Reducing your Motorbike Insurance Premium

Motorbike insurance premiums are calculated on a huge number of different factors and the figure that you get is a result of a very long and complicated calculation process. However, there are certain key criteria that can have a big influence on the motorcycle insurance premium that you receive once you have tapped in all your details.

The important Points
1. Type and value of bike
2. Riders Age
3. Where you live (postcode)
4. Riding experience and record (i.e. convictions and claims)
5. Possession of No Claims Bonus
6. If bike is garaged
7. Security
8. Type of cover (comprehensive, third party fire and theft, third party only)

Now the rider clearly cannot change some of these factors such as age and their riding record, and others are impractical to change such as where the rider lives. Others though can be altered to ensure the motorbike insurance premium the rider has to pay is minimised.

Security
This can have a large effect on the size of the motorcycle insurance bill you will be paying if the bike is new/nearly new and is highly valued and can impact the premium by hundreds of pounds, and it obviously is the easiest thing to change. Thus an investment in a good security device can immediately save you money in year one as the bike insurance premium can be reduced by more than the cost of the device.

Type of Cover
What type of cover is required is the riders choice and choosing TPO or TPFT rather than Comprehensive can reduce your motorbike insurance premium substantially provided you are OK with the reduced cover. For bikes of low value TPO is frequently the obvious choice.

Garaging
In areas where the risk of theft is high, e.g. in built up urban areas and/or the motorcycle has a high value and/or is a prized bike, then being able to garage the machine overnight will significantly reduce any motorcycle insurance premium. The garage will normally have to be lockable and brick built, e.g. wooden or corrugated iron structures are usually not acceptable and it is standard practice for the bike to always be kept overnight in the garage when it is on the proposers property.

If you do not have a garage do you know anybody who does who would be prepared to keep your bike overnight? This is normally acceptable to insurers. Think of that reduced bike insurance premium!

Type and Value of Bike
If you have not yet bought the bike then it makes sense to think of the likely size of the motorbike insurance premium you will pay as you consider your options. If you are under 21, and especially if you have no no claims bonus, then any sort of sports bike will result in a very high bike insurance premium and the more powerful it is the higher the premium.

For anyone who has just obtained a full licence, a less powerful mid sized roadster such as a Honda Hornet or Suzuki Bandit will result in a much lower motorcycle insurance premium.

If you are buying a starter bike and riding it on a CBT, and especially if you are under 21, to ensure a low scooter insurance premium, buy a second hand low value bike (worth less than 1000 pounds) and insure it TPO.

These are all the factors you have control over and should consider if wanting to reduce your motorbike insurance premium as these are the ones that can have a substantial impact over what you will be quoted. There are others such as mileage in the year or whether you will be carrying pillion, but their impact will be much less.

Also, as stated earlier, your age and driving/riding record cannot be changed (unless you decide to be dishonest and as well as being morally questionable you run the risk of a claim being refused if your dishonesty is discovered). It might also be considered a bit drastic to move just to reduce a motorbike insurance premium.