UK motorbike insurance compared 2026: TPFT, no claims bonus, CBT and laid-up cover

The UK bike insurance market is unlike any other in Europe: powerful specialist brokers, comparison sites everyone uses, a discount counted in years, and an insurance obligation checked continuously by the DVLA. Whether you are renewing, buying your first bike after your CBT or coming back to riding, here is how it works and how to compare quotes without getting caught out.

The three levels of cover

A well-known quirk of the UK market, documented mainly for cars: comprehensive can be cheaper than TPO, because riders who choose the legal minimum are statistically higher risk. Never assume — ask for all three levels every time.

On top of these, specialists sell optional extras separately: helmet and leathers cover, legal expenses (to recover uninsured losses after a non-fault accident), personal accident (rider injury cover, often with modest limits) and breakdown (often RAC or similar).

The no claims bonus (NCB)

The UK discount is counted in claim-free years: each year of insurance without a claim adds a year of NCB, and the discount rises with it. An at-fault claim usually knocks two years off, depending on the insurer's scale.

Three things to know:

• Protected NCB: for an extra premium you can protect your bonus. It only freezes the number of years; your premium can still go up after a claim.
• Car NCB and bike NCB are separate. A bonus earned in a car does not automatically apply to a bike. Some insurers take it into account, others do not.
• A foreign record (a French relevé d'informations, for instance) is not accepted everywhere. Get it translated and ask each broker whether they recognise it: the premium difference can be large.

CBT and licence: what the insurer looks at

In the UK you can ride a 125 on a provisional licence with a CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) certificate, valid for two years, with L plates, no pillion and no motorways. Insurers price these riders very differently:

• a learner on a CBT often pays more than a full licence holder on the same bike;
• moving up through A1, A2 and then A (progressive access) changes your profile and must be declared;
• advanced training (the DVSA Enhanced Rider Scheme, or advanced rider associations) can earn a discount with some insurers — ask for it explicitly.

The players: specialists, generalists, comparison sites

Specialist motorbike brokers

A market detail worth knowing: in 2020 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigated the tie-up between Ardonagh (Carole Nash, Swinton) and Bennetts, as the combined business would have been three times the size of its nearest rival. UK bike broking is concentrated: collecting quotes from brands owned by the same group does not guarantee real competition.

Comparison sites

Compare the Market, MoneySupermarket, GoCompare and Confused.com all run a motorbike comparison. They are useful to sweep the market, but some specialists or products (agreed value, classics, multi-bike) are only available direct. The sensible routine: run two comparison sites, then get two or three direct quotes from specialists.

The ban on the "loyalty penalty"

Since 1 January 2022, the FCA has banned home and motor insurers from quoting renewing customers more than an equivalent new customer would pay through the same channel. The rule targets private "motor" insurance; for a niche bike policy (classic, track), ask your broker whether it applies. It does not stop market-wide price rises, but it has reduced the point of switching every year purely to chase an introductory price.

The figures: little reliable public data

For cars, the ABI publishes a quarterly tracker (average premium of £562 in Q2 2025, down on a year earlier). To our knowledge there is no equivalent official public figure for motorbikes. The bike "averages" circulating on advice sites are estimates with no published method, so we do not repeat them. Remember that UK premiums include Insurance Premium Tax (12%), and that age, postcode (urban theft rates) and the bike itself weigh far more than the insurer's brand.

SORN, CIE and laid-up cover: winter the British way

Since 2011, Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) requires a registered vehicle to be insured at all times… unless it is declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) with the DVLA. Matching DVLA records with the Motor Insurance Database triggers a warning letter, then a £100 fixed penalty, and ultimately prosecution, a larger fine and the bike being seized.

For winter you have two options:

• keep your cover: you can still take the bike out on a dry, bright day;
• SORN + laid-up cover: the bike is declared off road and insured only against theft and fire while stored, for 6 or 12 months depending on the policy. Careful: a SORN bike must not be kept on a public road.

The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) compensates victims of uninsured and untraced drivers.

How to compare

1. Declare everything accurately: modifications (exhaust, remap), overnight parking, use (social, domestic and pleasure, commuting). An undeclared modification can void your cover.
2. Compare all three levels, not just TPFT.
3. Line up the excesses: compulsory excess plus voluntary excess. A low premium with a £1,000 total excess is not a bargain.
4. Check how a total loss is settled: market value on the day of the claim, or agreed value (fixed at the start, common for classics).
5. Look at the extras that matter: helmet and leathers, legal expenses, European cover if you cross the Channel.
6. Security and trackers: some insurers require a Thatcham or Sold Secure approved lock, or a tracker for the most-stolen bikes. Without them, theft cover can fall away.

For the general levers that bring a premium down, see our guide cheap motorbike insurance: the real levers, and for what a full cover policy actually excludes, what comprehensive motorbike insurance covers.

Bike value: market value or agreed value

After theft or a write-off, a standard policy pays the market value: the price of an equivalent bike on the day of the loss, minus the excess. A modified, classic or rare bike is often undervalued by that calculation, hence the appeal of the agreed value offered by specialists. Before accepting a write-off offer, compare it with real adverts and keep your accessory and service invoices.

And if you take a UK bike to the Continent or move abroad, the rules change completely: see our European motorbike insurance comparison and the country-by-country motorbike rules.

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Market value or agreed value, the discussion always starts from what your bike is really worth. Value your motorbike to arrive with a figure you can back up, before you choose your cover or argue a settlement offer.