Whether you’re a young person riding a scooter or moped to get to and from school or college, a die-hard racing fan who wants to pretend to be Valentino Rossi on their 1000cc sports bike or just a general bike fan who loves to go round on a tourer, seeing the country in a different way with all the elements hitting you on one weekend trip, then you need to make sure that you’re covered with some kind of motorcycle insurance.
Just like your car insurance, motorcycle insurance is a legal requirement to ride out on the roads and there are minimum levels of coverage in place to make sure that it doesn’t price people off their bikes, but also ensures that they are covered for accidents that are their own fault as well as those beyond their control.
A very common mistake among bikers and bike fans is that insurance policies for motorcycles are actually more expensive than policies for cars because riders are more at risk. In actual fact, that isn’t true, as all policies can be tailored according to the amount of cover you require, the size of the bike and a range of other factors, all of which can be found on websites such as insurancetown.com.
One of the most important pieces of information you need in order to get insurance for your bike is actually based around you – the rider. You’ll need to provide information such as your date of birth, the number on your driving license, any endorsements on your license (which refer to speeding tickets or driving offences within the last three years) and your occupation. This will allow the insurer to decide whether you’re safe enough to warrant insuring with them – they’re not going to insure anyone who spends more time making claims than out riding!
You will, obviously, need as much information about the bike you’re trying to insure as you can possibly get. Insurers will ask for information on the manufacturer, the specific model – such as a Yamaha R1 – and also the year it was released onto the market.
You’ll also need to explain if you have made any modifications, such as adding sports parts as this will alter the performance of the bike and you will need insuring sufficiently. This would also include any aesthetic modifications such as paint jobs or changes to the bodywork or chassis that could affect performance or cover up any illegal changes to the structure – or the fact that it’s been stolen!