Young/New Riders Motorcycle Insurance (2016-2018 edition): How to get the best deal
Getting insurance when you are a new motorist is hard enough, but being a new motorcyclist takes it to the next level. I have been riding since August 2016 (on a provisional) and passed my A2 license in January 2018. My aim for this post is to provide you with some good ensurers for new riders, and ways to get your insurance down to as low as it can get.
*Before I start, these are all the insurance companies that I looked at this year. This post is only intended to help you! NCB = No Claims Bonus*
August 2016: Provisional Motorcycle Insurance
In August, I bought a Kawasaki KLX 125 from new, which is approximately worth £3k. When I went to find insurance, everything was so expensive. Painfully expensive. From £2k upwards to ensure. I found a company called 'Go Skippy'. They quoted £800 for my insurance on a provisional for a year which I was really happy with. The cover was third party, fire and theft as fully comprehensive was double the price with any insurance company.
Go Skippy is not the best insurance company in the world. It could possibly be one of the worst but it was the only insurance company that I could afford to use. Saying that, they are legitimate and they cover my bike, which is all I can really ask for. When you call them, generally they ask to call you back, which will not be in the next few minutes like they say, but expect to wait at least an hour or two. When they call back, they will take all your details but they are unable to give you a quote there and then. They have to send all the information to their underwriters before they are able to give you a quote, which takes up to 48 hours. The waiting does pay off though, as I did spend less than half the amount with them. Once you are happy, they send you all the paperwork and everyone is happy.
With one year NCB under my belt and still on my provisional license, the time came to renew my insurance. This time Go Skippy offered my £550 for my insurance, before any negotiation! I was so happy, this was lower than my car insurance (and I have been driving for a while). We checked the details (which is good because some insurance companies just ask if anything has changed so it is easy to miss bits). The previous year, I was a college student living at home. This year I was now an undergraduate student living at home, which knocked off a further £30, so my insurance was now £520 for the year. I would not have thought to change to an undergraduate student, so this was a huge bonus. Documents sent through again, and I was set to ride for the year.
In December 2017 I passed my MOD 1 and in January 2018 I passed my MOD 2 which was such a huge relief. When you pass a car test, insurance increases because you are now driving without someone next to you. In contrast, motorcycle insurance goes down once you have passed because now you are deemed as competent. Even though my insurance was cheap already, I thought it might be worth trying to get some money back from passing. So when I called the insurance company to tell them about my new licence, I asked for some of my money back. They seemed unsure but I insisted and they said they would send it off to their underwriter (typical Go Skippy) and get back to me. This did not fill me with confidence, but they got back to me within a day, offering me £60 back!! Totally worth it.
After passing my motorcycle test, I decided to purchase a new motorcycle. I bought a Suzuki SV650 (registered in March 2018 so no photos yet) with extras, and traded in my Kawasaki at the same time. The overall value for my new bike is roughly £6k including accessories. Finding insurance for my new bike has also been so hard, even with one year NCB. Back to square one, all insurance companies quoting over £2k for insurance. Here are the deals I found for my bike:
Lexham: AXA: £1800
Bikesure: Adrian Flux: £930
Devitt: Novitas: £460
So obviously I have chosen to purchase my insurance from Devitt due to the impressive price. This also includes third party insurance on a bike other than my own, and being able to ride insured in other countries. This was by far the best deal, and Novitas really are the leading motorcycle insurer as they boast! I also plan to get a good amount back from Go Skippy which can go towards my insurance.
It was difficult to get an accurate quote from most insurers as they do not seem to understand bike restriction. Devitt insurers understood that with my licence, my bike was going to be restricted, which made the process much quicker and the outcome was much cheaper. I did end up speaking to their modifications department, but this was simple and completely worth it.
I hope this post has been useful! If you think I have missed anything, please let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading, please share with anyone who may find it useful!
Datatool Evo Plus Motorcycle Alarm Immobiliser
*Before I start, these are all the insurance companies that I looked at this year. This post is only intended to help you! NCB = No Claims Bonus*
August 2016: Provisional Motorcycle Insurance
In August, I bought a Kawasaki KLX 125 from new, which is approximately worth £3k. When I went to find insurance, everything was so expensive. Painfully expensive. From £2k upwards to ensure. I found a company called 'Go Skippy'. They quoted £800 for my insurance on a provisional for a year which I was really happy with. The cover was third party, fire and theft as fully comprehensive was double the price with any insurance company.
Go Skippy is not the best insurance company in the world. It could possibly be one of the worst but it was the only insurance company that I could afford to use. Saying that, they are legitimate and they cover my bike, which is all I can really ask for. When you call them, generally they ask to call you back, which will not be in the next few minutes like they say, but expect to wait at least an hour or two. When they call back, they will take all your details but they are unable to give you a quote there and then. They have to send all the information to their underwriters before they are able to give you a quote, which takes up to 48 hours. The waiting does pay off though, as I did spend less than half the amount with them. Once you are happy, they send you all the paperwork and everyone is happy.
August 2017: Provisional Motorcycle Insurance
With one year NCB under my belt and still on my provisional license, the time came to renew my insurance. This time Go Skippy offered my £550 for my insurance, before any negotiation! I was so happy, this was lower than my car insurance (and I have been driving for a while). We checked the details (which is good because some insurance companies just ask if anything has changed so it is easy to miss bits). The previous year, I was a college student living at home. This year I was now an undergraduate student living at home, which knocked off a further £30, so my insurance was now £520 for the year. I would not have thought to change to an undergraduate student, so this was a huge bonus. Documents sent through again, and I was set to ride for the year.
January 2018: Passed my A2 Test!
In December 2017 I passed my MOD 1 and in January 2018 I passed my MOD 2 which was such a huge relief. When you pass a car test, insurance increases because you are now driving without someone next to you. In contrast, motorcycle insurance goes down once you have passed because now you are deemed as competent. Even though my insurance was cheap already, I thought it might be worth trying to get some money back from passing. So when I called the insurance company to tell them about my new licence, I asked for some of my money back. They seemed unsure but I insisted and they said they would send it off to their underwriter (typical Go Skippy) and get back to me. This did not fill me with confidence, but they got back to me within a day, offering me £60 back!! Totally worth it.
March 2018: New Motorbike with A2 License
After passing my motorcycle test, I decided to purchase a new motorcycle. I bought a Suzuki SV650 (registered in March 2018 so no photos yet) with extras, and traded in my Kawasaki at the same time. The overall value for my new bike is roughly £6k including accessories. Finding insurance for my new bike has also been so hard, even with one year NCB. Back to square one, all insurance companies quoting over £2k for insurance. Here are the deals I found for my bike:
Lexham: AXA: £1800
Bikesure: Adrian Flux: £930
Devitt: Novitas: £460
So obviously I have chosen to purchase my insurance from Devitt due to the impressive price. This also includes third party insurance on a bike other than my own, and being able to ride insured in other countries. This was by far the best deal, and Novitas really are the leading motorcycle insurer as they boast! I also plan to get a good amount back from Go Skippy which can go towards my insurance.
It was difficult to get an accurate quote from most insurers as they do not seem to understand bike restriction. Devitt insurers understood that with my licence, my bike was going to be restricted, which made the process much quicker and the outcome was much cheaper. I did end up speaking to their modifications department, but this was simple and completely worth it.
Ways to get your insurance even lower!
- Have the biggest license possible. Upgrading your license (from A1 to A2 or even A) will reduce your insurance. This will make it even cheaper, especially if you do not upgrade your bike at the same time.
- Do Advanced Riders Training, or join a group. These show further dedication and can really bring your insurance down.
- Speak to a company on the phone, do not do online comparisons! Bike insurance is so tricky to get, it is far better to speak to someone on the phone to explain your situation. Speak to the modifications team if necessary (I did this for restrictions), they actually got my quote lower than the main team could.
- Shop around. Call lots of companies, write down all their quotes so when you speak to the next one you can try to get them to better their quote. Also, go back to any companies close to your lowest quote and ask them if they will match it. It may take quite a few hours but it can save you hundreds of £.
- Fit a bike tracker to your bike. I have a Datatool TrakKing which was fitted by Suzuki itself. This is expensive unless buying your bike through a dealer with a deal, but there are other self-fit GPS tracking devices, such as this tracking device. They are very effective by reducing your insurance whilst reducing the chance of your bike being stolen (and making it easier to find if it is)!
- Fit an immobiliser to your bike. Unlike cars, bikes are generally not fitted with an immobiliser. Ones like this can be found on amazon. Make sure you know the make and model as insurance companies knock more money off depending on the brand.
- Do not carry a pillion! Personally, I would not want to carry one. But if you can spend a year or two without carrying one, save the money!
- If you drive a car too, tell the insurance company! Along with your car NCB.
- Use your previous motorcycle NCB, get a certificate from your old insurer and send it to the new one.
I hope this post has been useful! If you think I have missed anything, please let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading, please share with anyone who may find it useful!
Datatool Evo Plus Motorcycle Alarm Immobiliser
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