Continual insurance

[Tusker]

Hi,, help please,, I intend to sorn the Tiger from the end of the month for 6 months. This corresponds with my tax and insurance running out. I say to insurance company I don't need insurance until next May,, they say you must keep your bike insured otherwise non continuous insurance will mean you pay more next May..  Can this be true??? If I shop around next May will I be penalised for not being continually insured ?
 

[Rusty Nuts]

Was wondering that myself.  A BSA B33 that's been in four big crates and on sorn for years? Does that need insurance as well? Are they now saying anything with a V5 needs continual cover?  Bollocks.

[kwackboy]

Sorn means you are acknowledging legally that your vehicle is off the road. Therefore if you are on the road with no tax /mot or insurance you are buggered .
There is no need to continually renew your insurance and if your insurance company tells you otherwise they are talking shite.
It's just a ploy to keep your custom and stop you shopping elsewhere however, saying it's cheaper if you continually renew with them is utter rubbish as they are relying on you to just except there renewal price. Every year I get my renewal by post I call them up and haggle with them .

[V-Strom3]

Surely it is your risk not to insure the item!
The insurance companies just want to make money.

I've had 1 of my V-Strom's sorned since a year last January, but kept it insured until insurance ran out.
If something happened to it the it's my responsibility.
Was in shed for over a year before moving back to the garage, still not insured as I am not going to put it on road, but when I do I'll have to get insurance to be legal.

[Hugh Mungus]

If I shop around next May will I be penalised for not being continually insured ?

Nope. Shop around as normal next year (or whenever you want your bike back on the road). Make sure you retain your NCD from your renewal letter as you'll need it when you do insure. Make sure your insurance company don't "Auto renew" as many of them are doing now - this means ringing them up and telling them.
Don't forget to declare SORN to DVLA.

[Rusty Nuts]

Just checked online, continual cover is only needed if vehicle not sorn.
Makes more sense, thought they were losing the plot there.

Off topic, we followed a lovely old bike for about 5 miles yesterday. I, in the passenger seat, looked it up on dvla site to see how old it was... came back as 1960, and SORN!

[Hugh Mungus]

You need to keep your bike insured if you have it taxed. That's what continual insurance means; unfortunately a lot of people that should know better will still get it mixed up or just tell you a load of bull.
A friend of mine let his insurance run out and didn't declare SORN, he got a fine from DVLA of about £80. Got to be on the ball nowadays.

[Tusker]

just to be pedantic,, my question is ,, will it cost more to insure my bike after a 6 month period of no insurance and sorn.. do any of you regularly insure for 6 months and sorn for 6.. can you insure a bike for 6 months ?? or is it just a one time break?

[UK_Vstrom650]

It might be more expensive to buy a shorter term policy (am thinking of daily/month policies tend to be relatively expensive). Also you probably won't accumulate annual no claims bonuses as you won't get them for 6 month policies,  and most insurance companies will only count those earned in the last 2 years I.e. on an active policy in last 2 years.

Best way to find out is get a quote for the policy type you're looking for and compare to your annual one. (Also bear in mind if it's nicked when not insured you loose the lot)

[Hugh Mungus]

You could always ask them to suspend your insurance for 6 months. This was something you used to be able to do a few years back. That way you would still build up NCD. Things have changed in recent years so this may no longer be possible.

If you let your 12 month policy run out and then look for another policy in 6 months time you won't get penalised for it. Just shop around as usual for the best deal.

Don't bother with short term insurance policies as it works out a lot dearer in the long run.

[V-Strom3]

NCD lasts for I think 2 years, so as long as you insure in that time why would it be more expensive, other than the insurance companies wanting more money.

[Tusker]

Just learned something you may or may not know on this topic,, it is law that you shall have continual insurance unless your bike is Sorn'ed..    www.direct.gov.uk/stayinsured  Without mentioning the Sorn bit my insurance broker tried to tell me I was breaking the law by not taking out insurance...

[UK_Vstrom650]

  twit! Hope you told him to stop lying and have gone elsewhere

[SuzukiSte]

They will tell you anything, my insurance told me that they only insure certain bikes and I would have to move insurance company if I get a different bike.

[Mr Nick]

They all do that by quoting telephone number prices for bikes they don't really want. Carole Nash insure my old bikes but wanted silly money for the 2 new ones, Hastings did the same the other way round.

[Hugh Mungus]

One company said they wouldn't insure my BSA.
I told them that they wouldn't be insuring my other bike either.

The big problem with my attitude towards insurance brokers is that every year I seem to be crossing another one off the list cos they've pee'd me off in some way. I'll either have to eat my hat or start an insurance company of my own as there'll be none left to choose from