London Bikers, how do I get insurance?
Discussion
55, been riding 37 years and have just returned to London after a 2.5 year gap. Currently 7 years NCB, only due to a 3 year gap in insurance. Less than 3000 miles a year but unfortunately have an SP30. First points since I was a kid in the 80s.
My current insurance company cancelled my cover on my Vespa 300 when I told them my change of address, despite them covering me since 2015 when I was in London.
I got cover with MCE as they were the only sensible quote but the excess was £895. Lo and behold the scooter got nicked about a week later, not in London I have to add, but as only worth about £1200, I saw no point in claiming and ruining my cover on my car or if I got another bike.
Miserable without my 2 wheeler, and part of the point of moving back to London was to make it easier to get to various places of work on my bike and save money and time, I sat down yesterday and started hitting the compare sites and some of the more well known insurers.
How on Earth! is anyone getting insurance?
Surely all those lads on beaten up scooters and 125s delivering food can't be paying these prices.
After enjoying the ease of the Vespa 300, I tried to get cover for a T Max. Carole Nash for example.
£799 TPFT for a 2016 model. Didn't matter if I put SD&P or full commuting and business use, price stayed the same. MCE want £230 but with £2000! excess.
I started putting different 600cc nakeds in but the prices were also eye watering, and that's if anyone would quote. Quite often it was only MCE that would quote, with a sensible price but very high excess.
On a compare site I could only get a quote from MCE on a year 2004 CBR600 worth a couple of grand if that.
Then what's with the Third Party Only being more expensive than TPF&T.
Insurance company doesn't have to worry about theft, the biggest problem in London, so surely my age and experience count as a safe bet?
Finally tried something sensible for an old guy. BMW R1200GS 2014 cost £9000.
£1500 was the cheapest fully comp quote, £1000 TPF&T.
Is everyone paying stupid prices and just sucking it up? Plenty of bikes on London streets.
So if you all reply that you are in the same boat, I'll bend over and take it, but is there some way, anyway, to get reasonable cover at a reasonable price?
Very frustrating as I could fund a nice bike tomorrow but I can't justify the insurance cost.
My current insurance company cancelled my cover on my Vespa 300 when I told them my change of address, despite them covering me since 2015 when I was in London.
I got cover with MCE as they were the only sensible quote but the excess was £895. Lo and behold the scooter got nicked about a week later, not in London I have to add, but as only worth about £1200, I saw no point in claiming and ruining my cover on my car or if I got another bike.
Miserable without my 2 wheeler, and part of the point of moving back to London was to make it easier to get to various places of work on my bike and save money and time, I sat down yesterday and started hitting the compare sites and some of the more well known insurers.
How on Earth! is anyone getting insurance?
Surely all those lads on beaten up scooters and 125s delivering food can't be paying these prices.
After enjoying the ease of the Vespa 300, I tried to get cover for a T Max. Carole Nash for example.
£799 TPFT for a 2016 model. Didn't matter if I put SD&P or full commuting and business use, price stayed the same. MCE want £230 but with £2000! excess.
I started putting different 600cc nakeds in but the prices were also eye watering, and that's if anyone would quote. Quite often it was only MCE that would quote, with a sensible price but very high excess.
On a compare site I could only get a quote from MCE on a year 2004 CBR600 worth a couple of grand if that.
Then what's with the Third Party Only being more expensive than TPF&T.
Insurance company doesn't have to worry about theft, the biggest problem in London, so surely my age and experience count as a safe bet?
Finally tried something sensible for an old guy. BMW R1200GS 2014 cost £9000.
£1500 was the cheapest fully comp quote, £1000 TPF&T.
Is everyone paying stupid prices and just sucking it up? Plenty of bikes on London streets.
So if you all reply that you are in the same boat, I'll bend over and take it, but is there some way, anyway, to get reasonable cover at a reasonable price?
Very frustrating as I could fund a nice bike tomorrow but I can't justify the insurance cost.
Edited by croyde on Sunday 18th February 11:22
At a guess I imagine you need to identify something really undesirable and try with that, as bad as it may be. I don't have any data but the TMax is probably one of the most-stolen scooters in London, because all the twocs use them, and anecdotally that's closely followed by most Triumphs.
Old Fazer/Bandit? Old BMW? CB500? Worth checking for a quote on something like that.
It doesn't make much sense, I know, I have 6 bikes insured with a total value of about £20k, I live in Kent (as you might recall
) and I pay about £320 fully comp with commuting for all of them on one policy. That's with Carole Nash, and I must say, when I got knocked off last year they and their associates also handled the claim pretty well.
Old Fazer/Bandit? Old BMW? CB500? Worth checking for a quote on something like that.
It doesn't make much sense, I know, I have 6 bikes insured with a total value of about £20k, I live in Kent (as you might recall
) and I pay about £320 fully comp with commuting for all of them on one policy. That's with Carole Nash, and I must say, when I got knocked off last year they and their associates also handled the claim pretty well. Hello mate.
Seems I should never have returned from Surrey and should have kept my Mustang. That was only £300 fully comp, for a £30k odd 400+bhp car that I quite often drove into and parked in that there London.
It was a Street Triple I had before the Vespa, from 2009 to 2015. It was always suffering from attempted thefts.
The last year of insurance on that was 180 TPFT in 2014.
How things have changed.
Seems I should never have returned from Surrey and should have kept my Mustang. That was only £300 fully comp, for a £30k odd 400+bhp car that I quite often drove into and parked in that there London.
It was a Street Triple I had before the Vespa, from 2009 to 2015. It was always suffering from attempted thefts.
The last year of insurance on that was 180 TPFT in 2014.
How things have changed.
Edited by croyde on Sunday 18th February 11:36
I read your other thread about the underlying reason for the move. Haven't really got anything to help with there, I separated from my boys' mother, they both had a wobble and had a go at me when they were late teens but nothing like you have.
Sorry to read all this, hope things pick up for you soon.
Sorry to read all this, hope things pick up for you soon.
croyde said:
Insurance company doesn't have to worry about theft, the biggest problem in London, so surely my age and experience count as a safe bet?
Is there some fashion in which the insurance company is liable for damage done by the bike if it is stolen, regardless of if it is insured against theft or not?Edited by croyde on Sunday 18th February 11:22
xeny said:
Is there some fashion in which the insurance company is liable for damage done by the bike if it is stolen, regardless of if it is insured against theft or not?
If the thief is caught then the insurance company is liable for the damage. If the thief isn’t caught then the insurer isn’t liable, but ends up having to deal with it and do all the claims handling as if they were liable.
Big excess issues
The way I’m looking at it is that I’ve always previously accepted a £500 excess, so now will accept up to £1500, as I’ll insure £1000 of it with these guys for £40 a year.
https://www.bestpricefs.co.uk/car-excess-insurance
I know it says car excess, but it covers bikes too. Younhave to nominate the vehicle at purchase though, so you can’t buy one and then pick the bike / car in your fleet tomsuit when the claim happens.
The way I’m looking at it is that I’ve always previously accepted a £500 excess, so now will accept up to £1500, as I’ll insure £1000 of it with these guys for £40 a year.
https://www.bestpricefs.co.uk/car-excess-insurance
I know it says car excess, but it covers bikes too. Younhave to nominate the vehicle at purchase though, so you can’t buy one and then pick the bike / car in your fleet tomsuit when the claim happens.
TPO is probably dearer than TPF&T, as most insurers hate selling TPO cover and would prefer not to, somtheybrice it higher than other more preferable cover. They’d prefer not to sell TPF&T too amd quite often on cars Fully Comp is cheaper than TPF&T.
I can’t help with ideas on insurance for London, but what inwould say is that insurance is to cover you IF something happens, sadly it’s becoming more like assurance which covers you WHEN something happens. The latter is an uninsurable risk and that’s why premiums are heading that way.
I can’t help with ideas on insurance for London, but what inwould say is that insurance is to cover you IF something happens, sadly it’s becoming more like assurance which covers you WHEN something happens. The latter is an uninsurable risk and that’s why premiums are heading that way.
A lot of the gripes coming from older people make me wonder what they were paying historically (i.e. was it unrealistically cheap, I think yes.).
I am near 50 now and if I was living in London then £500 fully comprehensive on a T-Max would just get paid, and I would do my best to stop it getting pinched or vandalised.
The real issues with insurance costs relate to youngsters, where they almost encourage illegal use.
I am near 50 now and if I was living in London then £500 fully comprehensive on a T-Max would just get paid, and I would do my best to stop it getting pinched or vandalised.
The real issues with insurance costs relate to youngsters, where they almost encourage illegal use.
I’ve just got the prices on my bike insurance and they’re up significantly on last year and I live in a village a fair way north of Manchester. The HP4 is still sub £200, the R1-M has jumped from sub £200 to nearly £500. Part of it will be the car theft claim I had earlier this year, but the prices have jumped quite a bit generally in line with car insurance.
I agree that we had unrealistically low premiums previously.
I agree that we had unrealistically low premiums previously.
cmaguire said:
A lot of the gripes coming from older people make me wonder what they were paying historically (i.e. was it unrealistically cheap, I think yes.).
I am near 50 now and if I was living in London then £500 fully comprehensive on a T-Max would just get paid, and I would do my best to stop it getting pinched or vandalised.
The real issues with insurance costs relate to youngsters, where they almost encourage illegal use.
500 fully comp. Hold yer hand out I am near 50 now and if I was living in London then £500 fully comprehensive on a T-Max would just get paid, and I would do my best to stop it getting pinched or vandalised.
The real issues with insurance costs relate to youngsters, where they almost encourage illegal use.
The quotes from known insurers that I'm getting for that same T Max is 800 TPF&T. The fully comp was over a grand.
Like I said I'm 55. Forget the youngsters, even I'm tempted not to bother getting insurance.
Plenty of quotes for my 1000 quid 2007 Vespa were 400 quid TPF&T.
Pointless insuring it for theft at that price and pointless claiming unless I wipe out a bus queue of aspiring footballers.
Insurance was a pain price wise when I was in my 20s but now it's breaking the bank in my 50s and I'm earning a lot more.
I just tried a 2000 R6, cost £2000. In London only MCE will quote, about £200 TPF&T
Change to TPO and that drops to £140 but suddenly other companies want in on the action but at £400 to £750.
Change to my old address in Surrey only 15 miles away as the crow flies and everyone is offering TPF&T from £140 to £350. MCE isn't even the cheapest anymore.
OK safer overnight in Surrey but a longer commute and still left on London streets during day.
Edited by croyde on Sunday 18th February 17:09
I plucked the 500 out of the air in all honesty.
But 200 on the R6 is not worth worrying about, the T-Max probably wasn't a good choice as it is theft central.
I think you need to stop focussing on what you paid before and consider the new quotes for what they are.
Compared to Gavia's £500 R1M, I am in a low risk area and paying nearer £800 for a Gsxr1000
But 200 on the R6 is not worth worrying about, the T-Max probably wasn't a good choice as it is theft central.
I think you need to stop focussing on what you paid before and consider the new quotes for what they are.
Compared to Gavia's £500 R1M, I am in a low risk area and paying nearer £800 for a Gsxr1000
croyde said:
Is everyone paying stupid prices and just sucking it up? Plenty of bikes on London streets.
Before my ZX10R was stolen I was paying £130/month insurance for SW19 postcode. Full comp + commuting, 29 years old with 6 years no claims. Don't know my full years term because I transferred it from my Hayabusa policy, that was £100/month.After it was stolen, re-quotes for the same bike were approximately double but instead I moved away from the city.
I've just been through the same exercise. The fully comp premium for my 2016 1200 GSA is now £1,900 (up from £970 last year) with a £2k excess. I maximised the excess to get the premium down (and got a call a week after taking out the policy, offering to take £1k off my excess for around £90, which I declined) and while it's eye watering, the 1 hour time saving a day is worth it.
I'm 37, live and work quite centrally in London, have 7 years NCB, a lapsed SP30 from 2014 but do have one no-fault total loss, claimed from the other side's insurers, after a neighbour ran over my parked bike back in December 2015.
I have an underground parking space in a secure car park for overnight parking (apparently not relevant...) and park outside a police station during the day, so I am not particularly fearful about theft given my circumstances - but I wouldn't leave my bike in many other places in central London.
Sadly, I have to insure with MCE as they are one of the few companies who will even consider cover at any price. The next best was £2,300.
I'm 37, live and work quite centrally in London, have 7 years NCB, a lapsed SP30 from 2014 but do have one no-fault total loss, claimed from the other side's insurers, after a neighbour ran over my parked bike back in December 2015.
I have an underground parking space in a secure car park for overnight parking (apparently not relevant...) and park outside a police station during the day, so I am not particularly fearful about theft given my circumstances - but I wouldn't leave my bike in many other places in central London.
Sadly, I have to insure with MCE as they are one of the few companies who will even consider cover at any price. The next best was £2,300.
Mosdef said:
I have an underground parking space in a secure car park for overnight parking (apparently not relevant...)
With 24hr security, my bike was taken from an underground secure car park along with many other bikes in a short period, I think around 8 bikes over a 2 month period... this is why they aren't relevant anymore (MCE insured)Trust no one, I had suspicions that the security guards were "in" on the thefts since my flatmates Street Triple was stolen on the day it was delivered!
Lee540 said:
With 24hr security, my bike was taken from an underground secure car park along with many other bikes in a short period, I think around 8 bikes over a 2 month period... this is why they aren't relevant anymore (MCE insured)
Trust no one, I had suspicions that the security guards were "in" on the thefts since my flatmates Street Triple was stolen on the day it was delivered!
Was that a private car park, only accessible by those who own a space or was it a Q Park (or similar)? I feel pretty safe where mine is, given there's a 1930s Bentley Superblower, numerous DB5s, DB6s, classic Ferraris etc. Not as easy to put in a van as my bike but rich pickings nonetheless!Trust no one, I had suspicions that the security guards were "in" on the thefts since my flatmates Street Triple was stolen on the day it was delivered!
Mosdef said:
Was that a private car park, only accessible by those who own a space or was it a Q Park (or similar)? I feel pretty safe where mine is, given there's a 1930s Bentley Superblower, numerous DB5s, DB6s, classic Ferraris etc. Not as easy to put in a van as my bike but rich pickings nonetheless!
I lost a 6 month old bike from a "secure" and totally private car park. Invisible from the road unless you were a contortionist. The police reckoned the thieves had devices which would open the gates, but also, strangely enough, the guy who ran the cctv was very difficult to get hold of to review the footage, and by the time he did, most unfortunately the tape had cycled and been written over....As above. Ours was a private, out of sight with hidden from view entrance underground. Fob access but 24hr manned security with cameras as well.
As soon as someone other than you has access it is no longer secure.
Ferrari's, Lambo, Bentley.. all the expensive cars as well but these scrote bike thieves aren't interested in supercars, why would they be?!
As soon as someone other than you has access it is no longer secure.
Ferrari's, Lambo, Bentley.. all the expensive cars as well but these scrote bike thieves aren't interested in supercars, why would they be?!
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