Just made an annoying realization that my husbands bike insurance on his 125 runs out midnight the night before he’s due to do Mod 2 next week.
He’s pretty confident he’s going to pass, so working on the proviso that he does.
So I’m now wondering what to do with his insurance. We don’t want to take out an insurance policy to start that day under his provisional licence (which has been quoted £40 more for the year vs full licence) to only have to call the insurer that afternoon and change the policy to a full licence.
I’ve checked with the insurer for advice and all they will tell me is, if he doesn’t renew his policy before midnight of that date the bike will be uninsured.
Or if he does take the policy out on his provisional licence, they will charge a £40 fee even if we call the same day to update it! Unreal! Additionally we will have to pay the fee to remove the 125 and add the bigger bike in a month as well.
If he doesn’t renew the policy and rides to the school uninsured (naughty I know, let’s leave that debate for another day) and calls the insurer that afternoon to setup a new policy once passing (no pressure eh?), is there any chance of the authorities receiving a flag on that fact the vehicle was neither insured nor SORN’d for half a day? Don’t want some random fine turning up a few weeks later.
This is such a silly predicament, any help and advice appreciated!
Loz
UPDATE: After initially being told via email that I would be charged an administrative charge of £40.50 per amendment regardless as to whether it was made the same day as taking out the policy, I emailed MCE and expressed my disgust with the total p*sstake of it all.
I’ve now just received the following email:
“I can confirm when you renew your policy with MCE and an amendment is made within the 14 day cooling off period we are able to remove any administration fees but we are not able to remove any additional premium costs that you might incur.”
So hopefully helps anyone else in a similar situation.
The only sensible thing to do here is … Nothing. Don’t ride the bike, didn’t renew, don’t take out a new policy. Make sure the bike is off the road and safe and get the bus to the riding school (I had to!). Anything else is going to be illegal or a waste of money.
As Wise says and put a cover over the bike.
You'll only be done for uninsured if the police see him on the bike.
nivag
Oh ok, so as long as it's not ridden? The police don't get a report on gaps in insurance from insurance companies or anything else as paranoid as that?
Cause I know if you don’t SORN the bike it must be insured regardless of whether it’s being ridden or not now.
what...my insurance went up when I passed (grumpy face..)
maybe find a different insurer who doesn’t charge an admin fee… or only tell them about the licence change when you change to a bigger bike?
Abzero
Your insurance went up on the same bike? That's crazy!
We’ve been getting preemptive insurance quotes based on a full licence and the new bike he wants and the insurer he’s with now is going to be by far the cheapest when he upgrades so need to stick with them.
EDIT - ignore this didn’t see someone else had suggested it
hang on!
Don’t you have 14 days to cancel without fee? have a look if you do make sure the renewal happens less than 14 days, then ring up cancel get your cash back then go online and take out a new policy…
NOTE - you may end up paying the extra £40 in taking out insurance for the same day though, they will hike it as they will think your desperate
As Wise says and put a cover over the bike.
You'll only be done for uninsured if the police see him on the bike.
nivag
Oh ok, so as long as it's not ridden? The police don't get a report on gaps in insurance from insurance companies or anything else as paranoid as that?
Cause I know if you don’t SORN the bike it must be insured regardless of whether it’s being ridden or not now.
Lozzaroo
yep a quick googling does show this to be true. So you could let it lapse then declare it sorn - then re-declare it ok the next day...not sure that'd be fun.
Personally i’d try and find another insurer without that charge - or even if you can find one that will knock off enough money so that you even and not out of pocket for the two changes you want to make.
what...my insurance went up when I passed (grumpy face..)
maybe find a different insurer who doesn’t charge an admin fee… or only tell them about the licence change when you change to a bigger bike?
Abzero
Your insurance went up on the same bike? That's crazy!
We’ve been getting preemptive insurance quotes based on a full licence and the new bike he wants and the insurer he’s with now is going to be by far the cheapest when he upgrades so need to stick with them.
Lozzaroo
yes that is crazy - they gave me an option to get a slightly cheaper quote, but loose 6 months of no claims. Given it was a matter or £30 or so, I left it as was and will search the market a bit at renewal time.
although I wouldn’t actually listen to anything I say on insurance matters - last advice I gave on this board related to it seemed had some negative consequences.
although I wouldn't actually listen to anything I say on insurance matters - last advice I gave on this board related to it seemed had some negative consequences.
Abzero
So far it looks cheapest to just renew on a monthly basis as provisional and then update the policy to a full licence (a month later) when he gets the new bike. But then I suppose technically the statement of fact would be incorrect because the licence type is wrong, and should he be involved in a crash his policy will be void.
If you’re talking about taking out a rolling monthly insurance then that’s one thing, but not likely to be that cheap. If however you mean take out an annual policy that lets you pay monthly, then be aware that a lot of companies don’t actually charge you monthly for the policy, it’s structured so that you actually take out a 12 month loan which is used to pay for the annual premium.
Oh & re the cancel within the 14 day cooling off period - this is unlikely to be cheaper as companies are allowed to charge an admin fee for doing it.
