Folks, I’ve just received my horrendous renewal quote for my Stelvio PFF. It’s from Bennetts (Aviva).
Who are people using?
As someone, like many, who has been buying car and bike insurance for over 50 years and in that time had one single claim for a no fault accident I have taken the ‘change every year approach’. Loyalty to a company buys you nothing any more.
The law says I must have insurance so now when the renewal comes close I am straight to the comparison sites. Nine times out of ten I accept the first or second cheapest offering. Same with broadband deals. It’s a percentage game for most.
I am completely mystified by what a ‘no claims record’ actually benefits you? Tired of upselling add ons. Fact.. despite a comparator list of 40-50 companies they are all underwritten by the same 3 or 4 backroom giants thus the bottom line prices may be frill less and perfectly adequate cover. It is easy to rack up an extra £100 at least for legal cover, breakdown cover, accessories cover, personal injury etc. Ask yourself just how necessary all these things are according to your REAL needs or expectations?
These extras are ‘sold’ to us as peace of mind for every conceivable low liklihood events and play on our paranoia and risk averse views on life.
I have just renewed my bike policy with a renewal quote from Bikesure of £275. Went with comparison quote from Hastings at £180. Exactly the same proposal form and questions that they all use yet they act like it is all confidential and personal. In reality modern tracking means they all have access to the same database and know exactly where you have been and where you have been searching. Before I even made my decision I was getting sales calls from existing insurer promising better negotiated prices than their own renewal notice.
Bottom line, I resent and refuse to be manipulated and gouged any longer by an industry that holds all the cards yet refuses to deal honestly upfront. I will happlily take the hit of a couple of extra expenses set against what I have saved refusing insurance cover for phones, appliances etc. and the extras mentioned above. Over the years that is massive. In the last 10 yrs at least I have had a different insurer every year. All reputable outfits offering the exact same basic comp cover and my yearly cost has stayed remarkably stable. Ditto in every respect for car insurance.
Sorry for the rant!! Reaality… it’s a shell game. I no longer play it. Good luck! 
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I use BikeSure - they offer discount to club members - see the discounts page on the website
I use Bemoto. Human beings in this country who seem to understand motorcycling. Possibly not the cheapest, but a fair deal and better than most to work with.
Me to. I do check the every year to see if they are trying to pull a fast one but so far so good unlike Carole fffin Nash!
Devitt for me.
Hastings Direct. They now insure up to three bikes and always gave me the lowest quote. Bikesure is like Russian Roulette, I find; phone them today, phone them tomorrow get wildly different prices (which might be good, of course). The premium brands like Carole Nash and Bennets were always premium prices in my experience, though I have used them. NCB doesn’t seem to make as much difference as switching insurer. I have to have a lock up garage with any insurer because I live in North London; however Hastings would charge me twice the excess if the bike were stolen within half a mile of the house. With Bikesure I wasn’t insured against theft within half a mile of the house or half a mile of my lock up, a combined distance which included the local supermarket, local coffee bar etc. My neighbour currently has exactly the same issue with bikesure; he keeps his bike outside the house but it’s not insured against theft. Bike theft eh; if we all stopped buying parts on ebay would our insurance costs come down? Discuss.
Interesting. I had the same experience with Bikesure while they were trying to convince me to reinsure. Three wildly different quotes while I was doing comparison. Then while using MCN compare saw a quote ostensibly from MCN insurance which looked good. Clicked on the “go to site” prompt and guess whose number was on there? Bikesure! The whole business is a snare job. Anyway pursued the Hastings quote which was the cheapest and very quick and seamless sign up. I will not be back to Bikesure any time soon.
As others have said, comparison site every year.
I have 2 bikes, a V7 and a BMW R1250RT, and for the last 3 or 4 years Devitt have come out cheapest each year.
I have 3 Guzzis on the same policy with Devitt & the insurance on all is due in about a month on the same day. Has anyone found a way to use the comparison sites for a multi bike policy? I have only seen how to use them for individual bikes. Thanks for any help.
Ive got my Yamaha Tracer 9GT and Classic Suzuki GS with Hastings direct. Ive been with them a few years now. It goes down each year. I always shop around each year and so far not managed to beat them. Ill be insuring my Guzzi V50 in a couple months and Hastings quoted £450 for that compared to £80 from Bennets! I don’t get it.
So an update.
Did all the usual digging around and got it down to a reasonable but still over the top amount. Then I tried the MCN site and got another 70 squid off for the exact same insurance.
Bonus
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I’m having fun attempting to insure a new Mandello. Bikesure, who I still had a policy open with, on a dummy reg., came back with over £1300! Hastings would do £314, but only allow 2 accessories, no good if you are having engine bars, lights and panniers. Bennetts are fussy about where it is stored, I have 2 garages and they need to know which one it will be in. Carol Nash and Devitt look promising. Any thoughts as to a potentially good provider?
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Been with Bikesure and Hastings and others. This year oddly Tesco was the best price! I change every year now to avoid being manipulated.
Just BTW I took out separate roadside cover this year which covers both my car and the Mandello. Unlimited call outs including home cover AND recovery to wherever I choose which was not my home address following my fiasco of misfuelling yesterday. £32 I think it was. AA and RAC were way more expensive and restrictive. Bunch called 2Gether.
I got the best deal on a Stelvio with Sabre Insurance. Worth a try?
I’ve extracted this from a much longer post I made in another thread, but it may help some of the wonderers that missed the original post.
‘Each of the inurance companies (Carole Nash, Bikesure, Footman James, etc.) negotiate annually with the underwriters as to what premiums are going to be charged where. This can result in premiums going up in one area to reduce premiums in another to keep cover going.[…] So, you might be paying e.g. £200 for your insurance renewal but the guy across the road with exactly the same cover might be paying double that because he is in a different underwriter area.’
As for Tescos… yes, they always seem to come out the cheapest until you really dig into the T&Cs. They’re great for a single-bike, no-frills policy but when you have six bikes stuck in the garage, the requested amount of platinum exceeds the pile of gold required by most other insurers.
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