What is a motorbike insurance NCD?

NCD insurance percentage

The percentage discount varies from insurer to insurer but if you can build an NCB of more than five years, you’re more than likely to get a 50% discount off the your insurance quote as it signifies you’re a capable road users.

Here’s a rough guide as to the sort of NCB discount percentages you can expect:

1 year NCD – 25%

2 years NCD – 35%

3 years NCD – 40%

4 years NCD – 45%

5 years NCD – 55%

6 years NCD – 65%

7 years NCD – 70%

8 years NCD – 75%

9 years NCD – 80%

How do I get proof of my No Claims Bonus?

When stating your NCB for any new motorbike insurance quote, you’ll need to provide proof. At the end of your insurance policy, you can request your NCB certificate from your insurer.

Many insurers will include your NCD certificate in your renewal letter but this is becoming increasingly scarce as insurers know that with the proof you are more likely to move to a different insurer. Without it, you’re more likely to accept the premium they have quoted, rather than have to dig out their contact details and request your certificate.

What is a protected No Claims Bonus?

You’ve spent years building up your NCB and so you really don’t want to lose it. The good news is, you can protect it.

The level of protection offered depends on your insurer’s policy, however essentially a protected NCB allows you to make a certain amount of claims without your NCB being affected.

This doesn’t necessarily mean your premiums will never rise. Insurers change their metrics all the time – a certain amount of them are out of your control – like crime in your area or the number of claims your model of bike has been involved in.

However, if though your NCB won’t be affected, an insurer will still take into account the number of claims you have been involved in before they calculate their premium.

So your NCB will add a discount to your premium but your premium may still rise if you have claimed.

Can you use bike no claims on car insurance

Unfortunately the answer is no. Nor can you transfer your car NCB to your motorbike.

It’s really frustrating, as the insurers seem to have it all their own way. They want you to declare any points you have received, even though they may not have been clocked up in the type of vehicle you’re trying to insure. Also, an insurer will want to know what accidents or thefts you’ve had, again even if they aren’t related to the vehicle you’re insuring.

The only consolation is that if you do have a decent NCD on your car and want to transfer it to your motorbike, even though you can’t there’s a good chance you’ll build your bike NCD just as quickly.

Can I use my NCB on more than one motorbike?

The same NCB can’t be used on two vehicles at the same time. However if you have two bikes, let’s say a scooter and a motorbike and each has its own policy, then you are building up two different sets of No Claims Discounts. In this case, you can apply one to one bike and the other to another bike.

Does a car accident affect motorbike insurance?

Unfortunately, this is another area where the insurer wins. If you have had a car accident, you will need to declare this on your motorbike quote form and vice versa.

It’s annoying, as the insurer won’t recognise any NCB you build up on your bike if you want to transfer it to your car but they do want to know about the claims you’ve had.

You must declare any accidents for any vehicles you have been insured on.

How long until my No Claims Bonus expires?

For most insurers, they’ll only accept your NCB if it’s under two years old. However some insurers now accept an NCB if it’s under three years old.

If you have built up your motorbike NCD and have 5 years away from riding but have kept up your car driving and your car NCD, this won’t affect the situation and your bike NCD will have expired.

A good tip to keep your motorbike NCB valid is to buy a very cheap motorcycle (think CG125) and keep it insured. It’ll cost you next to nothing, no doubt prove a useful bit of transport and will even give you a little bit of the biking buzz you’re after. If you have 9 year’s NCD and therefore more than 75% discount on your insurance, the cost of a CG125 to buy, run and insure will be far cheaper than the excess you’ll need to pay to insure a bigger bike with zero NCD.

Will a UK insurance company accept NCD from another country?

If you’ve lived abroad and have built up a No Claims Bonus, the chances are your UK insurer will accept it. The NCD will have to be supplied on printer letter-headed paper and written in English. If the country supplying your No Claims Bonus is European, then the chances of it being accepted are far greater than a country outside of the EU. Check with your insurer before you take out a policy as the policy will be void if you cannot supply the correct proof.

Can I build my No Claims Bonus with TPF&T?

Yes, your NCB is about your driving history and not which type of cover you choose. If you have been building your NCB on a TPF&T policy and you want to choose Fully Comprehensive when you renew your insurance, your NCB won’t be affected.