Motorbike insurance

Motorbike insurance companies look at several factors to give you an insurance price. Some of the bigger factors include:

• Your age and riding experience
• Your riding history, including previous convictions or points on your licence
• Any previous claims you’ve made
• How much no-claims bonus you have
• How much voluntary excess you’re willing to pay
• Where you keep your motorcycle the majority of the time
• Your motorbike’s make, model, type and engine size
• What security the motorbike has – including locks, alarms and trackers
• How you use the motorbike, whether it’s for social, commuting or business use

Some comprehensive motorbike insurance policies cover you to ride other motorcycles – normally on a third-party-only basis. Make sure you check your insurance policy before riding someone else’s motorbike though.

If you need to borrow a friend’s motorbike for a short while, temporary motorcycle insurance could be another solution. You can get comprehensive cover for as little as 1 hour up to 28 days.

Yes you can. Some motorbike insurance companies offer multi bike insurance policies. This lets you put multiple motorbikes under a single policy to reduce the admin headache. You could also get a discount on each motorbike you add to the policy.

Generally, yes you can. Most insurers should let you add another named rider to your policy. To add another rider, you need to provide the insurance company with some details about their riding history, such as claims and convictions.

Adding a rider to your policy could see your insurance costs go up. As the motorcycle is on the road for longer, there’s a greater risk of making a claim.

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

If your motorcycle is older, you’re likely to get a payout from your insurer that reflects its current value, minus your policy excess.

Yes you can. You don’t normally need to get a dedicated insurance policy for the sidecar, though. Get in touch with your insurance company and tell them that you’ve fitted a sidecar to your motorbike. Give them the make, model and value of the sidecar and it should be covered under your policy.

If you have a self-built sidecar, you might need to look for specialist cover for it. Have a chat with your insurance company and see what cover they offer.

Yes, with the right insurance policy. Before you go abroad with your motorbike you should check to see:

• If your existing policy covers you
• How long you’re covered for
• Which countries you’re insured to ride in
• If your level of cover is the same as when you’re abroad

If you’re travelling in the EU and have a photocard licence, you don’t need to get an international driving permit or an insurance green card.

Some insurance companies let you transfer your car's no-claims bonus over to your motorbike policy, but many don't. If in doubt, check with your insurer before you commit to buying a policy.

You can only use your car's no-claims bonus on one vehicle at a time. So, if your no-claims bonus is currently on your car, you can’t use it on your motorbike.

Yes, you can buy a motorbike without having motorbike insurance. But you need to make sure that you’ve got an insurance policy in place for your motorcycle before you ride it for the first time.

Many people choose to start their policy on the day that they collect their motorbike, to make sure they’re covered to ride it away safely and legally.

If this doesn't work for you, consider drive away insurance. This should cover you to ride your new bike home.

Yes you can, though not all motorbike insurance companies offer cover for imported models. Imported motorbikes come in two types - parallel and grey.

Parallel imports come from within the EU, so should already meet minimum UK standards. These imports tend to be relatively easy to insure.

Grey imports come from outside the EU. They might not meet UK vehicle standards, so you might need to pay to modify them before you can ride. Grey imports tend to be more expensive to insure due to the need for specialist, imported parts.

The easiest way to check if your motorcycle is insured is to put your registration into the askMID service. This service gives a clear yes or no as to whether your motorbike has a valid insurance policy.

Most insurance companies cover modifications that don’t affect performance under a standard policy.

If this is the case, your insurer should provide a list of modifications you don’t have to tell them about on their website. You must declare all other modifications to the insurer. This could make your insurance costs go up.

For more information, take a look at our guide on modified motorbike insurance.

Generally, no. Most standard motorcycle insurance policies don’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, which offers roadside assistance.

This is often called pillion cover. Whether you’re covered to carry passengers depends on the policy you buy. Most motorbike insurance policies exclude pillion cover as standard, so check the terms and conditions of your policy before carrying any passengers. If not, you might be able to buy pillion cover as an add-on to your policy.

You should also check that your motorcycle licence allows you to carry passengers.

If you’re involved in an accident you should report it to your insurance company as soon as you can. There should be a phone number for their claims department on your policy documents or on the company’s website.

Make sure you pass on all the details you took from the scene of the accident to your insurer within 24 hours. For more information, check out our guide on how to claim on your motorbike insurance.

Motorbike licence grades are similar to driving licence categories that let you drive different vehicles. For example, cars, buses and trucks have their own licence category.

Your motorbike licence entitles you to ride certain kinds of motorbikes and engine sizes. Yo'ure likely to likely see restrictions based on:

• Your age
• Your riding experience
• The power of the bike

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

This 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 can't be put into circulation again. It’s unlikely the insurance company would let you buy it back, even for parts.

Categories S (structurally damaged, repairable) and N (non-structurally damaged, repairable) could be a bit more flexible. Insurers might let you buy back the whole motorbike, or just parts of it.

Get in touch with your insurance company and ask them about their policy regarding write-offs.

Normally, if your motorbike is declared a write-off, the payout you get should be at the motorbike’s current value, which takes depreciation into account.

Some motorbike insurance policies might offer an Agreed Value feature, particularly if you own a classic motorcycle. This means you’re not left out of pocket following an accident.

To get an agreed value, you might need to get an independent valuation of the motorbike, as well as provide photographs and receipts to the insurance company.

If your trike is a standard, manufactured model, we can compare insurance quotes and get you covered in just a few minutes.

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

This helps make sure that your policy and price are correct, and you're getting the right level of cover. Mistakes made when you buy the policy could become expensive to fix later on.

New models and imported bikes can sometimes be difficult to find, and some models might be under a slightly different name. For example, if you’re looking for a Piaggio, look under ‘Vespa Piaggio’. If your details are correct and you still can’t find your bike, try our contact form - we’re happy to help.

You have to have motorbike insurance in place, unless your motorcycle has a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). Being uninsured is illegal and could result in a fine and points on your licence.

You could get a policy just for the summer, and cancel in the autumn. But with cancellation fees and the relatively low cost of motorcycle insurance, you’re unlikely to save much money doing things this way.

There are temporary motorbike insurance policies available, which lets you insure your motorbike for a short amount of time. But you still need to give your motorbike a SORN every time the insurance policy expires.

Excess is a set amount of money that you need to put towards a claim. This amount is usually deducted from any potential payout you might get.

Let’s say you make a motorbike insurance claim to replace your bike after an accident, and the total payout is £1,000. If you’ve set your excess to, say, £250, that amount gets deducted from the £1,000. That leaves you with £750 to replace your motorbike.

Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) is the minimum level of training all motorbike riders must complete before they’re allowed to ride on public roads.

There’s no pass or fail - it’s a course that teaches you the basics of motorcycle control before you start your lessons.

If you don’t have a car driving licence, you can leave this question blank and still carry on with getting your quote. A full UK licence allows you to drive a motorbike provisionally - if you have one, we need to know when you got your licence.

Yes, you can get a motorcycle insurance policy without having a licence. This could be useful if you're a collector, for example.

But you do need a valid licence before you can ride your motorbike. And it needs to be the right category of licence for the size and power of your motorbike.

Most policies only let you insure cars or motorbikes, not both.

But there are specific companies that allow you to combine a car and a motorbike under a single policy. These are sometimes known as '6-wheel' insurance policies.

The benefit of a 6-wheel insurance policy is that you don't have to keep track of 2 sets of renewal dates or 2 sets of paperwork. It's likely to save you time and hassle, but it's always worth checking if it saves you money. That's why it's worth comparing 6-wheel insurance policies against separate car and motorbike insurance.