I sold my bike to a mate who happens to be old bill. He told me if I don’t tell my insurer I have sold the bike it’s fraud. I don’t really want to tell them as there will be a cancellation fee of £30, and the policy only runs for another two months.
Should I bother telling my insurer? In my view they are just grabbing more money from me that I shouldn’t need to spend, and it’d be handy to complete another year of no claims bonus.
Answer
You will likely have an obligation as part of your policy to update them if you no longer own the bike. If you have not purchased another machine to transfer it to, then the policy should be cancelled.
The risk of you not cancelling it is, if someone else uses the bike and injures a pedestrian for example, then in England and Wales your insurer will have to pay out for their claim. Thereafter, if you haven’t complied with the terms of the policy, your insurer could come after you for their outlay which could run into thousands of pounds. Not good when it could have just cost you £30.
Andrew “Chef” Prendergast
Motorcycle Monthly December 2014