Modern Vespa

Last year:
2021-22 ~£140 Fully comp with legal & no NCB
Comparison website today:
2022-23 ~£275 Fully comp with legal & 1yr NCB (some over £1000!)

Just to compare, I also got a quote for a 2007 Triumph Bonneville (900cc) - just £115!

Any thoughts, why is the MP3 apparently now attracting these high insurance premiums in the UK?

I think it's because insurance companies ,do not know where to place a trike scooter, to them ,it's neither fish or fowl ,so to speak.
My experience in getting a quote was horrendous, over £1,500 , admitted that I haven't got a full bike licence, but I am legally able to ride a MP3 on a 'B' class licence( car licence) .
I have been driving for 40 yrs, so it's not as if I am a young blood with out experience.
So , I took the CBT and ride a 125 cc Piaggio, I intend to pass my basic bike licence , then take another look at a trike Scooter with a years NCB , Riding a Medley 125 on a CBT provisional licence I pay around £250. That's with no motorbike experience at all, but as said 40 yrs driving a car.
It's a case of insurance companies conning motorists, 'fishing' for customers to take new policies, then putting it up, after a year for the same policy the next year.

It stinks !

My MP3 500 costs just under 300 Euro per year for full coverage, no mileage limit.

The Honda ST1300/Pan European costs just under 150 Euro with same full coverage and no mileage limit.

Great rate, BUT I ride very conservatively and have a spotless record. I did ask the insurance company why the MP3 was double the price for a much smaller and less powerful machine. They said it is because the MP3 is marketed towards car drivers who have zero to little experience with motorbikes.

FWIW, insurance companies vary their rates on several factors from theft risk, rider age, rider experience, priors, etc, etc, etc.

Even if you are above middle aged but new at riding 2 (or 3) wheels then you are automatically considered in the same class as a 18 year old. Just sayin'. And if you must ask why, the answer is because your chances of having a accident due to lack of experience are several times higher than someone who has been riding many years/decades.

I disagree, a 60 yr old with 40 yrs of car driving isn't necessarily an inherent risk, 50 yrs of my life I've ridden bicycles, so I do know a lot about being a road user.
It's just that getting a quote from an algorithm driven computer system generates a high premium, Yes it's a given I am a higher risk on a motorcycle when I was a young blood, but I have a relatively clean insurance record, most of claims have been caused by other motorists hitting my car, I have had one off in the car that was my fault, it does not follow I am more of a risk on a motorcycle, how ever many wheels it has.
Then you have the situation when it comes to renewal, invariably the renewal is loaded ,regardless if you have a clean year with NCB, yet if you look at other companies you get a cheaper quote, and here's the rub, often from the same group, I e.diffrent brand name ,same group, once I let my insurance lasp, then had a quote from the same company for less......it was new business according to them.
Like I said before, insurance stinks, I do miss the old days of insurance brokers where you sat down with them in office , and got a tailor made quote, with little change in price.
We are being ripped off .

same scenario as yourself my 500 hpe scoot cost double my bmw 1200 so seems everyone is put in the same washing maschine and spun until we are bone dry of cash

Not sure if I agree with the idea that we are being ripped off. If there is one place where we ARE definitely getting ripped off currently are energy prices, thanks to some ex KGB dummy wanting to live out his Stalin fantasy. I'll let you do the math on that one, it's not that difficult.

FWIW when I added the Honda to the policy they gave me 90 days free (pay for 12 months, but get 15 months of coverage)

One thing I do know is that having multiple vehicle and home insurance all under one umbrella policy does help quite a bit.

Last edited by sbaert on Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:03:05 +0000; edited 1 time

How so? You state that you ride a bigger capacity bike& yet pay twice as much, surely you should be considered less of a risk, if you hold a licence to ride a bigger bike, you obviously have bike experience.
The idea that the MP3 is less safe doesn't wash, it's inherently more safe because of the 3rd wheel, so why pay extra premium over your Honda.
Plus you have it all with the same provider., Like I say it💩!

It's all about statistics I think from the insurance companies perspective. Since the MP3 is a relatively rare bird, the insurance company probably takes the position (right or wrong) that the cost of repairs are probably going to be higher than a bike which is a far more common sight. Example: in the case of a front end collission on a normal bike repairs are going to be far more cheaper than the complicated front end of a MP3 with its easily bent front forks and attached hardware.

I do understand to a certain degree their point when I asked for a reason about the high price for the MP3.

Even if you have been riding a car for years/decades, riding a motorbike (anything above 125cc) does take a bit of getting used to. Not just the machine itself, but riding style. You have to be far more vigilant and defensive, and just assume that car drivers will not see you especially the easily distracted ones who are glued to their smartphone.

As a long term cyclist, I am well aware of the risk us bikers are, I agree riding a push bike is different to motorcycling, but what applies to one is easily applicable to the other, the main difference is that on a motorbike, you can more easily keep with moving traffic, on a cycle you cannot easily maintain a positive dominant lane position.
I freely admit I came to motorcycling very late in life, but I also brought bucket loads of roadcraft with me, yes I can only ride a 125cc at the moment, but it isn't necessary to ride a big powerfull bike to ride safe.
Ultimately it's about riding assertively, I also ride a recumbent trike, now that's a very rare beast, but I rarely have trouble riding it on the road, mainly because motorist think either I am disabled or WTF was that !

If insurance companies lost money......we wouldn't have insurance.

I don't mistake actuarial figures for anything else.

O.S.

I think you are overlooking one very important thing.

On a bicycle or 50/125cc how much trouble can you possibly get yourself into? Think not just material damage, but bodily injuries.

It is apples and oranges between 50/125 and everything above (especially 500cc and above). The smaller bikes are cheaper and thus attract the younger crowd. The larger bikes are geared for the older riders who know how to master the machine and the road with the keyword being experience.

There is a reason why they don't give away motorcycle licenses like they do for cars, besides the fact that there are multiple levels of motorcycle license.

Yes, they all have 2 wheels. And just like apples and oranges, both are fruit but that is where the similarities end.

so if you hit a car at 30 mph on a 50 or 125 its less than hitting the same car at 30 on a 500 or bigger. Hmmmmm

No, it's just that the smaller bikes tend to bought and ridden by broke as a joke jack@sses who are in a rush to be in the morgue by week's end a.k.a. the under 25 crowd. These are the same numbnuts that give other bikers a bad name.

More accidents leads to more injuries which leads to higher insurance rates

I was having the same issues, although I have a full bike license when I returned to the UK I sent my license off for a plastic one and it came back missing Motorcycle.
Whilst I argue this with DVLA I chose to get an MP3 Yourbon as a stop gap, but insurance quotes were silly.
Then I figured what I was doing wrong, I had been trying to get quotes based on a full motorcycle license and explaining that I was unable to provide this till DVLA sort it, which will probably never happen.
Finally I spoke with Hastings who stated that as I was entitled to drive it on a car license I could answer the question have you got a full license? as yes.
£310 fully comp which is still steep as my Vespa PX is £90, but I can live with it.

A good friend of mine who was a m/c instructor had his Class A qualification left off. They insisted he had to produce his pass certificate, long lost and forgotten. It didn't matter that he could show his instructor's qualifications. He had to completely renew his licence, doing CBT, theory and practical all over again.

Make sure you keep copies of all pass certificates!

Johnny Kev, can you quantify which you have written, on the basis you hols a full car licence , you were able to get a quote of £310 for a yourban, is that without any motorcycle entitlement on your driving licence, that you can have motorcycle insurance to ride a 'B' class trike as a car driver.
I tried several companies to get insurance to ride on my 'B' class licence a MP3 or Tricity 300, they could not quote me, , saying that I needed a CBT to ride one.
I had not tried Hastings ins., I had left them after having a bad customer service experience over a claim I had with them, or moreover the repairers they used, Hastings did not help any themselves by not being able to tell me where my car was or provide a timely loan car, all pretty basic things.
But that's beside the point.
Insurance providers do not seem to be able to quote for trike scooters that are ridden on a 'B' class licence.

I found the same, they wouldn't quote, but when getting a quote they just ask if you have a full or provisional license, they don't specify bike or car.
If you passed before 2013 then you have a full license to ride a trike as it is classed differently to a motorcycle providing it is the LT version, if it isn't an LT, then you will need a Motorcycle license.
Pretty much all the insurance companies struggle with quoting though through perseverance I did manage to get a few quotes in the end, I went with Hastings as they were insuring a Bajaj which I decided to sell, they quoted for a change of vehicle mid policy, the £310 will be the renewal figure when it comes due.

Thanks JK, next time , I am after a quote I will try that tack for a motor trike, whichever brand I decide on.
So the wrinkle is ,insure as a car and not a bike, and be prepared to hang on a phone line to talk to a human, even if English is not the first language and it's call centre somewhere in the far East, and I don't mean Lowestoft !