Compare motorbike insurance

The three main levels of cover available with motorbike insurance are:

• Third-party only
• Third-party, fire & theft
• Fully comprehensive

They work the same way as they do with a car insurance policy, with the level of protection and cover increasing across each.

Bike insurance is available at three levels, just like car insurance: third-party only, third-party, fire and theft, and fully comprehensive.

• Sports bikes
• Scooters/mopeds
• Naked bikes
• Cruisers
• Adventure/adventure sport
• Touring Motorcycles

Check out our guide on the different types of motorbikes for more information.

Motorbike insurers will look at a number of factors to give you a motorbike insurance price:

• Age
• Riding history – including previous convictions or points on your licence
• Previous claims – including no-claims bonus
• Class of use – whether you use it for social use or for business use, etc.
• Level of voluntary excess agreed
• Bike location – where the bike is kept the majority of the time
• Motorbike make and model, type and engine size
• What security the bike has – including locks, alarms and trackers

You can be insured under one of these classes:

• Social, domestic and pleasure (SDP)
• SDP inc Commuting
• Business use
• Courier and delivery – currently not available through Confused.com

Some insurance companies will allow you to carry your car's no-claims bonus over to your motorbike policy, but many won't. If in doubt, check with your insurer.

You can only use your car no-claims on one vehicle so if you’ve used it on your car, you can’t use it on your motorbike.

You have to have motorbike insurance in place, unless your bike has a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).

You could take out a policy just for the summer, and cancel in the autumn, but with cancellation fees and the relatively low cost of motorbike insurance, you’re unlikely to save much money.

Might be better to keep it insured in case of a Christmas holiday ride-out, no?

If you’re keeping your bike on the road, you should insure your motorbike for the entire year. It’s illegal to have your motorbike uninsured, and cancelling policies could work out being more expensive than continuing with a yearly policy. An alternative way is to declare it off the road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).

Alternatively, you could use temporary motorbike insurance, but beyond a short time period this could become very expensive.

This is often referred to as pillion cover. Whether you’re covered to carry passengers will depend on the policy you buy. Most motorbike insurance policies don’t offer pillion cover as standard, so be sure to check the terms and conditions of your cover before carrying any passengers. You’ll also need to check that your licence allows you to carry passengers.

Motorbike licence grades work in a similar way to how driving licences are given categories that let you drive different vehicles, eg cars, buses and trucks.

Your motorbike licence will only entitle you to ride certain bikes. Restrictions will normally be based on your age, riding experience, and the power of the bike.

You can read more on the GOV.UK website or check out our own guide on guide to getting your motorbike licence.

If your trike is a standard, manufactured model, we can quickly offer insurance quotes and get you covered.

But many trikes are non-standard, custom builds. If this is the case, you can still receive and compare prices with us, but you'll need to call the insurer you choose and confirm all your vehicle details.

This will help make sure that your policy and price are correct, and you're getting the right level of cover. Mistakes when you take out the policy can be costly later on.

You can, with the correct insurance. Before you go abroad with your bike you should check to see if your policy covers you, how long you’re covered for and which countries you are insured for. You’ll also need to check if your level of cover is the same as when you’re abroad.

When you’re 16, you’ll be able to ride either a moped or a scooter with a maximum engine size of 50cc.

But before you can legally ride on the road, you’ll need to hold a provisional licence and have completed a CBT course. You’ll also need to display L plates when riding your scooter as it’s illegal to ride without them during your provisional licence period.

New models and imported bikes can be difficult to find, and some models are listed under a slightly different name. For example, you’ll find a Piaggio under "Vespa Piaggio". If your details are correct and you still can’t select your bike, then get in touch and we’ll try to help.

Motorbike insurance can be quite basic. It’ll cover your bike and other road users, but that’s about it. So you might want to consider one or more of the following:

• Pillion cover
• Helmet and leathers cover
• Personal accident
• Legal expenses
• Breakdown cover
• Sidecar insurance
• European/overseas cover
• Key cover

Some insurers will include one or more of these as part of their policy. This is often a cheaper way of getting these add-ons, which can be quite costly when bought on their own.

If you're involved in an accident, after safety concerns have been met and emergency services (if necessary) have been contacted, you should report the matter to your insurer.

Make sure to pass on all the details you took from the scene of the accident to your insurer within 24 hours. Read our guide for more details on how to claim on your motorbike insurance.

If you haven’t got a car licence, you can leave this question blank and still carry on with getting your quote. A full UK licence allows you to drive a bike provisionally, so we need to know the date you got it if you have one.

To lower your motorbike insurance policy as much as possible, you should consider these options:

• Provide high security measures for your bike – park in a secure area like a garage or secure car park and lock your bike as securely as possible.
• Limit mileage – the more miles you do in the year, the higher your insurance premiums tend to be. If you use your motorbike for business purposes, you’re more likely to have a higher premium than if you only use it for personal use.
• Have a motorbike with no modifications – usually the more modifications your bike has, the higher the insurance premium.
• Have a smaller, less powerful engine – a 500cc engine can provide you with a smaller price to pay compared to a 950cc beast, for example.

Most motorcycle insurance companies will cover standard modifications (which do not affect performance) under a standard policy.

If this is the case, your insurer will provide a list of modifications you don’t have to tell them about on their website. All other modifications must be declared and could affect your premium.

Take a look at our guide for more information on modified motorbike insurance.

Most motorcycle insurance policies won’t cover you for punctures or damage to your wheels. To avoid being stuck at the side of the road, you can get motorbike breakdown cover and be picked up by a roadside recovery service.

Some comprehensive motorbike insurance policies will cover you to ride other bikes – normally on a third-party-only basis. Make sure you check your insurance documents before riding someone else’s bike though, as you don’t want to wreck their ride and then find out you’re not covered.

Temporary motorbike insurance could be another solution. You can get comprehensive cover for a single day or a longer period.

Most insurers will let you add another named rider to your policy. It could increase your premiums though.

Normally you’ll only get a brand-new replacement when your motorbike is written off if it was new or recently purchased.

If your motorcycle is older, you’re likely to get a pay-out from your insurer reflecting its current value (less your policy excess).

It really depends on your insurer and how bad the write-off was. Write-offs are categorised in a similar way to cars and given a rating of A, B, S or N.

Categories A (scrap) and B (break) mean the motorcycle is not allowed to be put into circulation again, so it’s unlikely they will allow you to buy it back, even for parts.

Categories S (structurally damaged repairable) and N (non-structurally damaged repairable) can be a bit more flexible. Some insurers may allow you to buy back the whole motorbike, or just parts of it, while others may not.