How Does Multi-Bike Insurance Work?

Whether you have different vehicles for different journeys or you are an avid motorbike collector, the most convenient and cost-effective way to insure your bikes may be through multi-bike insurance. But how does this type of insurance work? Let’s take a look.

What does multi-bike insurance cover?

Multi-bike insurance allows one rider to cover multiple bikes in a singular insurance policy. Each bike will receive the same cover as it would under an individual insurance policy, which can be roughly split into three levels of cover – third party, third party, fire and theft (TPFT), and comprehensive cover.

Third-party is the most minimal level of cover, protecting you if you were to cause any damage to any property, people, or vehicles whilst riding any of the named bikes. As the name suggests, TPFT cover will also pay out if your bike is stolen or incurs fire damage. Finally, the comprehensive cover includes all of the above, plus additional cover for any damage where you are deemed to be at fault – be it repair or replacement costs.

The level of multi-bike insurance cover depends on your personal needs and requirements, as well as your budget. In addition, you might also be able to benefit from breakdown, trackway, personal accident, legal, leathers and helmet cover as optional extras for an additional cost.

Now you know what a multi-bike insurance policy covers, you might be wondering whether it is the best choice for you. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of multi-bike insurance for a more in-depth overview of how it works.

Benefits of multi-bike insurance

• Cost savings

The reasoning behind multi-bike insurance is that one rider cannot drive more than one bike at once. This means that only one bike will be on the road at a time, reducing the road risk of the successive bikes. In other words, your premium will be based on the most expensive or most frequently used motorbike – those after will be subject to much lower costs.

With this in mind, multi-bike insurance can potentially result in significant savings when compared to the overall cost of several individual policies – though it is always best to check just in case.

• Simple to manage

When you own multiple vehicles, it can be quite difficult to keep on top of all the paperwork and payments to keep these vehicles insured. However, with multi-bike insurance, you can insure all your bikes under one policy, so you will only need to worry about one set of paperwork and one payment plan.

With this in mind, multi-bike insurance is both straightforward to set up and simple to manage, saving you time and stress in the long run.

• One no claims discount

If you have a no claims discount on your main motorcycle, this can lower your overall multi-bike premium. Unlike individual policies, you will be able to use your no claims discount on all the bikes, as the bikes will be insured under one policy. This is another way in which multi-bike insurance can be significantly cheaper than alternative insurances.

Things to watch out for

• Only covers one rider

As it is calculated on the basis that you cannot ride all your bikes at once, and thus there is a reduced risk, in most cases multi-bike insurance will only allow for one named rider. Even if you could add another rider, this would increase the risk and time spent on the roads, which would make it more expensive.

If you need to insure multiple named riders, you might prefer to consider motorcycle fleet or family fleet insurance, or individual policies for each bike.

• Not always suitable for collectors

Some insurers will have a cap on the number of bikes you can add to your policy. The average multi-bike policy will allow for around 4 to 7 motorbikes. With this in mind, it is important to check the policy at hand – if your insurer only allows up to 4 bikes, but your collection is much larger, this might not be the best policy for you.

That said, some insurance brokers will still be able to find multi-bike insurance suitable for collectors. For example, Devitt multi bike options cater for customers who own small or large collections of bikes alike.

• Adding a bike once the policy has started

If you were to purchase a new bike, and look to add it to your multi-bike insurance once the policy has already begun, this will not only increase the premium but also likely be subject to additional administrative costs.

As you can see, multi-bike insurance can make things simpler for those who have a commuting bike and a leisure bike and even those who have several motorbikes in their collection, offering a straightforward and cost-effective solution.