How does riding safely help with Motorbike insurance

Bike insurers use a number of criteria to assess premiums including your annual mileage; your riding history; the bike you ride; your address; and your personal circumstances.

When examining your riding history, insurers consider whether you have been involved in riding related accidents in the past, as well as whether you have any convictions on your record. While an accident may not always be your fault, it’s clear that taking the time to ride safely and sticking to the rules of the road can pay off by reducing the risk of an accident occurring.

Indeed many bike insurers directly reward safe bikers with no-claims bonuses. A no-claims bonus can be worth as much as 60 per cent off the cost of your policy after four or more years. Crucially however, this is a bonus for avoiding claims – it doesn’t matter whether you were at fault for the accident or not, your no-claims bonus will still be affected when you make a claim unless the insurer can recover all its costs from the opposing rider’s insurance company or unless you have taken out no-claims discount protection, which is available as an add-on to some policies.

So how can bikers ride safely?

There are many steps you can take to boost your chances of steering clear of accidents – here are some tips:

- Check your bike: Don’t let your bike be the cause of an accident – carrying out a quick check, particularly before a long journey, could be a life saving move. So be sure to look at your brakes and fluid; tyre condition and pressures; fork seals, oil; coolant; lights; chains and sprockets. If you don’t have time to do these checks before every journey, then at least try to carry out a weekly examination.

- Equipment: Ensure you invest in the right clothing and equipment to keep you safe if an accident does occur. Helmets are the most important safety consideration and many are designed with crumple zones to absorb the impact of a crash and help you avoid serious injuries. Make sure you wear an appropriate jacket and trousers as these can help to limit injuries by reducing abrasion; while strong, tough and flexible boots with support for the ankles are also recommendable. Don’t forget gloves too – not only can they limit injuries to your hands, but they can also provide better grip particularly in bad weather.

- Loading: Use common sense when loading your bike and fitting accessories. When carrying heavy loads, ride at lower speeds.

- Preparation: You can limit the risk of an accident occurring by preparing for your journey. This could include mapping out your route so you travel on familiar roads and avoid heavy traffic.

- Road behaviour: Make sure you behave appropriately while riding. Don’t drink or use drugs before riding and if other road users behave inconsiderately do not get frustrated – keep your cool and stay away from confrontation. Keep a safe distance from other road users at all times and try to avoid riding in what may be blind spots for drivers of cars and other vehicles.

Get your riding off to a flying start

At the Southampton and District Motorcycle Club, we offer a Flying Start course to ensure you are on the right track.

The premise behind Flying Start is to ensure that motorcyclists are trained to ride safely on the UK’s roads. It is staffed by volunteers with instructors capable of training everyone from novice teenage riders to mature restart riders. The club provides its own motorcycles and mopeds which are available for each of the training courses however crash helmets, gloves and all the equipment you need should be provided by the students themselves.

Flying Start is also fully authorised by the Driving Standards Agency to carry out compulsory basic training which all riders must complete before riding unaccompanied n the road. It also looks at off-road maneuvers, the Highway Code and road safety practice, as well as theory preparation. 

With some specialist bike insurance companies you may earn a discount if you complete an advanced riding course. While we can’t guarantee this will be the case with the Flying Start course, it can be well worth informing your insurer you have completed the course particularly if you are returning to riding after a long absence or if you are new to life in the saddle.