Getting quotes is a pain in the arse.

[J.M.]

As anyone who has been even briefly skim riding my posts for the past month or two will know, I'm soon to be insuring and riding the new bike, a Suzuki GS500F. I passed my Mod 2 back in Sept '11 and it has been a long wait.

My tax on the CBR runs out tonight. I'll have to get around to sorning that soon. Insurance on it runs out tomorrow at midnight, so I'll have my 1 years NCB to use on the new policy then. So currently I'm trying to get quotes which commence on the 2nd of April '12.

I was under the impression that WickedQuotes was the cheapest for me (they always used to be), until today, when thebikeinsurer found me a quote £100 cheaper (£283, rather than £383). ExpressInsurance quoted me this. I go to their website directly and "Sorry, we cannot quote you."

Before posting this I was just trying to get a quote from Swinton. I've not even been able to fill out the forms. Their licencing options:
- Provisional moped / motorbike with CBT
- motorbike entitlement on car licence [...] no cbt
- motorbike entitlement on car licence [...] with cbt
- full moped licence only (not under car licence)
- Full UK motorbike - restricted to 125cc (A1 - Light)
- Full UK motorbike - Category A
- Full EU motorbike licence - unrestricted
- Full international licence entitlement - unrestricted

I've highlighted in bold the licence which I selected (and have). But apparently I "don't have this licence":

[P.addy]

Stick to bikeinsurer quoting.

Its a royal PITA though

[Redoko]

My insurance is for renewal in May so I was doing quotes yesterday. Currently with wicked quotes and they've quoted me 280. Soon we'll see what they hope I will pay come renewal. I used the same category as you and didn't have any problems.
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"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51

[bikertomm]

Have to 'reccommend' thebikeinsurer aswell.

It's a pain in the arse, and their 'We guarantee to beat your best quote' number took me ages to get through to, was starting to believe it didn't exist.

Got there in the end. They took a pound off my original quote

But threw in free legal cover.

So job was a good'un!


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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[J.M.]

I'm back on thebikeinsurer now

Just got back to the £283 quote and it's now £243... but when clicking buy it's back up to £283

That is, until I tell them that I have "modified" the bike with a restrictor; that bumps it up to £1192.09. Seriously. WHAT?! WickedQuotes doesn't even budge my quote by a penny if I'm honest about every single modification; including the tank pad.

For further lolz, if I tell them I have an alarm and a restrictor, they refuse to quote (not wickedquotes, that other one).


Edit:
To those of you that know the lawful side of insurance. If I do not say that my bike is restricted and I'm involved in an accident sometime in the future, would they not pay out? I think it's stupid. I still have the exact same licence except now the bike produces less power, and they want to increase my quote 4-fold?
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[bikertomm]

Wow! That's so fucked up.

Why insurance isn't simple pissed me off.

All those shitty drop down boxes and technology to guess your occupation after typing the first 3 letters, but when it comes down to it they don't do their fucking job properly!


Good luck
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[Daytona Paul]

Got to be a day spent on the telephone mate
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CBT FROM ONLY £85
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[J.M.]

[jimbothe]

The trouble with online sites in my experience is that they base a lot of figures on assumed facts about you. It's not until you actually go through with the quotes that hidden extras can occur.

Try these, worth the few minutes on the phone....

Two excellent companies which I use are:

A quote - great company in my experience. Friendly staff and cater to EXACTLY what I require on my insurance. 0800 977 6937


and

Saffron Insurance - small broker in a town very near where I live. Excellent quotes and even friendlier staff than A quote. Again, they will cater for the exact cover you need. 01799 522293 - tell them a friend recommended you (don't need a name, a fellow biker will do) and they will usually drop 5% off the admin fees

I don't use the compare sites although I have tapped my details into money supermarket a few times to make sure I'm still getting a good deal. And I am
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[J.M.]

Thanks Jim!

Written down those numbers, I'll give them a call tomorrow/Monday
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[jimbothe]

You're welcome. They both use a very large database of insurers and particularly with Saffron Insurance, if you're honest with them and tell them a quote you have had already they will try their best to beat it. They will be open on Monday again but I think A quote will be open tomorrow.
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[Recluso]

The 243 is probably the buy it now price with the 280 being the installment prices.

I had a similar thing the other night and then it suddenly dawned on me what was going on
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'Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.'
Honda PS125i > Yamaha YBR125 > Yamaha XJ6 Diversion > Yamaha Tracer 900

[J.M.]

[Rogerborg]

With the caveat that this isn't legal advice, I'd put "full A" if there's no other option and they allow it - but make a careful copy of exactly what you were asked - and forget about telling them about the restrictor. I don't consider it material: there's no reasonable way that it could increase their risk.

But by doing that, you're just rewarding idiots, so the other option is to try eBike using this £40 off code and see what you get. They have a restricted license category (although they call it "A2") and the loading for modifications appears to be minimal, so you might actually be able to afford to tell them the truth.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[J.M.]