Classic Bike Insurance
Classic or vintage motorcycles aren’t easily replaced, so insuring them properly can bring you some much-needed peace of mind. Specialist classic motorbike insurance can differ in quite a few ways from standard insurance for a modern bike and, depending on your bike and the exact cover you require, you may have to speak to a specialist insurance broker such as our partners at Bikesure on 0330 022 7850.
What is a classic motorcycle?
What’s different about classic bike insurance?
Insuring a classic bike is a little different to covering a newly manufactured one for a range of reasons, including the type of coverage needed.
Classic motorcycle riders will generally be putting in fewer miles on their treasured bike, instead of using it for day-to-day riding. They’ll also often have safe storage solutions, whether that’s a garage or a secure car park, which means there’s less chance of theft.
Insurers will also likely consider that, if a bike has managed to stay on the roads for 30 years already, chances are it’s been well maintained. This is a signal of good ownership, which can also affect the premium you’ll end up paying.
It’s worth noting that some insurers might have a minimum age requirement for a classic motorbike insurance policy.
FAQs
Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing for sure if your motorcycle is viewed as a classic or not without getting quotes, because the definition of a classic motorcycle is different from insurer to insurer. However, motorbikes that are 20-30 years old are most likely to be classics.
Vintage and classic are both terms used by insurers to classify older motorcycles that have unique qualities that might affect how they’re insured. Vintage motorcycles are older than classic motorcycles, although at what age a motorcycle becomes vintage rather than classic varies across different insurers.
Insurance policies for classic motorcycles are generally cheaper than for new bikes, for a number of reasons. They tend to be well looked after by enthusiast owners, cover less mileage, and are also much harder to steal and sell on. All of these factors reassure insurers that the risk of insuring a classic bike is relatively low. As always though, policy prices depend on a huge range of factors so there’s no guarantee on how much it’ll cost.
Choosing whether to opt for a regular classic policy or an agreed value policy, where you come to an agreement with an insurer over the value of your bike, can be difficult. Generally, if you think that the market value of your motorcycle is too low, an agreed value policy could be a good option. Otherwise, you might find you’ll get a lower premium on a regular policy. Do some research to determine which is the best option for you before choosing insurance.
