💸 Why Motorcycle Insurance Winds Me Right Up

Insurance renewal time can be a stressful experience.

By Ben Grayson – Get Ben Riding

My first proper road bike was an Aprilia RS125 — the teenage dream machine back in the day. I still remember paying £300 for insurance on it, and that was eye-watering at the time.

You couldn’t even pay monthly back then — it was pay up front or forget it. But £300 now? You’d be lucky to insure a set of brake levers for that.

Fast-forward to 2025 and the same 125 would cost you £1,500 to insure, easy. Madness.

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🔁 The Annual Insurance Ritual

Every year, without fail, my renewal comes through and it’s gone up. No claims, no tickets, no changes — just mysteriously more expensive.

So I do the dance we all know too well:I call them, get the usual “hold on while I talk to a manager,” and five minutes later the price magically drops by £150.

What is that? Why don’t they just offer that in the first place? It’s like a hostage negotiation where I’m the one being robbed.

It’s 2025, not 1825 — if loyalty actually costs me money, what’s the point?

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🏴‍☠️ Theft Is Real — But the System’s a Joke

I get it. Theft is a massive issue. Bikes disappear faster than a biscuit at a fat camp.

But here’s the thing: people lie on insurance forms all the time.They tick “garage” on the quote form when their bike’s really sitting on the driveway under a £20 Halfords cover.

And it’s those stats that drive premiums up for everyone else.

Here’s the reality: most bikes that get nicked are found within a mile of where they were stolen — dumped to see if they’re being tracked.

So why aren’t insurers factoring that in?

If I’m paying £1,500 a year, shouldn’t that include a bloody tracker?

They’ll knock £50 off if you buy one yourself, but you’ll spend:

• £350 on a tracker,

• £100 on a chain,

• £50 on a disc lock,

• £50 on a cover...

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That’s £550 worth of security to save £50 on insurance.That’s not “risk mitigation” — that’s a con.

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🧾 The T&Cs Are a Trap

Ever actually read your insurance terms and conditions?They’re basically a list of loopholes written in small print.

If you so much as change your address, there’s an admin fee.Swap exhausts? Fee.Change your job title from “Engineer” to “Technician”? Fee.

And when you finally do need to claim, it’s like arguing with a robot trained to say “computer says no.”

They’ll happily write your bike off for a scuffed mirror because it’s cheaper for them.

There’s now a whole market for Cat N bikes that were basically written off for having a dirty fairing.

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⚖️ Where’s the Fairness?

I reckon people with both car and bike licences should get better rates.Why? Because we’re generally more aware, more spatially tuned in, and safer.

Riding makes you a better driver.You look further ahead, anticipate more, and actually think on the road.

But instead of rewarding that, we get hammered for:

• Non-fault claims.

• Owning a bike that someone might want to nick.

• Having a postcode where someone once did.

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I mean seriously — if I get rear-ended at a traffic light, why does my premium go up?

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📸 Here’s an Idea

I’d happily upload a few photos of where my bike’s stored overnight if it got me a genuine discount.

Want to make trackers mandatory? Fine — as long as insurers aren’t allowed to use them to snoop on speed or location.If it helps find stolen bikes and brings down premiums, I’m all for it.

What I’m not for is paying the same premium as someone who leaves their R1 parked in a dodgy alley with a shoe lace as a lock.

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🧠 My Modest Proposal

1. Include a tracker in high-value policies — insurers buy in bulk, they’d get them cheaper than we can.

2. Reward dual licence holders — if you can handle both car and bike, you’re statistically a safer road user.

3. Stop the renewal scam — automatic discounts for no-claims, not automatic increases.

4. Scrap admin fees for basic changes. It’s a few keyboard strokes, not brain surgery.

5. Transparency — show exactly how theft, postcode, and storage impact the price.

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💭 Final Thought

The insurance game is broken.It’s built on fear, not fairness.

I’d rather pay £1,000 a year knowing I’m properly covered than £1,500 for a policy that feels like it’s written by a politician.

We’re not asking for handouts — just a fair system that rewards honesty and good riding.

Until then, I’ll keep doing the annual “call them up and tell them to piss off” dance — because apparently, that’s the only way to get a fair deal.

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🏍️ Quick Takeaways

• Insurance used to be £300. Now it’s £1,500.

• £500 in security gear saves you £50.

• “Manager discounts” prove it’s all made up.

• Good riders are punished for honesty.