Motorbike insurance jargon

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N O P Q R S T U V WXYZ

Aggregator

In insurance terms this would be a company or firm which collates information supplied by a customer or consumer in order to supply a range of insurance quotes or premiums.

In simple terms an aggregator service should offer a shopping service to the consumer where the aggregator returns as much of the product results requested, as possible, offering the customer or consumer a range of choices or options on which products meet their request.

Alarm

A motorbike alarm is a device installed on a motorbike in an attempt to discourage theft. Most alarms work by merely making a loud noise; others send a signal to the owner (by means of a 1-way beeper warning) that his or her motorbike is being disturbed. Some insurers will offer a discount if the vehicle is alarmed.

Alpha-Dot

The Alpha-Dot property marking system can be used to protect almost anything, not just motorbikes. Hundreds of 1mm diameter microdots are suspended in a clear adhesive, each of which carries the same, unique code. Because the transparent alpha-dots are incredibly hard to spot, a thief can never be certain that he has removed all of them from a stolen item -- making them an effective deterrent to theft.

Annual mileage and annual business mileage

In order for you to receive your car, bike or van insurance quote an insurance company or broker will want to know how many miles each vehicle covers in a year. The reason for this is fairly simple; the more miles spent on the road, the greater the potential for an accident. Annual mileage is the total mileage you do in a year. Business mileage is the amount of miles you cover in direct connection with your employment or business.

Bonus

Please refer to No Claims Bonus.

Broker

A broker is an independent intermediary who sells one or a range of policies from different insurance companies. One reason why brokers have managed to compete in the marketplace is that they are able, in certain circumstances, to negotiate the premium directly with the insurance company which may lead to a cheaper premium.

Calipers

A caliper is the non-rotating portion of the disc brake that contains the hydraulic components including the brake pads. The caliper is positioned on both sides of the rotor such that as the brakes are applied, the brake pads are pressed against both sides of the rotor, thereby stopping the motorcycle.

Certificate of insurance

A document or certificate issued by insurance companies as proof that insurance is in force, to meet the requirements of the law.

Crash Bobbins

Crash Bobbins are designed to minimise the amount of damage to your motorbike bodywork if it is dropped.

Comprehensive cover

Please refer to Cover Type.

Compulsory excess

Please refer to Excess.

Conviction code

Conviction codes are shown on the relevant vehicle licence. This should invariably read as a 4 digit code of letters then numbers, e.g. AC10, SP30, TS30, XX99 etc.

Cover note

A document showing temporary proof of cover for a motorcar, van or motorcycle policy, while the policy and certificate are being prepared by the insurer.

Cover type

Third party only (TPO)
This covers any claim by third parties. This does not cover damage to the riders’ motorbike.

Third party fire and theft (TPFT)
This covers fire and theft of the rider’s motorbike in addition to Third Party Only cover.

Comprehensive (Comp)
This covers accidental damage to the riders’ motorbike in addition to Third Party Fire & Theft cover.

Data Tag

The Datatag electronic anti-theft system consists of tiny transponders that are hidden in your motorcycle, as well as Datadot microdots and other identification technology. This multi-layered identification system enables the police to identify the true owner of any Datatagged motorcycle, even if the number plate and identification numbers have been removed or changed.

DVLA

Driver & Vehicle Licence Agency.

Dyno Jet 1

Intended for motorcycles with a stock engine using the stock airbox, air filter and stock pipe. Stage 1 kits are fully adjustable to allow the use of well designed aftermarket pipes and stock replacement air filters like K&N. Stage 1 kits are designed to improve throttle response and driveability and in most cases power increases of approximately 5% throughout the entire power range can be achieved.

Dyno Jet 2

Intended for motorcycles with a stock or mildly tuned engine using a well designed aftermarket pipe with a modified airbox and a stock replacement air filter. Stage 2 kits are designed for applications where individual filters cannot be installed and for applications where airbox modification improves the engine's performance. In most cases power increases of approximately 8% can be achieved.

Dyno Jet 3

Intended for motorcycles with a stock or mildly tuned engine using a well designed aftermarket pipe and individual air filters. In most cases power increases of 10-15% can be achieved. However driveability may be compromised particularly with short stroke, high rpm motors. On some modern engine and airbox designs, individual filters and proper jetting offer no performance improvement yet compromise driveability, in such cases stage 3 kits are not available.

Endorsement

An amendment made to an insurance policy which becomes part of the policy.

Excess

This is your contribution towards any claim which you (not your insurer) must pay. There are two different types of excess:

A compulsory excess is an amount you are required to pay, this will vary according to your personal circumstances and the terms of cover provided. A compulsory excess may be required if you are a young rider, perhaps due to the type of vehicle you own or maybe even the area in which you live. There is also a compulsory excess for fire, theft or windscreen claims.

A voluntary excess will apply when you agree to pay a greater part of each claim, and is added to the compulsory excess. A voluntary excess can be increased or decreased at the quote stage. The insurance company may lower their premium if you are willing to pay more, should a claim occur.

Fairings

Bodywork and/or windshield at the front of the motorcycle designed to deflect the wind. Can be attached to the frame and not move or be attached to the fork and move as the handlebars are turned.

Fault or non-fault claim

The way to tell the difference between fault & non-fault claims boils down to whether or not the insurance company were able to recover all their costs from the third party involved.

There are situations where the insured can say that they were in no way responsible for a claim and yet still have the claim classed as fault. e.g. A theft claim where items have been stolen from a vehicle. Naturally the insured feels absolved of any wrong doing, however, as there is no third party to recover the cost of the stolen items from, the claim becomes a fault claim.

Green card

You may need or want at some point to use your motorbike abroad. Most policies will offer some level of cover as standard, perhaps RTA (Please refer to Road Traffic Act) or Third Party Cover (Please refer to Cover Type) whilst driving in Europe. However, it is imperative that you confirm this cover exists on the policy before you drive abroad. Claims can be very expensive and may even lead to possible driving convictions.

Hardtail

Hardtail refers to motorbikes with no rear suspension. Harley-Davidson motorcycles were all Hardtails until 1958 when the Duo-Glide was introduced.

Hugger

A panel or guard that prevents dirt or crud from the rear wheel and grease from the chain making the rest of the motorcycle dirty.

Immobiliser

An electronic immobiliser disables the engine of your motorbike. More recent motorbikes have these factory fitted by the manufacturer and the details of the immobiliser should be shown in your motorbike brochure. It's also possible to have an immobiliser fitted by a garage or specialist who would supply a certificate of installation detailing the exact model of immobiliser. Some insurers will offer a discount if the motorbike has an immobiliser.

Import or imported vehicle

UK-specification
These are motorbikes brought in from abroad that match UK specifications.

Non-UK specification
These are motorbikes that are brought into the UK from abroad but differ from current UK specifications.

Indemnity
Indemnity means protection or security against damage or loss by compensation, or something by the way of compensation. In insurance terms this would generally equate to being put back in the same state or financial position you were in prior to a loss.

Insurable interest

An example of insurable interest would be in order: to insure a motorbike it would need to be your own possession. You couldn't insure your neighbours motorbike, as if it is damaged or stolen, you incur no financial loss.

Insurance intermediary

Please refer to Broker.

Kickstarter

A Kickstarter is used to start a motorcycle. The kickstarter is a pedal that is swiftly kicked downward to turn over the engine to start the motorbike. Each motorcycle equipped with a kickstarter may have a different procedure to ensure successful operation. Kickstarters were standard many years ago. Most modern motorcycles have an electric starter.

Knock-for-Knock

An agreement where each motor insurer pays for damage to its policyholder's motorbike, regardless of which driver is to blame, providing the policy covers damage to the policyholder's own motorbike.

Leathers

Motorbikers wear as much leather as possible to protect them from the elements and the ground, should they fall. This means leather jackets, chaps, gloves, boots, and riding suits. Usually, the leathers are ventilated for cooling.

Legal expenses cover

Legal expenses cover is protection for certain criteria that would not usually be dealt with on motor insurance policies, including costs & expenses to further pursue claims, legal advice, personal injury or death due to an accident while insured.

Licence type

There are a number of different licences that exist for motorbikes, e.g. UK Full Bike, UK Full Moped, UK Full Bike (A), UK Full Bike (A1), UK Full Bike (A2), UK Provisional Bike, UK Provisional Moped, EEC Full Bike, EEC Provisional Bike, International Full Bike, International Provisional Bike, Other Euro Full Bike, Other Euro Provisional Bike. Dependent on which licence you hold there may well be certain restrictions that apply.

Main Rider/Driver

Whoever rides the motorbike the most is, or should be classed, as the main rider or driver. Given that this can be a major factor in how the insurer arrives at its premium, the insurer is well within its rights to invalidate a claim or even cancel a policy outright.

Material fact

A material fact is any fact or circumstance that would affect the judgement of an insurer in considering whether or not to accept the risk. And if willing to accept the risk, at what rate of premium and on what terms and conditions.

For example: a speeding conviction such as SP30 is a material fact as it could influence the rating of a risk.

Modifications

Any changes made to the motorbike that are NOT classed as factory standard are modifications. This could include engine modifications, extended forks, low profile tyres or turbo charging etc. Should you not disclose modifications on your motorbike when obtaining your policy, the insurer has the right to refuse payment for any claim or potentially invalidate your policy.

No Claims Bonus (NCB)

For every year you hold an insurance policy, without a fault claim, you receive no claims bonus. This is a discount applied to premiums by an insurer which reflects a cheaper premium for a potentially lower risk. So the more continuous years riding without a fault claim, the greater the discount applied. However, should you have a fault claim it is likely that your NCB will be reduced, unless you have protected NCB or PNCB (Please refer to Protected NCB).

Owner and registered keeper

More often than not the owner and registered keeper of the motorbike is the proposer (Please refer to Proposer). This may not always be the case. Should the proposer for instance, be driving a company motorbike, then the motorbike would most probably be owned by the company but possibly the registered keeper would be the proposer.

Pillion

The backseat on a motorcycle for its passenger. Also, a passenger is said to ride pillion.

Points

Should a motor biker be convicted of an offence, for instance, speeding or dangerous driving, the driver will receive points on their licence. These will be a factor in how much the insurer quotes for their premium. More often than not the greater the number of points, the higher the premium quoted.

Power Commander

A Power Commander is a fuel injection and ignition timing (on some motorbike models) adjustment unit that plugs "inline" with the motorbike's stock ECU. The Power Commander uses original equipment style connectors so that no splicing or cutting of the harness is required.

Proposer

The term given to the person who takes out the insurance policy. So if you go to our site and choose to enter a quote, you are deemed the proposer of the policy. Another term you may see used for proposer is policyholder.

Protected No Claims Bonus

Once you have accumulated a certain number of years NCB (Please refer to No Claims Bonus) insurers will allow you to protect your NCB. This means that should you have a fault claim then the number of years NCB will remain the same. However, this may not prevent your premium from rising as most companies rate on claims history as a separate factor.

Quickshifter

Quickshifters allow faster, full throttle, clutch-less gear changes resulting in increased acceleration and better corner stability.

Q-Plate

You've probably noticed (or not) that there aren't many q-plated motorbikes on the road. The q-plate is used to point out something more than a unique registration. Here are some of the main reasons why a motorbike would have a q-plate:

Built from unknown parts, unknown ages, or insurance write-offs.
Stolen/recovered vehicles.
Imported vehicles.

Redline

The maximum number of revolutions per minute an engine can run before damage occurs. The name is derived from the actual red line manufacturers typically put on the tachometer.

Registered keeper

Please refer to Owner and registered keeper.

Restrictor Kit

If for instance, you hold a licence which will only allow you to ride a motorcycle up to 25kw (33 bhp) and a power to weight ratio not exceeding 0.16kw/kg, you can ride a motorbike with a power output over 25kw but you'll need a restrictor kit on it to restrict the power output to 25kw.

Risk

In order for any insurance company to provide an insurance quote they must first evaluate the risk they are quoting for. This generally means looking at the customers quote details and assessing them by their claims history, the cost or type of motorbike they ride and perhaps the area they live in.

Road Traffic Act (RTA)

In 1930 the Road Traffic Act came into force to guarantee that cover would compensate the innocent victims of accidents. An example of this is third party property damage: the minimum is £250,000.

Satellite navigation

There has been some publicity about the rising theft of satellite navigation from vehicles which is frustrating enough for any insured driver. However, what has also been recently highlighted is that a growing number of insurers are treating SatNavs as modifications (Please refer to Modifications) if they are added to the motorbike after its manufacture NOT as a standard part of the factory fitting.

Scottoiler – Chain Lubrication System

The Scottoiler system cleans and lubricates your chain as you ride.

Security

Please refer to Alarm, Immobiliser or Tracker.

Sidecar

A structure added to a motorcycle, resting on a third wheel, for carrying passengers. Rather dangerous for the non-specialists, this type of vehicle has considerably developed over the last few years, with articulated sidecars which lean into the bend with the motorcycle, or even single-bodied structures like the Side-Motorbike.

Smartwater

Smartwater is a product that is painted on to the machine in as many places as you possibly can. Once dried, you can't see it but it is still there. Each one is unique. If the machine is recovered the police can recover samples of the Smartwater and trace it back to the owner.

Stripped down policy

A stripped down policy is designed to keep the cost of insurance as low as possible. It is a budget policy which excludes some of the benefits you'd normally associate with motorbike insurance. It may have higher excess levels which will also help to reduce the price of the policy.

Sum Insured

The amount that is paid out by the insurer when an insured event occurs

Supercharger

Mechanically powered device that compresses the combustible charge into the cylinder, artificially increasing the compression ratio. When the "blower" is driven by exhaust gas, the device is called a turbocharger.

Swing Arm

Older motorcycles and some new motorcycles have rigid frames much like bicycles. Thus, the frame is connected directly to the rear wheel. A swing arm is a movable joint between the frame of the motorcycle and the rear wheel assembly. It supports the rear wheel and associated suspension components.

Third party

Someone involved in a claim who is neither the policyholder nor the insurer.

Torque

A unit of measure describing the twisting force, or leverage, an engine can exert on the rear wheel. Typically, an engine with a lot of torque will have the potential to speed up faster at lower rpms.

Third Party Fire and Theft cover

Please refer to Cover Type.

Tracker

Vehicle Tracking Systems are electronic devices installed in vehicles to enable vehicle owners or third parties to track the location of a vehicle. Most modern vehicle tracking systems now use GPS modules to allow for easy and accurate location of the vehicle. Many systems also combine a communications component such as cellular or satellite transmitters to communicate the vehicle's location to a remote user. Some insurers will offer a discount if the vehicle has a tracker.

Turbocharger

Please refer to Supercharger.

Two Stroke Engine

A once-common type of engine now found almost exclusively in off-road motorcycles. A two-stroke motor fires once with every two strokes of the piston. 1) Once fired, the downward stroke of the piston delivers power and then draws in a mixture of fuel, air and oil which displaces the exhaust gases in the combustion chamber; 2) the upward stroke compresses the mixture for ignition.

Undertray

A fitting that can be added to the rear of a motorbike. May be used to clean up the appearance of the motorbike, or to give it a more racing motorbike look.

Use

Social, domestic & pleasure: This covers mainly personal use. Shopping, visiting friends, etc.

Commuting: This cover is solely to allow bikers to ride to and from a permanent place of work. Please note that travelling to a railway station, where the motorbike is parked, is classed as commuting.

Business use: This covers the motorbike in connection with your employment, such as driving to different places in addition to your permanent place of work.

Commercial travelling: Covers the motorbike to be used for door-to-door sales, etc

Underwriter

The person who decides whether to accept a risk and calculates the premium to be charged.

Voluntary excess

Please refer to Excess.

Write-off

A damaged vehicle which is not repairable, or costs more to repair than the value of the motorbike before damage occurred.

Yearly premium

The amount you are quoted by an insurance company to cover the risk details you have supplied, inclusive of I.P.T (insurance premium tax). There can be instances where the total amount you're required to pay to an insurance company for a year is higher than just the yearly premium quoted. This may well be for charges for other products such as payment protection or legal assistance or due to an additional cost for paying by instalments.

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