Car Insurance

THE MOTORBIKE is making a comeback. Last year motorcycle and scooter sales hit their highest level for 13 years, says the Motor Cycle Industry Association, with over 120,000 machines sold in the UK.

You might think that this is because more of us are buying trendy scooters, but the best-selling bike of 1998 was a whopping great 900cc Honda. The truth is that a growing number of thirty-something and forty-something professionals are splashing out on luxury high- performance bikes to ride in their spare time.

Ensuring that these bikers ride safely is now a concern for the insurance industry and the Department of Transport. The rise of the thirty-something biker led many insurers to think that biking was entering a new, safer era. Far from it. “The problem is that people are getting on bikes again maybe 15 or 20 years after owning their first bike, without realising that big bikes are a lot more powerful now,” explains Richard Alger, market support manager at Norwich Union. “A whole new set of riding skills are now required and many born-again bikers are having accidents because they don’t realise this.” So if you are thinking about joining this band of born-again bikers, you need the right insurance. Specialist insurance broker MC Edwards, which has put together a policy for Peugeot scooter owners, offers comprehensive cover at a flat rate of pounds 225. This is reduced to pounds 150 if you just take out third party, fire and theft cover. Insure a classic scooter (more than 20 years old) and your premium could be pounds 40. The premium for a high-performance bike is more expensive. Under Carole Nash Insurance Consultants’ Ultima policy, an office worker of 39 living in Milton Keynes with two years’ no claims and adequate security, riding an pounds 8,000 Yamaha YZF-R1 registered this year, would pay pounds 534. There are three ways to buy motorcycle insurance: through a specialist insurance broker, from a motorcycle dealer (usually arranged via a broker) or from a direct insurer. The only direct company actively selling motorbike cover is Hastings Direct. When the insurer burst on to the market a couple of years ago, it was offering some cheap premiums. They are not as competitive now but it is still worth getting a quote. Motorcycle Direct is also offering good premiums. Motorbike insurers have become more sophisticated but there are two basic things all of them look for: adequate security and evidence of safe and competent riding. Motorbike theft is a growing problem. A bike is stolen every 13 minutes, and for this reason insurers will require an immobiliser on many higher- value bikes. In some cases the owner will be required to garage the machine and secure it to the floor with a ground anchor. To encourage owners to take theft seriously, most insurers will offer discounts for security devices. For example, Cornhill offers a 7.5 per cent discount for garaging and between 5 and 7 per cent for security devices.