Motorcycling and insurance underwriting

Motorcycling is underwritten on a small set of variables that insurers have been pricing for a long time. What they ask about is what you ride, how much you ride it, where, and with what experience. Commuting on a small machine sits at one end of the range and competitive track riding at the other, with very different terms attached.

The outcome is almost never a decline. It is a per-activity loading — frequently expressed as an amount per $1,000 of sum insured rather than as a percentage — or an exclusion for claims arising from motorcycling. Which of those you are offered varies between insurers, and it is worth knowing that before you apply rather than afterwards.

The questionnaire is short and the answers map fairly directly to a rating.

• Engine capacity of the machine or machines you ride.
• Approximate distance ridden each year.
• Whether riding is on the road, on a track, off-road, or a mix.
• Whether you take part in any form of competition or racing.
• How long you have held a full motorcycle licence.
• Whether you have had any accidents or claims, and when.

What the insurer does with the answers

• Applies a loading, commonly expressed per $1,000 of sum insured.
• Or applies an exclusion for claims arising from motorcycling.
• Racing and competitive riding are usually treated separately and more restrictively.

Because the rating attaches to the activity, it changes when the activity does. Reducing annual distance substantially, giving up track riding, or stopping altogether are all grounds for asking an insurer to review a loading or an exclusion. Insurers will ask for a declaration and when you last rode.

These are the details that decide whether the cover does what you expected. Read them before you compare on price.

• Whether you are offered a loading or an exclusion, and whether the insurer will let you choose.
• Whether a racing exclusion applies as a standing policy term regardless of your declaration.
• That a loading expressed per $1,000 of sum insured scales with your cover, so a large policy costs more.
• That track and competitive riding are assessed separately from road use.
• That the rating is reviewable if your riding changes.

Every New Zealand insurer writes applications involving motorcycling to its own wording, and the words are where the money is. Two policies that look identical on price can pay very differently when it matters. Closing that gap is the entire job of an adviser.

• Insurers differ on whether they load or exclude motorcycling, and on the level of the loading.
• An adviser can get indicative terms for your specific riding profile before an application is made.
• Where both a loading and an exclusion are available, an adviser can price the choice.
• If you stop riding or change your profile, an adviser can request a review.

There are three ways to buy life cover in New Zealand, and they are not equivalent. You can buy direct from one insurer, which means you see one product range and one underwriting appetite. You can buy through your bank, which usually means a single insurer’s product sold under the bank’s brand, often with narrower definitions. Or you can go through an adviser, who quotes several insurers at once and is required to put your interests first.

The premium you pay is the same either way. Insurers build adviser commission into their pricing whether or not an adviser is involved, so going direct does not get you a discount — it just removes the person whose job is to argue your corner at application and at claim time.

• An adviser can see which insurer is currently taking your health history on standard terms, and which one will load or exclude it.
• An adviser can structure cover across two insurers if that produces a better outcome than putting everything with one.
• An adviser handles the underwriting back-and-forth, and is the person who chases the claim when a family is least able to.
• An adviser has to document why the recommendation suits you, which is a written record you can hold them to.

We are a referral service, not an insurer. We do not quote premiums and we do not sell policies. What we do is put you in front of one licensed New Zealand adviser who can compare the market properly.

1. 1

   You tell us what you are looking at

   The form takes about a minute. Nobody asks for your medical history on a web form — that conversation happens with the adviser, properly, and only once you have decided to proceed.

2. 2

   An adviser calls you

   A licensed New Zealand adviser talks through your situation: who depends on you, what you owe, what you already have in place, and what you are actually worried about.

3. 3

   They compare the market

   The adviser quotes across the major insurers, checks which of them will take your health history on the best terms, and puts the options side by side in writing.

4. 4

   You decide, in your own time

   There is no obligation and no cost to you. If the answer is that you already have enough cover, a good adviser will tell you that.