How come insuring a BMW bike in London can cost as much as the bike?

[waltermitty]

Hey folks,

I am planning to buy a bike for the first time later this year and before investing too much time/money in training, I wanted to make a budget for the initial and ongoing costs, including insurance. However, I'm shocked by the insurance premiums here in South East London for a new BMW F 750 GS (£9k): The cheapest TPTF policy (from MCE) costs more than £2,000/year, and the second cheapest policy (from RCIB) literally costs more than the bike itself.

I get similar results across comparison sites. I've also changed the quote to use my old Oxford address, and prices dropped to about £500 and I get a lot more choices, so it's definitely my SE postcode. Note I'm entering the best locks I could find (Pragmasis Protector).

Are these quotes normal by London standards? I'd like to think I'm doing something wrong. Is there anything else I should consider to reduce the insurance premium, without moving to another place? I considered renting a garage but it'd be more expensive and really inconvenient. Getting a less expensive bike is an option, even though I really liked the BMW F 750 GS.

Cheers.

[WD-40]

It must be a bike that gets stolen a lot. Just in case you didn't know already the engines in those Gs aren't made in Germany https://www.bmwgroup-werke.com/berlin/en/unser-werk/internationale-produktion.html

[Gerontious]

It must be a bike that gets stolen a lot. Just in case you didn't know already the engines in those Gs aren't made in Germany https://www.bmwgroup-werke.com/berlin/en/unser-werk/internationale-produktion.html

 

which in the case of BMW isn't altogether a bad thing. nor does it actually matter.

Im afraid that this is the way things are in london. there are probably other factors at play but London is high risk. youth and inexperience. parking overnight. commuting. can all have serious impacts on the premiums demanded. especially where a new or nearly new bike is involved. its probably best to go for a lower value less risky bike to start with and make absolutely certain, going to every length possible to ensure its not stolen. or if it is that you do not claim. silly as that may sound.

[Guest]

Thats the London tax I'm afraid. Bike theft is very high in London. Some underwriters won't even insure in London so that gives you less choice as well.

When I lived there my initial premium for a cheap bandit was quite low but went up considerably the following year because that underwriter pulled out of insuring in London.

You might find that the lock thing actually makes little difference to the cost of the insurance, certainly for me it was a negligible difference. You can play around with your job title as sometimes that can make a slight difference and try some different bikes but my guess is even for something cheap it will look expensive to insure and I bet the excess on the MCE quote was high.

[fastbob]

This sort of thing has something to do with it .

[bonio]

Another thing that comes into play is experience. The first time I insured my 1200, the premium was around £1000 for a year. When I came to renew, it down to a quarter of that. The difference was that I could could say I had experience riding a 1200cc bike.

If you want to save money, get a Bandit or a Fazer 600 for now and buy your beemer next year.

Or you could explain the problem to the dealer and see if they're able to arrange some discount with BMW insurance But BMW aren't used to dealing with hard-up customers, so don't hold your breath.

Edited July 29, 2020 by bonio

[Mawsley]

This sort of thing has something to do with it .

 

I agree.

Pricing them out of having a bike is the only way to prevent boring Youtube content creators.

[Tiggie]

Its the London tax, I have Bradford tax up here

High theft area and (certainly in Bradfords case) a large amount of dodgy claims.I think the crash for cash scam was invented in Bradford

[Bender]

We're lucky up here we don't appear to have any such issues with insurance.

Would be looking at different bike for those prices

[Guest]

Since moving out of London I can insure our car and both bikes for less than just my car insurance in London and that is with zero no claims on the bikes. Add in the parking permit for the car and the parking permits they were introducing for bikes and I'm quids in.

[waltermitty]

Thanks everybody!

I was seriously considering moving out London before I came across the insurance premium for the bike, so this is another reason to leave. If I do stay a bit longer, I think I'll end up getting a cheaper, second-hand bike I could sell when I leave London and then buy the one I actually want.

[TimR]

Thanks everybody!

I was seriously considering moving out London before I came across the insurance premium for the bike, so this is another reason to leave. If I do stay a bit longer, I think I'll end up getting a cheaper, second-hand bike I could sell when I leave London and then buy the one I actually want.

 

Remember to make sure if an older bike its compliant with Ulez and LEZ charging

[geofferz]

Thanks everybody!

I was seriously considering moving out London before I came across the insurance premium for the bike, so this is another reason to leave. If I do stay a bit longer, I think I'll end up getting a cheaper, second-hand bike I could sell when I leave London and then buy the one I actually want.

 

Run a quote in another town first to check...

[husoi]

Thanks everybody!

I was seriously considering moving out London before I came across the insurance premium for the bike, so this is another reason to leave. If I do stay a bit longer, I think I'll end up getting a cheaper, second-hand bike I could sell when I leave London and then buy the one I actually want.

 

Run a quote in another town first to check...

 

Postcode is one of the big factors in insurance premiums.

In London you get higher salaries but everything is more expensive.

Locked garage is another biggie

[Tiggie]

[mention]husoi[/mention]

Very true. More than once I've been tempted to use my mother in law's address. She has a York postcode and it knocks pretty much £200 off my premium

[Mawsley]

London is shit.

Nobody can copy this, I’ve trademarked it for my range of “London is shit” merchandise and my “London is shit” website.

[DJP]

It's probably a combination of bike model and inexperience.

I live in London and pay £135 fully comp on my Bandit 1250 and that includes commuting.

However, I am 49 and have been riding for over 30 years.

Oh, and BTW, don't go anywhere near RCIB - they are out & out scammers.

See here:

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/rightchoice.com

[bonio]

...something

'ello mate. Not seen you here for a while.