Motorbike insurance - the basics
When you purchase your motorbike insurance you will receive some documentation to show
that you are indeed legally insured to ride on the road. There are circumstances where this
proof of insurance is required. The most obvious case would be to the police if you have
been stopped for any reason. The law currently gives you have seven days to prove your
valid insurance cover to the police.
You should receive some or all of the following documents from your insurance company:
Certificate of insurance
This is the document that proves your legal motor insurance cover as required by the
Road Traffic Act.
Schedule and/or policy document
The schedule and/or policy document sets out the full the terms and conditions of
your insurance policy.
Cover note
A cover note is usuallyissued to allow either a broker or insurer time to complete their
paperwork before they issue the full certificate, though this practice has become less common.
You should always read through the terms and conditions of your policy. Firstly to check
that the level of cover you agreed with the insurance company is correct and to also make
you aware of any policy exclusions. It is your responsibility to be aware of the exact
cover you have agreed.
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All policies have terms & conditions and will most certainly have exclusions. These exclusions
vary from one insurance company to another.
Let's say you've just bought a comprehensive policy from a motorbike insurance company. For
those people who don't have a intensive knowledge of insurance (which will probably be the
majority you) you may believe that comprehensive cover means that you are insured for any possible
motor insurance scenario. While that may seem a comforting thought it simply isn't true. For
example, you may find yourself in a situation that requires you to drive another vehicle owned
and insured by a friend or family member. Just because you have Comprehensive cover on your
vehicle doesn't mean that you automatically have 'D.O.C or Driving Other Cars'
(for motorbikes the term would be 'R.O.M or Riding Other Motorbikes') cover included.
Some policies will allow 'R.O.M' in an emergency only and retain Third Party Only cover
whilst riding that vehicle, that's R.O.M cover. As not all comprehensive cover policies
will include this you might find yourself in the costly situation of riding another vehicle
without insurance cover, (which is illegal and could lead to a fine and endorsement on your
licence) and should you have an accident in this time you may well find your insurance company
less than amicable about covering the costs of any damage or injury caused which you may well
be left to face directly.
So when you about to purchase an insurance policy please check the terms & conditions that
apply and be very sure about any possible policy exclusions.
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'Riding Other Motorbikes' is a type of cover than can be found on some comprehensive
cover policies. The cover allows you to ride another motorbike with the owner's permission
in an emergency only with the knowledge that you have Third Party Only cover in force while
riding that bike. To clarify, the cover is not applicable to any other motorbike the policyholder
may own either directly or by hire purchase agreement.
The main reason 'Riding Other Motorbikes' is not found on all comprehensive cover policies
would be a number of instances where the cover had been misused by policyholders in the past. There
were cases where some policyholders had insured a motorbike (probably a motorbike which proved to
be fairly inexpensive to cover) and used the 'Riding Other Motorbikes' cover as a way to
then ride a more powerful or more expensive motorbike, still remaining legally insured on the road.
The reason for this type of cover being introduced was to allow for possible emergencies an insured
driver may find themselves in, not as a way to circumnavigate paying for insurance for all
motorbikes owned.
Always be sure to check if your policy has this cover included. Should you presume this to be
the case andthen find out afterwards that the cover isn't included you could end up with a
fine and endorsement on your licence. This will increase your risk to an insurer and quite possibly
increase the future costs of your insurance.
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An excess is your contribution towards any claim.
Let's say you have a claim for accidental damage, and your accidental damage excess is £100.
If the cost of the claim is £500 you will contribute the first £100 of the claim leaving your
insurance company to pay the remaining £400 (£500 claim minus £100 (your excess)
leaves £400 outstanding). It goes without saying that if you have a £100 excess and your
claim is worth less than £100 then there is little point approaching your insurer as your excess
would cover the total damage cost.
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Along with any voluntary excess you may have selected, you may be asked to pay a compulsory
excess towards any claim on your insurance policy. Compulsory excesses will more than likely
be found on policies where there is a young rider or a high value motorcycle.
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When you take out a policy with an insurance company you will have the opportunity to
contribute towards any claim. While you may think this is identical to a compulsory excess,
a voluntary excess is the amount you agree to contribute on top of your compulsory excess.
Let's say you choose to have a £150 voluntary excess on your policy, the policy
itself may already have a £350 compulsory excess so dependant on what type of claim
you have, you may find your total excess payable is £500.
The benefit of a voluntary excess is that generally the more you agree to pay towards a
potential claim the cheaper the premium will be - however you need to look at the savings
carefully. On the other side of the coin, it may cost you £300 to insure your £10,000
car, and you are offered a £50 reduction if you forego choose a £250 voluntary excess.
This is £250 you could be paying instead of £50.
All in all, you need to weigh up the final cost to you. Pay a higher excess and get a cheaper
premium, but risk paying more if you need to claim; or pay a lower excess with a higher premium
and have less to pay if you make a claim. Only you can decide what is right for you.
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Third party only insurance only covers you for damage, or injury to a third party. This will
not include cover for damage to your motorbike, or personal injury Third party only insurance
covers against any claims made against you should you have an accident. This is the minimum
level of insurance cover required by law.
If you have had an accident and you are proven to be at fault, your insurance company will
pay the money that is owed by law to any injured parties. If you have damaged property, this
will also be covered.
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of a thief stealing your motorbike, and then
causes an accident whilst riding it, a third party only policy will protect you against any
claims for injuries or damage that may arise from the accident, even though the thief was to
blame. However, you will still not be covered for the loss or damage to your own vehicle.
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Third party insurance only protects you against any claims made against you as a result of
having an accident. The fire and theft aspect covers you against damage or loss of your
motorbike due to it being stolen or set on fire.
Although third party insurance is generally used by younger riders who have lower value
motorbikes, this does not mean that such motorbikes are immune from theft. In fact, such
motorbikes are often more likely to be stolen and burned, as they are easier to steal. Even
if your insurer does pay out in such circumstances, your premiums may well rise over the
following few years. We therefore recommend keeping your motorbike safe by fitting an alarm
and immobiliser, and using some form of visible security like keeping your motorbike chained
when possible. This may also help reduce your insurance premiums.
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Comprehensive cover generally allows you to claim for any damage caused to your motorbike by
any means. (One thing you must do is check the terms & conditions of the policy for any
possible exclusions. An example of this could be electrical or mechanical faults.)
In addition to allowing you to claim for the damage caused to your motorbike in an accident,
with comprehensive motorbike insurance cover, you can also claim for acts of vandalism, theft,
or any other accidental damage to your motorbike which doesn’t involve a crash.
If you are comprehensively insured and you cannot use your motorbike, then your insurance
company may provide you with a temporary replacement vehicle whilst you motorbike is being
repaired. Whether this cover is included in your policy will be shown in the policy terms &
conditions.
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For every year you're insured and don't make an insurance claim you will gain no claims
discount. The amount of discount you receive can vary but could be from approx. 30% discount
the first year, increasing up to approx. 60% for your fourth year. One thing to be very clear
on is that no claims discount will increase from one insured year to the next, so if you're
insured without a claim for a year, then don't hold insurance for the next two years, your next
insurance company may not recognise the discount given the time that has elapsed between policies.
Just how long you can still expect you no claims discount to remain usable between policies
depends on which insurance company you’re dealing with.
Should you have a claim which is deemed your fault then you will lose some of your no claims
discount. The amount of discount you lose will vary from one insurance company to the next.
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