Multi-bike insurance

What’s multi-bike insurance?

Multi-bike insurance allows you to cover multiple bikes on one insurance policy.

Maybe you ride a motorbike on the daily commute and have a second bike ready and raring to go for leisure rides at the weekend? Or perhaps you’re the proud owner of multiple machines. A multi-bike policy could be a convenient and cost-effective option to insure them.

Most providers will cover different types and models of bike on one multi-bike policy – whether classic, sports, superbike or scooter.

It can be convenient – multi-bike policies streamline the cover on your bike collection. With just one premium to pay and one renewal date, it keeps things simple.

Is multi-bike insurance cheaper?

It can be, but the only way to find out for sure is to get multi-bike policies then compare the cost to insuring all your bikes separately.

The total price of your premium is normally be based on the ‘main’ or ‘lead’ bike that you need covered. That’s usually the one that’s most expensive to insure individually.

Your other bikes are added to the policy at extra cost, usually at a discounted rate because you are, in effect, ‘bulk buying’ insurance.

Plus, you won’t be able to ride more than one bike at a time, so you save on that part of the cover by effectively only paying for fire and theft cover for other bikes while they’re not being ridden.

The price of your policy will depend on the model and engine size (power) of your bikes, as well as:

• Your age and riding experience
• Where you live and store your bikes
• Your annual mileage
• Modifications and accessories

What does multi bike insurance cover?

Multi-bike insurance offers the same types of cover as single bike insurance policies:

• Third party only: this most basic level of insurance covers you for damage you cause to other people, passengers, or their property wheile riding your bike.
• Third party, fire and theft: TPFT covers you for damage to other people, passengers or their property. Your bike is also covered if it gets stolen or damaged by fire.
• Comprehensive: this extensive cover includes everything included in TPFT cover as well as repair or replacement costs if your bike is damaged or written off and it’s your fault.

You’ll need to check what’s included as standard in your individual policy. But there’s always the option to add extra elements of cover, including:

• Breakdown cover
• Helmet and leathers cover
• Personal accident
• Legal cover
• Trackway cover

How many bikes can you insure on one multi-bike policy?

Some insurers apply a cap, for example four bikes, to their multi-bike policies.

But there are specialist multi-bike insurers with no limit on numbers that can quote for bikers who’ve amassed a larger collection of motorcycles.

Can I add additional named riders to my multi-bike insurance?

This is where multi-bike insurance differs from multi-car insurance – it’s designed just to cover one rider of several bikes.

It allows for just one bike included in the policy being on the road at any one time. Because of this, the ‘road risk’ for the insurer is much less than if other ‘named riders’ could use bikes on the policy at the same time. It’s what keeps the cost of premiums down.

Some insurers will allow you to add a named rider to your multi-bike policy but in most cases this will increase the cost of your premiums.

Because of that, you might be better off looking at insuring your bikes separately and adding named riders that way.

Or consider motorcycle fleet or family fleet insurance (often called multi-vehicle insurance) which can cover you for different types of vehicle on the same policy (motorcycles, cars, campervans) and allow you to add multiple named drivers.

This type of insurance also means you’ll benefit from the convenience of having just one premium to pay and one annual renewal date.

Can I add a bike to my policy after it has started?

You can make changes to an existing policy, but this will usually incur an administration fee and/or a change to your premium.

Your insurer can calculate ‘pro rata’ how much you need to pay on any newly-added bike so that it’s brought into line with the renewal date of the other bikes on the policy.