Motorcycle insurance can be very expensive but with so much money invested in your pride and joy, insuring your motorcycle is more often than not the sensible thing to do i most cases. Luckily for us in Australia, insuring your motorcycle is not a legal obligation in like in many other parts of the world. If your purchase your motorcycle via finance, finance companies as part their conditions of granting you a loan, it may be required that you insure your motorcycle.

While motorcycle theft is not a specific problem to Australia, it does happen and despite the many precautions you might take, thieves tend to find ever more ingenious and cunning ways to steal your motorcycle. With that in mind if you decide to insure your motorcycle you;re going to want to get the cheapest coverage that meets your specific needs.

Finding a cheap motorcycle insurance quote that offers the right level of cover can often be challenging whether you’re looking for the first time or renewing an existing motorcycle insurance policy, but there are many simple steps that you could help make your insurance quote more competitive.

While saving money on Motorcycle insurance is always a priority, remember that it isn’t always about getting the cheapest premium.

More often than not it can definitely be worthwhile paying that little bit extra to get motorcycle insurance cover with all or as much as the coverage that you need, such as replacement motorcycle cover if your machine is stolen or breaks down.

Here are MCNew’s tips for saving money on your motorcycle insurance premium:

Choose a smaller, older or cheaper motorcycle

Motorcycles with a less powerful engine can help to reduce your Motorcycle insurance premium, as well as in many cases an older, less expensive bike or classic motorcycle.

Avoid modified and unusual motorcycles

buying or modifying a motorcycle adorned with half of the parts from your favorite performance tuning website or catalogue will in most cases raise the price of your motorcycle insurance premium, as these motorcycles may be viewed as more expensive to repair or replace, and more attractive to potential thieves. Still though it’s worth shopping around as there are insurance companies that may not penalize you for a modified motorcycle, though these expect to be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Imported motorcycles can also be more problematic when it comes to insurance, especially so-called ‘grey imports’ – motorcycles that aren’t available in the same specification in Australia and are imported from outside of Australia. Again though there may be specific motorcycle insurance companies that have special deals or concessions for imported motorcycles. So shop around and ask all of the right questions.

Ride less, pay less for your motorcycle insurance

You’re likely to get a discount from your insurance company if you do a relatively low mileage. You may be seen as less of a risk to them because you won’t be on the road as as often.

Pay annually

If you can pay for your motorcycle insurance in full when you take out your policy, rather than by monthly instalments, you’re likely to see a discount of some degree. Make sure you ask about their refund policy in the instance that you might want to cancel your motorcycle insurance premium within the 12 month coverage of the plan.

Secure motorcycles with responsible owners pay less

Make sure you have extremely good security protection for your motorcycle. For example, an industry approved motorcycle chain, ground anchor, disk lock or electronic alarm and immobiliser should reduce your insurance premium.

Park your motorbike in a secure area

Motorcycles are harder to steal if they are out of site and secured. If your motorcycle is parked when not used in a garage overnight, or is stored off the road on a driveway, this could help to substantially reduce the cost of your motorcycle insurance policy.

Other people riding your motorcycle

The price of your motorcycle insurance can be affected by who is also insured to ride your motorcycle

Having a young, inexperienced rider on your policy will often mean that your premium will likely be higher, but adding (with their permission) an older and/or more experienced could help reduce your motorcycle insurance premium.

ensure that you accurately and truthfully describe who the main rider of the motorcycle is, though – if you are loose with the truth you risk invalidating your motorcycle insurance by committing a criminal offence known as fronting.

Take a motorbike training course

Motorcyclists are at a substantially greater risk of death and injury and are involved in disproportionately more accidents than car drivers. Improving your riding skills through accredited and recognised riding courses not only makes you a more accomplished and safe rider,  you’ll also likely pay lower motorcycle insurance premiums as a result. The initial cost of any riding cost may not outweigh the cost of the potential saving you might make, but the theoretical long term savings will in most cases present themselves.

Consider carefully your motorcycle coverage

Depending on your personal unique circumstances it may be worth considering an insurance policy with a lower level of cover such as third party, fire and theft or just legal coverage in the event of an accident. To what level of motorcycle insurance cover you choose must be weighed upon the type and value of your motorcycle as well as where you keep your motorcycle at night and while you work, and of course how much you personally value your motorcycle or risk to yourself and other road users.

Only pay for what insurance coverage you need

As with choosing your level of cover, look out for the optional extras on your policy and don’t pay for more than you need.

For example, legal assistance or access to a courtesy motorcycle may not be essential to you, and if you’ve included pillion (passenger) cover you’re likely to pay more for a policy.

If you cover big mileage you may consider motorcycle breakdown cover an essential extra – but think about whether you’ll get a better deal by buying a separate breakdown policy rather than choosing it as an add-on your insurance policy.

Motorcycle use

How you use your bike will have an effect on your motorcycle insurance. For example, if you only use it to for runs down to the local coffee shop and for everyday activities such as shopping or visiting friends then you’re likely to be seen as less of a risk than if you commute daily to and from work.

Don’t acquire speeding tickets

Motorcycles are fun, and you may have bought a motorcycle because it it fun to go fast.  Speeding tickets or convictions will drastically impact your motorcycle insurance quote to the negative. Motorcyclist who are caught speeding or riding recklessly are considered by insurance companies as higher risk and will pay more. Note: You must declare all motoring offences or demerit points you acquire directly to your insurance provider.

Fiendishly horde your no claims bonus’s

Motorcyclists who do not  make claims on their insurance for a number of years will in most cases will be rewarded by their insurer with a lower insurance premiums come renewal time. Equally if you are up for renewal and have a no claims bonus it is also worth shopping around rather than just accepting the discount that your existing insurer offer you.

Don’t make claims on your insurance where possible

As per above, annually hoarding no your claims bonus will see your (all other things equal) motorcycle insurance premiums go down. If you have a situation where – such as dropping your motorcycle on the driveway, sometimes it can be cheaper in the long term to not make an insurance claim with your insurer, rather brunting the cost of repair yourself. Whether you decide to do this or not has to be carefully thought through with all of the pros and cons added up. Note: if you have an accident involving a third party you are obliged to inform your insurance company even if you do not plan to claim.

Increase your voluntary excess

Agreeing to pay a higher voluntary excess will often result in a lower insurance quote. But always remember that, in the event of a claim, you’ll have to pay the excess before your insurance company honors any kind of payout or repair costs. If opting to pay an excess in the first place, or increasing an existing excess there are many considerations to take, such as the value of your motorcycle etc.

Consider only insuring seasonal

Seasonal motorcycle insurance is a popular option in colder climates. It’s not fun riding a motorcycle in the cold and wet. In Australia we are pretty lucky to generally have great weather all year round in most places. Though consider, If you barely ride or do not ride your motorcycle at certain times of the year, and if often enough it may be worth insuring your motorcycle for say 6 months of the year where you’ll be likely to make substantial savings versus a 12 month premium.

Shop around for the right motorcycle insurance quote

Each time it comes to renewing your motorcycle insurance, don’t just settle with your existing insurer. By shopping around you could find a policy that suits your needs that offers greater value.

Use a motorcycle insurance comparison website

one great way to save time and money is comparing prices and policy details through one quick and easy search.

You’ll have access to products from most of the Australia’s reputable insurers and you can search at any time of the day or night.

Phone individual companies

Price comparison websites are a great way to start but do not stop their and pick the cheapest quote that meets your needs, phone the actual insurer directly, and negotiate a cheaper price. If an insurance company sell a premium through a comparison website, they have to pay a commision to the price comparison website. By directly dealing with the insurance company they will not have to concede this cost and may be able to pass at least some of that cost in the way of a saving to you.

Look at insurance company’s own internet sites

Like above, compare the cheapest insurance quote that meets your needs on the price comparison website and directly compare it with a quote form the actual website of insurance company that offered the quote via the price comparison website.  For the same reasons as above you can often make additional savings by going direct.