Rediculous motorbike insurance

kriegar

Iv been looking into buying a bike and was hoping to pass my test and get a kawasaki ninja 250r, so I thought id check how much it would cost to insure, now I know that because im 19 it would cost a lot, however the cheapest deal I could find is £1100 and the next one up from that is £2400 which is what all the other companies charge and is more than the bike itself.

This has scam written all over it, tests get harder and accidents have been getting less yet insurance is going up....

How can insurance companies get away with this, I understand that with cars there is the risk of hitting another car and it costing the insurance companies a lot of money and thats why sometimes the insurance is more than the value of the car.... however with a bike if there is any damage 90% of that will be to the bike.

What is even more disgusting is that if I happend to be my girlfriend who is 21, female and in the same circumstances as me, then my insurance would be roughly £400 across the board, If the insurance companies think that she is less likely to have an accident then they are seriously mistaken haha.

Im tempted to get her a licence and make her the main driver and owner of the bike until im a bit older, I know some companies let name drivers get a NCB.

Whats your thoughts, I wouldnt mind any advice as to a legal way to get cheaper insurance because the insurance companies seem to be hell bent into getting people to use fronting.

lisyloo

however with a bike if there is any damage 90% of that will be to the bike.

Heather Mills lost her leg (as a pedestrian) to a motorbike accident.
People (pedestrians, cylists etc.) can be maimed and killed by motorbikes.
I'm a biker and I agree with you that bikes probably do less 3rd party damage than cars (probably a lot less) overall but that doesn't mean that expensive injury/death claim don't happen.
Bike insurance is generally a lot more reasonable than car insurance.

If the insurance companies think that she is less likely to have an accident then they are seriously mistaken haha.

Well they obviously don't know you and your girlfriend individually, but in general women have less expensive accidents overall and it's the cost that insurers are interested in.
Yes we bang wing mirrors and bumpers in the supermarket but that's not expensive in general.
This type of discrimination is being illegal from December 2012, but I wouldn't bank on your price going down, although your girlfriends will almost certainly go up.
My other suggestion would be riding a 125 until you have a years experience but I'm guessing you aren't going to like that.

Whats your thoughts

Try some variations on the quotes to see what works.
Would a different bike get a cheaper quote?
What about trying putting in the Enhanced rider scheme (or whatever it's called) and seeing if that brings down the quote.

w211

The quote you got is probably about right considering your age and the type of bike.

When I was 19, it cost me £800 TPFT to insure a Honda Varadero XL125V - though I was living in central London at the time and the bike was stored indoors - I actually did what the poster above said, I bought that 125cc bike for a year even though I did the full licence, got my years no claims bonus then bought something bigger a year later.

£1100 today, on a 250cc sports bike, I think is good going.

dunstonh

all the other companies charge and is more than the bike itself.

The value of the bike is insignificant. That is not where the liability is. Do, you think the insurer cares whether the bike is £2000 or £10,000 when a claim is likely to go into hundreds of thousands of or millions?

This has scam written all over it, tests get harder and accidents have been getting less yet insurance is going up....

Insurance goes up in a hard market and down in a soft market. We are in a hard market at this time.

, If the insurance companies think that she is less likely to have an accident then they are seriously mistaken haha.

The fact is that females in general in her age group and other risk classes are less likely. No mistake. Fact. Insurance is about pricing the groups. You will get individuals that buck that trend but as a collective they dont.

Im tempted to get her a licence and make her the main driver and owner of the bike until im a bit older, I know some companies let name drivers get a NCB.

That is known as fronting and is considered fraud.

because the insurance companies seem to be hell bent into getting people to use fronting.

Do you commit other criminal offences because you dont like something?

kriegar

I asked for advice, I said I was tempted to do this and its not just a case of not liking it its a case of not having over £2000 to pay for insurance, Im sure any person would see something like this as tempting no matter who you are or what you do, fronting wouldnt be in the news if it wasnt.

So yes I do not like the fact that I have to pay nearly £2000 more than someone in the same circumstances but a different gender. however that doesnt mean im about to go out and rob a bank because I dont like not having lots of money.

kriegar

I think what I may do is just stick with a scooter for a year or so and get 1 or 2 years NCB as the insurance for a scooter seems to be a lot cheaper and even with 1 year NCB the quotes seem to go down by around 30%+

Hooloovoo

kriegar wrote: »

I asked for advice, I said I was tempted to do this and its not just a case of not liking it its a case of not having over £2000 to pay for insurance

If you can't afford it you can't have it.

That's just a fact of life. No point whinging about what you can't have. I'd love a Ferrari but it's never going to happen so I just don't bother thinking about it or looking at them!

lisyloo

I do not like the fact that I have to pay nearly £2000 more than someone in the same circumstances but a different gender

Well as an experience biker I can tell you that in general there is a MASSIVE difference in general between the way women and men ride bikes. The whole risk, competitiveness is entirely different.

If it wasn't a relevant factor like say skin colour or religion, I could understand you being a bit miffed, the fact is that gender makes a difference and that's been well known for decades.
I don't have the numbers but I expect it's even more pronounced on bikes than it is on other vehicles.

Sorry - but you have testoterone and you are young, so you are in the most risky group.
Now as an indivdiual you may be very sensible - in which case I'm sure you won't mind getting a scooter or 125 and waiting for your bigger bike, but I can't see you are being discriminated against without justification here. There is a big justification which is being male and young = the most risky group.

I believe it's the rules that come in 2012 that are unfair, however I'm still going to do what everyone else does, which is cut my cloth to fit.
If I can't afford something I need to

1) Find more income
2) Cut back on something else.
3) Don't have it and look at alternatives.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but I think that's part of growing up. None of us can have what we can't afford in life, whether we think the price is fair or not.

I think the price of Ferraris is highely unfair - but there you go.

ILW

kriegar wrote: »

I think what I may do is just stick with a scooter for a year or so and get 1 or 2 years NCB as the insurance for a scooter seems to be a lot cheaper and even with 1 year NCB the quotes seem to go down by around 30%+

Fair point, but I would worry about insuring any teenage on something with a name like Ninja. Does send out the wrong message really.

lisyloo

It is a "sports" bike, so yes it is the "wrong" type of bike.

kriegar

I would just like to point out too that I know you guys are saying its a sports bike and that no wonder its expensive, well the kawasaki ninja is well known as being one of the best bikes for starters as its really stable and not very powerful compared to the 600cc super sport bikes.

I understand what you guys are saying and I can understand why it is the way it is, but 2-3 grand for insurance seems ridiculous to me considering its around half that for me in about 2 years.

Ah wells I have an interview for a Server administrator position tomorrow so if all goes well then all my complaining will be over as I will be able to afford this with ease. I just dont see how any student is supposed to be able to fork out that kind of money, its no wonder parents put themselves at risk with fronting for their kids trying to get cars when their insurance is in the 5k region, I know my parents would consider it (not that I would let them) and they are very straight down the line people.