Best Company For Learner's First Policy / motorcycle ❓

RD.

RD.

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Lower Normandy, France.
My youngest son has recently passed his CBT and the Highway Code Theory and Hazard Perception Tests and needs to buy his first ever insurance policy...

Which company are best for newbies riding a 125cc with 'L' plates?

Who do you recommend for his first ever insurance policy?

Thanks in advance for all helpful info. 👍🏻

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Title edited and moved.

Richard
 
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Probably best to go on a website such as "Compare the market" or "Confused.com"
 
RD. said:
Which company are best for newbies riding a 125cc with 'L' plates?
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I don't think such a thing exists. Does he understand the difference between a broker and insurance underwriter?

Maybe he should start with a High St broker like Swinton or Howden. Face to face, they might have more time to go through all of the options and explain things to him better than an AI based comparison site or someone in a call centre reading a script.

I am assuming he is in the UK not in Lower Normandy where you seem to be based.
 
wessie said:
I don't think such a thing exists. Does he understand the difference between a broker and insurance underwriter?

Maybe he should start with a High St broker like Swinton or Howden. Face to face, they might have more time to go through all of the options and explain things to him better than an AI based comparison site or someone in a call centre reading a script.

I am assuming he is in the UK not in Lower Normandy where you seem to be based.
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Yes, my son resides in the UK, in a low risk area, with an alarmed garage and various types of bike security.
He's been quoted 4k to insure a bike costing 2.5k!
 
RD. said:
Yes, my son resides in the UK, in a low risk area, with an alarmed garage and various types of bike security.
He's been quoted 4k to insure a bike costing 2.5k!
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Following your wanted advert some weeks ago what bike did he get in the end?
 
PitaNaanRoti said:
Bennett’s believe it or not! For their own policy.
Then Lexham.
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While Bennetts currently insure my wife at a very competitive cost with some additional perks, including Bike Sure or something similar, my wife got an online quotation for our son with her (she's had a Full Motorcycle Licence for about 18 years) as a named rider and I believe it was Bennetts with the 4k quotation!

Out of curiosity, I used one the online comparison websites and the best price I got was just under 1,100 pounds with another company. That's still a lot of money, however it is far more palatable than the 4k Bennetts quoted.
 
RD. said:
Yes, it does exist however Bennetts quotation on this occasion was absurdly astronomical.
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I didn't use the online but called them. It was they that informed me that it was considerably cheaper for her to have the policy in her own name with me as a second rider.
Lexham were cheapest for the 2yrs from 16 with me as the main rider as she only used it occasionally to the train station or to see friends after college.
RD. said:
While Bennetts currently insure my wife at a very competitive cost with some additional perks, including Bike Sure or something similar, my wife got an online quotation for our son with her (she's had a Full Motorcycle Licence for about 18 years) as a named rider and I believe it was Bennetts with the 4k quotation!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
As I said previously - do it the other way round with Bennetts. They are loading the premium with a view that your wife is fronting the policy. Call them, tell them what you want, his own policy with you/your wife as a named rider and go from there. They came in £100+ cheaper than Lexham on the renewal when told the amount.
 
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MikeS said:
Following your wanted advert some weeks ago what bike did he get in the end?
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The sale / deal isn't completed yet.

I'm in Normandy, France and visit the UK on Tuesday for about 10~14 days.
On Wednesday morning, we collect the Transit Custom hire van and drive Oop North (every place is North when your family live on the South Coast, 5 minutes walk from the sea) to buy the bike and complete the purchase.

I will update you and fellow 'Tossers' 🫣😘 on Wednesday or Thursday, if or when the bike purchase has been done and dusted.

Suffice to day at this time..... It's a 125 Enduro which will suit my son's 6'5" stature.
 
PitaNaanRoti said:
I didn't use the online but called them. It was they that informed me that it was considerably cheaper for her to have the policy in her own name with me as a second rider.
Lexham were cheapest for the 2yrs from 16 with me as the main rider as she only used it occasionally to the train station or to see friends after college.

As I said previously - do it the other way round with Bennetts. They are loading the premium with a view that your wife is fronting the policy. Call them, tell them what you want, his own policy with you/your wife as a named rider and go from there. They came in £100+ cheaper than Lexham on the renewal when told the amount.
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After my wife did the online quote with Bennetts, my wife rang Bennetts and had a chat with an insurance sales woman.
My wife explained that she had to sit down when Bennetts online quotation was 4k. The Bennetts employee stated that insurance premiums have risen dramatically in the last 18 months due to the high rates of 125cc thefts and 'High Risk' with 'Learners'.

The Bennetts employee didn't offer any discounts, reductions nor concessions!

Although insurance is a legal requirement (On~Road), it's a legal rip off!
Premiums are so far apart, that I'm sure they start high and gradually lower the cost if pushed and encouraged when confronted with other insurance companies quotations.
I remember phoning around various insurers in the 80s and 90s and pitching one company against another, all with the exact same criteria, and then going back to an insurance company who can miraculously improve their offer to decrease the premium.
I remember on one occasion, quotes coming in over 600 quid (for some unknown reason, my not so smartphone, doesn't have a pound / GBP sign) and finally accepting a quote for under 200 quid.

They have guidelines but I'm sure they make it up as they go along!

They remind me of those John McCririck (RIP) type Bookmakers.
 
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RD. said:
She's a former 'Corporate & Commercial' banker for a large group for 40 ish years, there isn't much that gets past her, particularly financially.!
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It might have been a useful task to set your son to, assuming it was his insurance your wife was searching for. Self-reliance, and the teaching thereof to the youth of today, is much demanded on this forum, often by bods who can’t find a hotel between them and their six mates,

But hey, you’ve skipped the job yourself, which is highly commendable. A problem shared…. Is a problem given to do done else, as they say.

:beerjug:
 
Wapping said:
It might have been a useful task to set your son to, assuming it was his insurance your wife was searching for. Self-reliance, and the teaching thereof to the youth of today, is much demanded on this forum, often by bods who can’t find a hotel between them and their six mates,

But hey, you’ve skipped the job yourself, which is highly commendable. A problem shared…. Is a problem given to do done else, as they say.

:beerjug:
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"It might have been a useful task to set your son to, assuming it was his insurance your wife was searching for. Self-reliance, and the teaching thereof to the youth of today, is much demanded on this forum"

Absolutely agree....
Young'uns should do and ought to do more. Life is a learning curve, and we do our best as parents to help and assist our kin, and as this is his first insurance policy, we need to show our son not to get ripped off by the first insurance salesman / woman who comes along. Life encounters many Dick Turpin types and we endeavour to teach our sons to be careful and cautious of such types of people out to exploit such young'uns and vulnerable folk.

"often by bods who can’t find a hotel between them and their six mates,"

Sometimes it's not what you know but who you know!
However, if you know, you know! 😉
Tossers should have made better plans and the '7 Ps' comes to mind in this instance but having a fellow Tosser who is in the know and could possibly help, makes all the difference! 😁

"But hey, you’ve skipped the job yourself, which is highly commendable. A problem shared…. Is a problem given to do done else, as they say."

What job have I skipped, please elaborate?
 
RD. said:
The sale / deal isn't completed yet.

I'm in Normandy, France and visit the UK on Tuesday for about 10~14 days.
On Wednesday morning, we collect the Transit Custom hire van and drive Oop North (every place is North when your family live on the South Coast, 5 minutes walk from the sea) to buy the bike and complete the purchase.

I will update you and fellow 'Tossers' 🫣😘 on Wednesday or Thursday, if or when the bike purchase has been done and dusted.

Suffice to day at this time..... It's a 125 Enduro which will suit my son's 6'5" stature.
Click to expand...
2T or a rare 4T?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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