Insurance Estimated Mileage

Okay, so I have a question regarding the 'How many estimated miles do you plan on doing per year' question that insurance companies ask.

Let me start by saying I have my own bike, but I haven't ridden it yet as it was recently purchased. I have never ridden a bike prior to this except for on lessons/tests.

Now, I want to put that I'd ride about 2k miles per year; but I'm unsure as I have no other previous mileage history other than what I've done in my car.

I could end up doing less due to the crap welsh weather (which in that case, would't matter anyway), but then I could end up doing more as I get more confident and start riding further.

What's the legality behind this? If I put 2K miles down, and end up doing; lets say, double that amount - would I be penalised if I had an accident and had to claim?

Any experiences with this?

Thanks,

- Alex



EDIT: Thread should have probably been made into a general insurance query rather than being specific about mileage, as it kind of trailed off topic - oh well

[Bibio]

always put more that you think. mine is unlimited mileage but i average 7k a year just for pleasure.

if you go over the mileage you specify and you have an accident then they could use that as a get out clause.

[TamSV]

If you do more miles than you declared then you could potentially have a problem if you need to make a claim.

Try quotes with different mileages and see if it actually makes much difference to the premium. If not, you can obviously go with the higher limit.

If there is a big difference in premium then you could see how it goes but, if you're going to go over the limit you stated, you would need to call the broker and tell them.As they all tend to charge a fee for mid-term changes, this could cost you more in the long run.

I'd take a higher limit personally - 2,000 miles really isn't very much if you're anything like keen.

[Tomor]

I would keep asking them to up it until it makes a significant difference. If you find out you really enjoy the bike you may be out on it every weekend and some evenings and rack up 10k in a year!!

Sent from my magical portable device

Well, my insurance at full comp for 2k miles is £620 on an SV, if I double it to 4k it goes up to £720. It's a bit of a rip off if you ask me, and that's without pillion cover - with it is another £100. Gah, why is insurance so expensive. My mother pays £7 a month for her SV *sigh*.

[Tomor]

How old are you?

Sent from my magical portable device

Originally Posted by Tomor

How old are you?

Sent from my magical portable device

19, I passed my test yesterday actually; been driving a car since 17 - so I don't blame insurance for being kind of high at the moment - just a nuisance really

[carelesschucca]

Hmm, I put 10,000 on my insurance for mileage. But I do high mileages on my weekends. You may surprise yourself how many miles you'll do in a year.

[Red ones]

A lot of insurers band mileage. So you may find they can tell you where the bands start and finish. You may find its like, up to 1000, 1001-4999, 5000-9999, 10000+

+1 for what Red ones said. I was in a similar situation to you, had 2000 miles down, did nearly 4000 in two months. Summer was fun with the peaks and Wales so close to me.
I emailed my insurers and told them I'd like to increase it to 6k miles and it made no difference to my insurance, so like other haves said, just keep asking what the price would be if you increase it and increase and see if there's any actual difference. If not, go with a lower mileage and then if you do look like you're going to go over, get in touch with them!