…..and then there was bike insurance!
Of course I want ‘fully comprehensive’ and not bothered by a high excess. Although I have been a driver for nearly 30 years and have 10 years no claims record on cars, the same cannot be said for my motorbike riding experience. Basically, I can claim to have ridden a motorbike every day for commuting in and out of West London for two years, but that was a 125cc commuter bike and it was nearly 30 years ago, so I don’t guess that cuts much ice. So my motorbiking experience looked pretty pathetic on the insurance forms! Held a full licence for five months, passed my CBT in June 2011 and have zero years no claims on motorbikes!
As recommended by the sales guy at Harley Davidson in Cheltenham, I tried Harley Davidson Insurance. I went to the internet site and punched the details in. The first quote I got was for £524! Aaargh! So I tried the now well known ‘Compare the Market’, but got stuck as their internet form insisted on the precise make of the immobiliser and had no option for merely stating that yes, there was one and that it was a factory fitted model by Harley Davidson, so I gave up with them.
My girlfriend recommended Carole Nash, so I tried them by completing their form on the internet. That came in at a whopping £737 per annum. When I added in a much higher excess, this reduced but only to £687! So it was back to Harley Davidson Insurance.
I accessed my original quote and increased the excess. This reduced the cost to £515. Then I went back in again and checked the details and added the licence plate number (which I now have) and pressed ‘requote’ and to my astonishment, the price was £390! Huh? I really hadn’t changed anything much at all! But I carefully checked the information that it had for the quote and it was 100% correct. So I bought the cover immediately for the full annual price on my credit card. The policy documents and cover note etc. came through within minutes and I am now fully covered on insurance from 4th February when I pick the bike up.
So ‘touch wood’ that I have a claim free year and I look forward to a significant reduction in the premium next year with that much more experience and a no claims history to start speaking about.
