cover and how risky you're perceived to be. Most of the issues for bikes are identical to those for car owners; so do read the DOs and DON'Ts section of the Car Insurance article for help in how to choose your policy.
Yet there are a few issues that are specifically for motorbike and scooter insurance.
- Age of riders. The cost of insurance jumps for those under 30, and even more for those under 21, meaning Third Party insurance is generally the most suitable cover for younger riders.
- Mileage. If you’re also a car driver, do beware you don’t overpay because you’ve overestimated your bike mileage. While many riders don’t use their motorbike as their main form of transport, they use their car mileage to estimate the bike mileage. Yet the average motorbike’s mileage is around 4000 a year.
- Security. Security is one of the biggest problems for motorbike owners. If you can keep your bike indoors or lock it to a proper bolt fixed to your wall you’ll get a cheaper quote. Yet even if you spend hundreds on a lock, it may not substantially reduce the quote price so balance its cost against the reduced risk.
- Protect your no claims. Whilst one claim free year on a car insurance policy will give you around 15-20% discount in your second year, for motorbikes this scoots up to 40%. Remember this whenever you’re considering claiming.
Beware monthly payment plans
Whoever you insure with, if it gives an option to 'pay monthly', be careful. What usually happens is the insurer actually loans you the annual cost and charges you interest for the privilege. While occasional promotions are interest-free, usually the interest rates are hideous. So either pay it off in full, or if you can’t afford it in one go it's actually cheaper to pay with a 0% credit card for spending and make the same repayments to that.
Step 2: Find the best bike quote
As insurance prices depend on an individuals unique circumstances, there's never one 'cheapest' provider. The key is to get the most quotes in the shortest amount of time using screenscraping websites, where you enter your details and their software automatically fills in the required info at a host of brokers and insurers websites, grabbing you a quote, literally ‘scraping the data off the screens'.
It's a very quick and easy way to quickly cover a huge chunk of the marketplace in minutes. Yet there are three big things to remember...
- The order maximises the search in the minimum time. Read How the order's picked
- Always double check your results. Read What to check
- Your data is being given to insurers. Read What insurers may do
Compare in the following order
This site started as a pure motorbike insurance comparison site and still gives the widest possible cover. Results are given for all three levels of cover so that you can choose which you want after seeing the price although there is a high £500 excess to look out for.
Brokers
29
Direct Insurers
1
5 mins
GoCompare adds 11% more providers to the full combined search above... Total so far 56%
Typically a car and home insurance site GoCompare has the added feature of a nifty compare and customise system once you've got your quotes.
Brokers
6
Direct Insurers
1
5 mins
Beatthatquote adds 9% more providers to the full combined search above... Total so far 65%
A useful third site check to add 6 more brokers, it also has a compare function when you get to the quote stage, although again there is a high £500 default excess.
Brokers
6
Direct Insurers
0
Best of the rest
4 mins each
Searching further sites to those above adds 23 more providers to the coverage... Total so far 100%
If want to push the envelope there are other options to try:
A couple of sites not included by comparisons are Aviva and broker Carole Nash. Plus these other comparison sites between them add 22 further providers; QuoteZone*, CompareTM, Confused* and MCNcompare* (which currently has an offer for a free biking magazine when you get a quote).
Though there are still more standalone insurers out there.
Brokers
9
Insurers
15
Once you've found the cheapest
Once you’ve found the cheapest from the screenscrapers; there are two important checks to make:
Double check the quotes
Click through to the insurance provider's own website to double check the quotes, as to speed up searches some comparison sites make a few assumptions.
Examine the policies coverage
Is the policy suitable for you? So if you want "pillion cover", is it included? Plus while you’re there it's worth playing with the policy details to see if you can finesse the price down; look at the excess, and the name of the policy holder (if a joint policy) as the age of each person can affect your quote.
Screenscraper and broker differences
Brokers and screenscrapers may seem like they're doing a similar job, as each search a number of different insurers; yet they're radically different beasts. My favourite analogy for this is to compare it to searching for the cheapest loaf of bread.
Each individual insurer is like a baker, so your choice is simply to buy the cheapest loaf it offers that fits your characteristics. Brokers are the equivalent to supermarkets; they stock a range of bakers' loaves and the price they charge depends on their relationship with the supplier. Yet screenscrapers are like sending someone to speed round all the supermarkets and bakers to find the cheapest loaf of all of them.
What if my insurer goes bust?
The economic times we live in mean you never know which companies may be the next to have problems. Fortunately, insurance providers are covered by the government-backed Financial Services Compensation Scheme, meaning if they go into default, you’re protected.
The main way this happens is the FSCS will try and find another provider to take over your policy, or issue a substitute policy. However, if you have any ongoing claims, or need to make a claim before a new insurer is found, the FSCS should ensure these are covered. For full details, read the Insurance section of the Savings Safety guide.
Step 3: Grab cashback and haggle
Using the above system should have found you a cheaper quote, yet if you’re a higher risk rider or just want to get a cheaper price you can probably save even more.
Step 1: First check special cashback websites
These are special sites carrying paid links from retailers and financial services providers; in other words if you click through them and get a product they get paid. However importantly, they then give you some of this cash which means you get the same product, but a cut of its revenue.
Not all insurers are included, and you should never choose an insurer just for the cashback, but if your cheapest does pay out, why not grab it. If you’re new to cashback sites, ensure you read the Top Cashback Sites guide for pros and cons before using them, if not use the Cashback Sites Maximiser to find the highest payer for each insurer.
One thing to remember though, if you've used several comparison sites then buy your policy via a cashback site it might not track unless you clear your computer's cookies first. Further information on deleting or controlling cookies is available at AboutCookies.
Step 2: If all else fails check special deals
If you can’t get cashback it’s worth noting a few companies have special deals not mentioned by comparison services. These currently include:
Be Wiser: Insurance broker Be Wiser* is giving free RAC membership for policies bought via its website.
Ebike: If you need short term cover eBike* offers a Pay As You Go policy. This provides cover one month at a time and as long as you cancel before your monthly renewal date there are no cancellation charges. There is however a £6 per month admin charge which makes the cover more expensive than a standard policy if you’ll need insurance for more than 8 months in a year.
Haggle
Although the motorbike insurance market is not as competitive as for cars, all companies are desperate to retain business. Once you’ve got a decent alternative price from a comparison website, get on the phone and try to haggle (unless cashback’s available, as that has to be via the net). There's usually massive price flexibility, but be fully armed with the cheapest quotes.
The first port of call should be your existing insurer: after all if it can beat or even match the best quote, it saves the hassle of switching policy. If that doesn’t work, take it to other insurers.
Cross-selling
If you already have car, house and travel insurance with a particular insurer, you could call it to check, if it provides motorbike insurance, whether it’ll give you a discount.
Step 4: Remember next year
Don’t let your annual renewal policy catch you up and simply sign up for another year with the same insurer. If you apply for cover from your existing insurer as a new customer it’s likely you’ll be given a cheaper price. This is because motorbike insurers like any company will happily profit from apathy if they can. It’s for this reason renewal notifications are sent as near to renewal as possible; as then you’re pressured for time and less likely to try and find a cheaper price.
To avoid being forced to decide quickly, diarise a warning six weeks before your renewal date, so there’s plenty of time to sort out a new provider. Alternatively use the free Tart Alert which sends a reminder text or email (it's designed for 0% credit card end dates, but works just as well for insurance).
Using this system should save you time and money. For a single 30-year-old man based in Leicestershire, with a mid-range bike looking for comprehensive cover, one insurer was charging over £350. Using a broker the price was reduced to £270.
However, using the combined screenscraper system the best price found was £185 and that's without haggling. Using the complete system above can result in serious discounts.
Sample Motorbike Insurance Quotes
| Single male, Leicestershire based, comprehensive cover for mid-range bike | ||
Company |
Quote |
Saving |
Direct |
£354 |
- |
Broker |
£270 |
£83 |
MoneySavingExpert.com system |
£186 |
£168 |
Bike: 2002 Suzuki DR350 M, 348cc, no security device, 0 no claims bonus, kept on driveway. |
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LINKS THAT HELP THIS SITE (all have a * in above article)
(this has no impact on product or pick - see explanation below)
Be Wiser , Beat that quote , Confused , eBike , GoCompare , MCNcompare , QuoteZone , Swinton , TheBikeInsurer
Explanation (of * links)
Important FSA Note. Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances require FSA authorisation. For this reason, Martin Lewis of Shepherd's Studios, Rockley Road, Shepherd's Bush, London W14 0DA is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.How this site is funded. Two types of contacts are listed. The first help MoneySavingExpert.com stay free to use, as they're ’affiliated links' which invisibly take you via commercial price comparison services like Moneysupermarket or Find, which then pay this site per click. This is up to £15 if after doing a comparison you choose to apply for a mortgage or 0.1% of the mortgage, if you complete through Charcol. This in no way impacts any editorial decisions (what we write). Nor does it cost you anything or change the product. The second type don't help, but are listed so you can choose.
You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things I write) is NEVER impacted by the revenue. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it is still included in exactly the same way. For more details read how this site is financed.
LINKS THAT DON'T HELP THIS SITE
(please only use if necessary)
No * Link Available: Aviva , Biking Needs , Carole Nash , Compare the market
Duplicate links of the * links above for the sake of transparency, but this version doesn't help MoneySavingExpert.com:
Be Wiser , Beat that quote , Confused , eBike , GoCompare , MCNcompare , QuoteZone , Swinton , TheBikeInsurer
