Insurance costs for sportsbikes

[Berserkz0r]

So, I pay a lot for the insurance on my K4 GSX-R1000. More than I thought it would be when I bought the bike.

I'm 25, and at the time of taking out the policy I had 3 years no claims and I declared that the bike is kept on the driveway at night (my wife now lets me keep it in the garage).

I'm paying monthly and it comes to about £84 every month which includes the interest on the "loan"; I am therefore paying about £1000 per year! The cover level is TPFT.

My question is, what is the main determining factor for the price of the insurance.. the desirable/nickable nature of the bike, the bike's performance, or my age? Or just a mix of everything? Can I expect any sort of reduction at any time?

If you have a 1000cc sportsbike or similar, I would love to know your age, and how much you're paying!

Thanks

edit: I also have no points on my licence, but did a "speed awareness course" about a year ago to avoid what would have been my first three. I assume this doesn't affect anything.

[1198]

39 years old, 7 (maybe 8?) yrs ncd, rural postcode.
Ducati 1198 (2012), Monster (1993), Kawasaki zzr1100 (1990), Huoniao 125 (cheap Chinese thing, 2011), fully comp.
multi bike policy, unlimited miles, includes other bike cover, £400 p/a.
(The 1198 is the main bike, the others additions. Oddly the 125 costs more extra per year than the Kawasaki and Monster)

[Berserkz0r]

Many thanks for your response, 1198. That is certainly a much better figure!

I thought that maybe multi-bike policies would be only be the cost of the most expensive bike, since you can only ride one at a time, but I guess you could theoretically go out and crash them all and create multiple claims...

[Knacker]

When I bought the K1 1000 I rang up Adrian flux and explained to the. I have my car and 2 other bikes with them and Iv just bought this bike....How much?

£350 Fully comp, garaged, sdp 27 with 0 NCB that I could use on that policy.

I'd suggest telling them it's garaged and expect to see some money off the policy.
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Current: Gsxr 600 Srad - GS125 - DT125
Previous: K1 GSXR 1000

[Fisty]

TL1000R, heavily modified and all mods declared, 16 years NCD 33 years old, no points, kept in the house, SDP, £78 fully comp.
____________________
Quietly and consistently taking the piss.
TL1000R | Hayabusa | ZXR400 | TL1000S | Bandit 400 V
Fatter and faster than Fret

[Nobby the Bastard]

FZR1000 Exup, had a write-off in the last 5 years and a theft this year, parked on the road, no security items, 84 ponds a year.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[Berserkz0r]

I hope you're right, Knacker; I will have to renew in February so hopefully the fact that it's now garaged will bring it down a bit.

Fisty and Nobby... for real? 78 and 84 quid a year for those? That's insane. I hope I get deals like that some day!

[MC]

Only litre bike I've got a quote on was a CBF1000. 26, quoted £650 TPO, £1150 F&T, £1630* Fully comp'.

* Same as what I'd pay to insure a mini (the new one) so wasn't impressed with that.
____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[1198]

[Albigularis]

I actually did look at the quote on a K5 GSXR 1000 recently with MCE for a laugh. Had my licence two months, 23, 0 NCD, kept in a shed, TPFT was £700. If I alter the quote so it looks like I've had my licence for a year and have 1 year NCD, it goes down to about £320, fully comp being £710.

1198, if you tell them you'll consider cancelling your policy to take both bikes elsewhere they'll usually waive the admin fee.

We pay just over £3k to have both myself and my partner on a 535d touring, so the bike insurance is pennies in comparison.
____________________
Biking history so far-
Aprilia RS125 - Kawasaki ZXR400 - Triumph Street Triple R - Suzuki GSXR1000 L3 - BMW R1200GS - Kawasaki Z1000 - Kawasaki ZX10R C1H - Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring - Suzuki Hayabusa

[andym]

Done a quote a few weeks ago for a GSXR1000, 41yo, 4 years no claims, very nasty mark on my licence..... £198 FC

[Wednesday Biker]

Its your age.
When you get old everything comes down to reasonable prices.
Only drawback is that you are old

[covent.gardens]

My K4 GSXR cost me about £320 FPT&F. I was 28 at the time, 29 now, only 2 years bike NCB/full licence. With MCE.

You pay lots!

[ScottT]

Just recently back into having a bike so i've only 1 yrs NCD, 51 yrs old, I have a 125 Peugeot scooter and a BMW F650, tried a few places and they wouldnt let me put them on the same policy so had to get separate ones, I used my 1yrs NCD on the BMW and that costs me £84 per year FC, the scooter with no NCD costs me £86 FC, both insured for social & commuting!

[-Matt-]

I went TPFT for the first 3 years with my 05 ZX6 (garaged), which I got when I was about 21 with 3 years NCB.

£800 year 1.

£650 year 2.

£450 year 3.

Fully comp prices during those 3 years were obscene and not even worth considering. The compulsory excesses with the TPFT policies were still eye watering to be honest.

Year 4, it was £280 TPFT or £350 fully comp (more than halved from the previous year). So I went fully comp then.

All the above was whilst living in a very dodgy area (although garaged bare in mind). Moving to a better area (still garaged) actually made little difference for me when I had to change the policy/check new quotes. The current policy has a fairly hefty excess still admittedly, but nothing like what it used to be.

I've done some quotes for similar age litre bikes the last year or so thinking about possibly upgrading the 636 and they're only a 100 or so more than re-insuring the 636 (thats will be with 7 years NCB).

[Nope.]

21 years old. 2003 YZF-R1. Fully Comp. Declared Akra System, PC3, Ohlins forks. 4 years no claims. Garaged.



£210.

Good deal I think!

[-Matt-]

[Berserkz0r]

If you think you're jealous Matt imagine how I feel. Actually I feel like Jesus; I have sacrificed myself so that you all could be blessed with the gift of cheap insurance for your bikes...

[TallPaul_S]

Insurance is all about risk, and there are 10's of factors which affect the risk and therefore the price.

Postcode can have a huge factor in insurance cost - move to a lower risk area and your insurance will drop. Same as doing less miles, or not commuting, or garaging the bike, or not being a new biker, or not being in a certain age range, or not riding a bike which is costly to repair, or has been stolen lots, or crashed lots, or... You get the idea.

Also, one litre sport bike isn't the same as another litre sport bike. A gsxr will probably have higher insurance because thieves love gixxers innit. No 2 models of bike have the same risk - ignore the insurance rating. For example, for me, a triumph sprint 1050 is £400 cheaper to insure than a Honda VFR800, keeping everything the same apart from the bike.

The guy above at 21 insuring an R1 for 200 quid probably lives in a decent area, and is riding a 10+ year old bike, has 4 years experience as a biker, I'm guessing doesn't do 10k miles a year/commute. If he hadn't mentioned he's 21 it would seem pretty normal.

For me as new rider, doing 10k a year commuting, at 33, any sports bike is £1500 minimum, even £1000's worth of 600 SRAD. A CB400 is less to insure than a 125, £200 a year fully comp, but an sv650 (not much more powerful) is double that.
____________________
00 Honda VFR800 | 09 Aprilia Tuono Factory
CBT 06/03/2014 | Mod 1 and Mod 2 passed 15/10/2014

[-Matt-]

[Llama-Farmer]

Hornet 600.
All mods declared (although since it's with Bennetts, about half of the mods are "presumed" and don't need declaring), fully comp, SDP+C, 2 NCB, 2000 miles a year, garaged.
Under £100 for the year.


A CBR600-RR would be around £450 per year.
A CBR125 for some reason would be £520!!!!!!

I can go faster in second gear on the Hornet than a CBR125 would go if you dropped it off a cliff, but there you go.


A friend went from a 1.0 Vauxhall Corsa to a VW Passat (turbo) estate and their insurance practically halved, I'm guessing because the insurance companies statistically have to pay out less often and less value for accidents involving a grandad car than they do a little chavmobile. Maybe similar reasons with bike insurance too.
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Current Bike: 1999 Honda CB600 FX Hornet
Next Bike: I want a CBR-RR. And I want an F800 GS-A. And a VFR 800. Can I have all 3?
Dream Bikes: Honda VFR750R RC30, Honda NSR500, Ducati 996 R

[UrbanRacer]

Age, Claims, Convictions, Security, Experience, Area. Those are the things that will give the insurance companies an excuse to rape you.

New R1 + 2 x SP50's = £700 last year.

[MC]

I know someone who bought a crappy old Chinese scooter (against my advice) then spent £700 insuring it
____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[1198]

I suspect it's the perceived cost of spares that make my 1198 relatively expensive to run. When I got it the company who were covering me at the time (GSXR750 K8, ZZR) wouldn't even entertain the 1198. My first years cover for the new bike costme £1000+, as only Ducati Insurance would touch me.
I also agree that Chinese bikes are a nightmare to insure as well as some insurers see them as parallel imports which they see as an excuse to bend you over still more....

[andym]

It's not down to age, postcode, where the bike is stored etc.... It's more like the numbers round on Countdown.... you click that [Get Quote] button and a random number generator is activated