Top Tips for Insuring a Rat Bike

Insuring a motorbike is an easy business: just look online or ring around for a few quotes, select the one that meets your needs and away you go.

Unfortunately, insuring a Rat Bike or Survival Bike isn't as straightforward as that. The view of many insurance firms is that a Rat Bike is a 'modified vehicle', which can add a hefty premium on top of your quote.

That's the really infuriating thing - a 'mod' doesn't necessarily mean that your bike is faster, more powerful and thus more dangerous. But if the idea is to make your ride more aesthetically pleasing, then basically insurers believe that this makes your bike more attractive to thieves, which is annoying.

Luckily, there a few insurance specialist out there that understand the nature of Rat Bikes, and the simple difference between one and merely a suped-up motorbike. Take MCE insurance for example These guys have a team of experts on hand who are highly trained to understand exactly the mods you have made - and how to find appropriate custom bike insurance quotes for your needs.

Providers like MCE will compare prices on your behalf, usually from a number of modified bike specialists. Many will even protect your no claims bonus for a small extra premium, in the case of theft or an accident.

Getting the insurance quote itself is the easy bit. You will have to fill in a simple form with your personal details, and then you will be asked some questions about your bike, as well as other matters like annual mileage, any security measures you may have etc.

If you want to go solo and hunt down individual quotes on your own, you'll probably want to know what an insurance company looks for before quoting you:

The first thing is age. To be precise, that is your Rat Bike's age, and also how many years you have been on the Planet! As you would expect, older bikes are generally cheaper on the insurance front than newer models. Likewise, the older YOU are the lower your premiums are likely to be. This is common among any forms of vehicle insurance of course.

Did you know that your insurance quote will be influenced by the area where you live? Incredible isn't it. But there are certain 'black spots' geographically speaking that insurers will categorise as 'high crime', 'high accident or 'high risk', and alter your premiums accordingly. This handy guide is a real opener.

Unfortunately, insurance companies are quite unforgiving when it comes to your driving history. Even accidents you have had in a car or other vehicle will be frowned upon, so if you have a black mark or two on your driving record then you will have to expect your premiums to rise.

Think as well about where you are going to store your pride and joy overnight. If you can get your bike into a locked garage or even the house itself (if the other half doesn't object), then that is much better for your premium than being parked on the road or driveway.

The forum on Motorcycle News has a wealth of information about Rat or Survival Bike Insurance so have a quick look, there may be someone in the same boat as you there.