As summer draws to a close, around 10,000 UK bikers start to think about laying up their motor bikes for the winter months. From the end of October through until Easter, the thought of motor biking is not so appealing and there is little point in taxing and insuring the bike. Bikes are winterised and stored away at the back of the garage awaiting the better weather. Sadly, thieves are aware of this and so some 600 bikes are stolen every month.

Obviously if you have totally cancelled your policy you will be unable to claim for this theft. You can, however, reduce the cover to a minimum for fire and theft and this is worth considering.

If you're more used to insuring cars than motor bikes, you'll find some of the features of bike insurance very odd. For instance, it's not possible to accumulate bonuses over time, as with a car. Occasionally you may find an insurer who will give you some discount if you don't claim for a certain period with the same insurer, but this is not the norm.

There are various policies. Specified Bike Policy, Specified Rider Policy, Comprehensive and Third Party Insurance. With a specified bike policy you are covering the bike and not the rider. This means you could insure a number of riders on the same bike.

A specified rider policy covers the rider, but not the bike. This means the rider is covered on any motor bike up to the size specified on the policy.

Comprehensive and third party insurance are more familiar terms. Comprehensive is the most expensive. Apart from paying for repairs to the bike in the case of accidental damage, it may offer some extras such as breakdown cover. In the event of a claim, you will only pay the excess as stated on the policy. With third party you simply buy the minimum legal insurance. This means you are covered for any property you may damage or people you might injure. You would not be reimbursed for your bike or anything else and an excess would still be payable. Third party is the cheapest form of insurance.

Younger riders will be charged higher premiums for their policies due to their inexperience and the increased risk of motor cycling. There is a frighteningly high accident rate and statistics tell us they are much more likely to be involved in an accident than more mature riders. Damage caused to themselves is often costly and lifelong.

The more hours spent on the road, the higher the risk and riders using their bikes to travel from one location to another as far as their work is involved will be likely to be charged higher premiums. Claims made in recent years for driving-related accidents will have an adverse effect on your premium too.

Other factors that will influence the premium will be the power and make of the bike. There are some very expensive bikes around and obviously this will mean a higher premium will be charged. If you have any penalties for speeding or dangerous driving your premium will rise and if you were to be disqualified for a length of time, insurance would be extremely expensive when your licence was re-instated.

To try and get the cost of premiums down, consider security devices such as immobilisers, alarms and steering locks. It may also be possible to get discounts for any training courses you have completed.

Be completely honest with your insurance company. Failure to disclose something which the company later discovers can invalidate your insurance. Not only would you not receive payment for any claim, but you could be prosecuted for driving without insurance.

Keep insured and safe.