Cheap Motorbike Insurance Bike, moped or scooter cover in mins

The cost of insurance jumps for those under 30, and even more for those 21 or under. There's not much you can do about your age. But generally, cheaper Third Party insurance is still worth a look for younger riders. Remember this only pays for damage to other people's bikes or proerty, and not yours.

While many riders don't use their motorbike as their main form of transport, they use their car mileage to estimate the bike mileage. Often, it's far less. As you pay less if you drive less, this mistake can lead to you paying too much.

Security is one of the biggest problems for motorbike owners, and less secure bikes are more expensive to insure. Ideally keep it inside the house(!) or if not, in a locked garage. If you can't do this, some insurers won't cover you for theft.

If it has to stay outside, use an insurer-approved anchor lock or security device. This will help reduce the quote, though they can be expensive and it may take a while for reduced premiums to cancel out the cost of the lock.

The more points on your licence, the higher the cost. While speeding points remain on your licence for four years, insurers usually check for convictions during the last five before they are removed from your record.

It's worth considering going for a policy with a higher excess (the amount of any claim you need to pay yourself). Many people will find claiming for less than £500 of damage both increases the future cost of insurance and can invalidate no-claims bonuses, meaning it's not always worth making a claim.

So why pay extra for a lower excess? A few policies will substantially reduce premiums for a £1,000 excess, so try this when getting quotes. The downside of this is if you have a bigger claim you'll have to shell out more, so take this into account.

It's unlikely that damage to your riding helmet and specialist clothing will be covered as standard — though more and more insurers are giving the option to include these as at an optional extra cost.

For some, jumping on the saddle is a summer-only activity. If your bike goes into winter hibernation, take a look at cheaper temporary insurance that just lasts six months.

There are two things to be aware of though.

• You won't build up a no-claims bonus. This will mean you won't be eligible for no-claims discounts in future years.

• When not insured, you must get SORN. Rules came into force in 2011 saying all vehicles must either be insured - even if no one rides them - or you must get a a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). See DirectGov for how to do this.

Whoever you insure with, if it gives an option to 'pay monthly', be careful. What usually happens is the insurer actually loans you the annual cost and charges you interest for the privilege.

While occasional promotions are interest-free, usually the interest rates are hideous. So either pay it off in full, or if you can't afford it in one go it's actually cheaper to pay with a 0% credit card for spending and make the same repayments to that.

If you haven't got normal circumstances, eg, you've made a claim in the past few years, have a modified bike or expect to ride 100,000s of miles a year, tell the insurer. If you don't and then try to claim, even for an unrelated issue, your whole policy may be invalid.

Plus you should also tell your insurer about any changes. This is crucial as it reduces potential problems in the event of a claim, even if it's just your address. Trying to get insurance after you've had a policy cancelled due to a fraudulent claim is very difficult, very expensive and will follow you for the rest of your life.

A change in circumstances includes moving jobs, as insurers believe this can affect your risk. Scandalously, the unemployed often (though not always) pay higher rates for insurance, so tell your provider if you're out of work but also do the full checks below to see where you can get the cheapest cover.

You may also save on insurance if you're in a more stable relationship, ie, if you're living with a partner rather than listed as single.

With insurance, remember - the golden rule is:

If you've read these tips and thought, it's easy to lie about this, then of course you're right. Yet lying on your insurance form is fraud. It can lead to your insurance being invalidated and, in the worst case, a criminal prosecution for driving without insurance. Don't do it.