Used Motorcycle Insurance Guide

As the title suggests there are two types of motorcycle insurance each offering different levels of coverage:

1. Full Coverage Insurance (aka "Comprehensive") - Covers you for all damage to both yourself and your property along with all damage to a 3rd person (or people) and their property. Your motorcycle passenger is also covered under the comprehensive policy.

2. 3rd Party Liability - Covers you for all damage to other persons and their property where the accident is your fault. This is the minimum required insurance cover and means that any bills associated with such personal or property damage to a "3rd party" will be covered by your insurance policy. You, your bike and your passanger will not be protected under 3rd party insurance.

Because of the extra protection Full Coverage Insurance is significantly more expensive than 3rd Party Coverage but the extra security this provides you with is more often than not well worth the additional premium.

Now you know the two options the following 7 factors will affect the price of both kinds of insurance policies.

The basic rule to bear in mind is that anything that increases your potential "risk" - ie likeliness of making a claim - will increase your insurance premium.

As a general rule the longer you have had a motorcycle license the lower your insurance premiums will be.

New riders on the other hand have a hard time with insurance to start with until they "prove" themselves although long-term riders who have a bad motorcycle history (ie multiple crashes (and hence insurance claims) and criminal prosecutions relating to riding (ie speeding, drink driving etc) will find they are subject to high premiums.

Age is a prejudice when it comes to insurance as it often is with things like loans.

Statistics show that young inexperienced riders can both be wreckless and subject to mistakes prone to beginners.

Your risk level goes up and so does your insurance premium.

As noted above your motorcycle driving history must be disclosed to your insurance provider before you take out the policy or your insurance may be invalidated exactly when you need it - ie when you try to make a claim.

Previous claims and driving penalties increase your "risk profile" to prospective insurers and hence they charge you a higher premium.

Insurance companies invest heavily in analyzing different geographical locations to determine the risk of things like crime and hence likeliness of theft and a subsequent insurance claim.

Where you live can have a serious impact on the price of your insurance cover although this can be offset somewhat by the security measures talked about in "Factor 6".

The more powerful the motorcycle the higher the risk and hence the higher your insurance premium. New inexperienced riders in particular will be subject to very high insurance premiums if they want to ride 600cc and above sportbikes.

With age (and hence experience) and a clean riding history this is slowly but surely offset.

Anything that improves the security of your motorcycle and hence minimizes the risk of it been stolen will reduce the cost of your motorcycle insurance.

Security markings on the actual bike, an approved alarm, the use of proper motorcycle locks and the storage of the bike in a garage overnight will all contribute to a lower insurance premium.

Certain motorcycle models are also known as popular amongst thieves and insurance cover for such models will often be higher regardless of some of the other factors covered in this guide.

The more time you spend riding the higher the statistical probability that you will have an "incident".

Lower annual mileage will result in a lower insurance premium.