Getting the best motorcycle insurance deal

So, you’ve passed your CBT and have been riding a 125 for a while, but you’re bored of all that and now it’s time to upgrade to your first proper bike. We’re in the same boat, and here are a couple of options we considered for this insurance experiment. All naked bikes, all good commuters, and they all look pretty good (a major consideration for us!):

Honda CB600F Hornet
Yamaha XJ6
Honda CB500F
KTM Duke 390
KTM Duke 690

Remember that insurance companies play with statistics, so sometimes strange choices can make a massive difference to the amount you’ll pay for your premium. An example is your choise of bike – a KTM Duke 390 (a mad looking bike) has a much higher premium than a very sensible Honda CB500F (with almost identical power). This is almost certainly due to the fact that Honda owners are a more sensible bunch and statistically a safer bet.

Your choice of bike

Make, insurance category	Very important – some bikes are more desirable to thieves, and some are more desirable to braver riders
Value	Moderately important, but adding ?1000 to the value doesn’t tend to increase the premium as dramatically as the choice of bike

Your experience

Years licence held	Very important – experience is a great way of reducing your tendency to get into an accident
No claims discount	Very important – indicates your risk to the insurer

Where your bike is kept

Post code	Very important – crime hotspots are very localised, sometimes a small change to postcode makes a good difference to your premium
Locked compound	Minor – this is roughly the same as keeping on a public road
Public road	Minor
Garage	Very important – in the eyes of the insurance companies, this is the most important storage based decision you can make
Private property	Minor

Security devices

Immobiliser, alarm	Important
Locks, chains, disc locks etc	Minor importance to insurance premium, but useful to prevent a claim

Conclusion

To get the best insurance premium:

Pick a sensible bike at first and don’t modify it from factory specification (unless adding security features)
Choose a bike with an immobiliser
Concentrate in getting few years experience and no claims discount under your belt
Store the bike in a garage

To prevent your bike being stolen:

Keep it somewhere sensible and hard to access
Use an expensive chain, attach it to something solid, and put it through the chassis (not the wheels). The easiest method of nicking a bike is to lift it into a van.
Fit an alarm