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Breaking down while on a weekend ride or on the daily commute is every rider’s worst nightmare. Not only is it inconvenient, it can also be expensive.

If you want to avoid expensive recovery costs and have a little more peace of mind when you’re out on your bike, then why not consider buying motorcycle breakdown cover?

With motorbike breakdown cover, you can access help 24/7 and, depending on the level of coverage, that help might be extended to cover overseas journeys too.

What is breakdown cover?

If you run into trouble on the road, motorbike breakdown cover can help you get up and running again, either by helping you get back on the road or by arranging for a specialist recovery service to collect you and your bike and take you to a garage.

Types of Cover

There are 2 main types of motorcycle breakdown cover to choose from. You can either decide to cover yourself or your vehicle.

Personal Cover

If you decide to obtain cover for yourself, this means you can ride any motorbike (that matches the description in your policy) or be a passenger of any motorbike and be able to make a claim if you're involved in a breakdown and require assistance.

Personal cover might be the better option for you if you drive different bikes. However, if your bike breaks down and you are not on it at the time, you will not be able to make a claim.

Vehicle Cover

The alternative is vehicle cover. This allows you to claim even if you are not the rider or the passenger when the bike breaks down. Vehicle cover typically allows up to four motorcycles that are all registered at the same address to be covered under a single policy.

Vehicle cover may suit you best if you drive only one motorcycle. However, you can't claim on your breakdown cover for a different bike if you're the passenger or the rider when something goes wrong.

What is included in motorcycle breakdown cover?

Different insurance providers may have different features from one another, but some of the usual things common across many breakdown policies are:

Roadside assistance: This is the most basic level of cover. A recovery vehicle and mechanic will drive out to you and try to fix your motorcycle If you break down on the road.

However, if the mechanic cannot fix your bike, they will tow it to a local garage and drive you and your passengers there too.

Nationwide recovery: This is an extension of roadside assistance. With this cover, if your vehicle cannot be repaired on the roadside, you have the option to be taken anywhere in the UK, so you are not limited to the nearest garage.

This option can be useful if you frequently travel across the UK and therefore are more likely to need assistance while you’re a long way from home.

Home start: This covers you if you have issues before you set off whilst you are at home or if you break down close to where you live. The distance this covers can vary between insurers.

Usually, it is around a quarter of a mile radius around your home, but be sure to check the policy details so you know what you’re getting!

Onward travel: This cover helps you if you need to change your travel plan because of your motorcycle breaking down.

For example, if you need overnight accommodation, a rental vehicle or medical assistance, then onward journey cover might be just what you need at that crucial moment.

European cover: Adding European cover to your insurance extends your recovery radius across Europe.

It is important to check which European countries your insurance provider covers before purchasing, don’t automatically assume coverage before you go.

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Some insurers will offer you other levels of cover at an additional cost, such as key replacement if your key is lost or stolen, misfuelling, tyre replacement and battery replacement.

There might also be restrictions on what level of cover you can access depending on the vehicle you are covering. For example, you may be excluded from coverage if your motorbike is under 49cc, the breakdown is caused by punctures or your vehicle is not suitable for the road.

All in all, it is important to check the terms and conditions of your policy to see what you are covered for and how many call-outs you get per year. Know before you buy!

How do I find the best deal for motorcycle breakdown?

One of the easiest ways to get motorcycle breakdown cover is to get it when you buy your motorcycle insurance policy.

The Bike Insurer's online price comparison tool not only provides you with a range of basic motorcycle insurance quotations, but it will also show you which insurers provide breakdown cover included within the policy. And if they don't do that as standard, we'll show you which of them provide breakdown cover as a policy ad-on and exactly how much it costs. Make sure you select the ad-ons you need before clicking to purchase your policy!

So our online tool enables you to compare not just the basic policy price, but also to see which insurer provides the breakdown cover as standard, as an optional ad-on or not at all. Just make sure that, before you buy anything, you are getting the level of breakdown cover that you need because not all policies are the same and the devil can be in the details!

At The Bike Insurer, we're all about riding motorcycles for the love of it. However, part of that is having peace of mind from knowing that you've got good insurance in place. We aim to save you time and money on your main policy price by comparing quotations from some of the most established UK insurers there are, and we also list the policies that provide breakdown cover so that you can compare motorcycle breakdown cover options as part of your main insurance policy.

If you wish to buy a standalone breakdown policy, our partners at Bikesure can help you with that. Just give them a call on the number at the top of this page to speak with one of their advisers.

Motorcycle Breakdown Cover