Cheap Motorbike Insurance

The cost of insurance jumps for under-30s, and even more for under-21s. There's not much you can do about your age, but generally, cheaper third party insurance is still worth a look for younger riders but always compare against third party, fire and theft and comprehensive cover.

Remember third party only pays for damage to other people's bikes or property, and not your own.

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 more than you need to.

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 your cost, though they can be expensive.

The more points on your licence, the higher the cost of cover. While speeding points remain on your licence for four years, insurers usually check for convictions during the last five years.

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 or sometimes for free. Check with your insurers before you buy.

Be Wiser currently gives helmet and leathers cover as part of a policy, but do check the limits are sufficent.

Whoever you insure with, you will be given the option to 'pay monthly' but be careful. What usually happens is that you are loaned the annual cost and charges you interest for the privilege.

Occasional promotions are interest-free, but otherwise the interest rates are usually 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 - perhaps 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 your insurer. If you don't and then try to claim, even for an unrelated issue, your whole policy may be invalid.

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.

Tweaking your job description could save you cash and to help, we've built a fun Car Insurance Job Picker tool to show the riskiest jobs and see if small tweaks to your job description could help you save.

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.

The economic times we live in mean you never know which company might be the next to have problems. Fortunately, insurance providers are covered by the government-backed Financial Services Compensation Scheme, meaning if they go into default, you're protected.

The FSCS will usually try to find another provider to take over your policy, or issue a substitute policy. However, if you have any ongoing claims, or need to make a claim before a new insurer is found, the FSCS should ensure these are covered. For full details, read the insurance section of the Savings Safety guide.