What is Quad Bike Insurance?

Quad bike insurance is a type of vehicle insurance designed specifically for quad bikes. It ranges from simple third party cover, right up to comprehensive cover, and can protect you against theft, damage, accidents and liability claims.

Most quad bike insurance is for road-legal (type approved) quad bikes driven on the road, but you can also buy specialist quad bike insurance policies that cover off-road use.

Do I need Quad Bike Insurance?

Whether or not you need quad bike insurance will depend on what you use your quad bike for:

 If you want to ride your quad bike on the road, then you’ll need third party insurance.

 You do not need a driving licence to ride a quad bike off-road. You do not have to tax and register your quad bike if you’re only going to use it off-road. However, there is an ‘off-road register’ where you can record the details of your off-road quad bike, which could help the police find it if it’s stolen.

 If you’re using a quad bike for agriculture, horticulture and forestry work you need to register it as a light agricultural vehicle. An agricultural quad bike used on the road does not need an MOT, but must be registered and licensed for road use and must have a number plate and third party insurance.

What does quad bike insurance cover?

Quad bike insurance depends on what you want to use the quad bike for. And just like car insurance or motorcycle insurance, you’ll have a range of cover levels to choose from:

For road legal quad bike insurance, you can opt for:

• Third-party only cover: This is the legal minimum level of cover needed to drive a road-worthy quad bike on the road. Third-party only insurance pays out if you cause an accident that results in someone else’s vehicle being damaged and covers you for any injuries to another person that you may have caused. Third-party only insurance won’t cover damage to your quad bike or your own injuries.
• Third-party fire and theft cover: Offers the same cover as third-party only insurance, but you’re also covered if your quad bike is stolen or is damaged or destroyed by fire.
• Fully comprehensive cover: This is the highest level of insurance cover you can choose for your quad bike. Fully comprehensive cover includes third-party fire and theft cover, as well as cover for any damages to your own quad bike and your own injuries in any accidents you may cause.

For off-road quad bike insurance:

It’s not mandatory, but off-road quad bike insurance can help protect your quad. Off-road quad bike insurance will cover your quad bike for theft or fire damage, although only some policies offer third-party cover.

Quad bikes are sometimes covered for off-road use in your home contents insurance policy, just as bicycles are, or you can add it to that policy. Check the details of the policy on how your quad bike must be used, and where (just your property or not?), to make sure you understand exactly what you’re covered for.

Legal Requirements for Riding a Quad Bike

The legal requirements of owning and running a quad bike will depend on what you use it for:

If you want to ride your quad bike on the road, then you’ll need:

1. Quad bike insurance
2. A full car driving licence, or a category B1 motorcycle licence as long as it was issued before January 1997
3. Road tax
4. A valid MOT certificate if the bike is more than three years old
5. Front and rear licence plates

Your quad bike must be registered with the DVLA, and you must wear a helmet in Northern Ireland. Helmets aren’t mandatory in England, Wales and Scotland, but are recommended

It must be a road legal model too. If your quad bike model hasn’t been approved for road use but has otherwise been modified to meet road safety standards, you can apply online for type approval.

If you want to ride your quad bike off-road only, then you don’t need to meet any legal requirements. You won’t need insurance, an MOT or a driving licence. But you can add it to a government off-road register, which can help if it’s stolen.

If you want to use your quad bike for outdoor work, then you won’t need a licence, an MOT or insurance, but you’ll need to register it online as a light agricultural vehicle.

You’ll be able to ride the quad bike on the road without any other requirements as long as it's within 1.5km of the site it's being used for work on. To drive further than 1.5km, you’ll need to register the quad for road use, and get a front and rear licence plate, as well as lights if you want to drive after dark. You’ll also need third party quad bike insurance.

Different Types of Quad Bikes

Quad bikes fall into a variety of different types, including:

1. Off-road quad bikes

Off-road quads are made to handle uneven and rough terrain, from mud to steep slopes.  They’re not designed for road use, meaning they often don’t have the features you’d need to drive on the road, like licence plates, mirrors or lights.

1. Road legal (type approved) quad bikes

These are quad bikes that meet European road safety standards. Most are custom built for road use, but off-road quad bikes can also be modified to make them road worthy (you must then apply online for type approval). Road legal quads can be either sit-astride or side-by-side models.

1. Utility quad bikes

Quads that are made for work, usually off-road work in agriculture or forest settings, like reaching locations over rough terrain and pulling trailers. Utility quads tend to be larger, more powerful, more durable models.

1. Sports quad bikes

Sports quads are designed for speed and sports performance, for agile cornering and for making jumps, and are often used for off-road quad bike racing. They are typically smaller and lighter than utility quads.

1. Sit-astride quad bikes

These are the typical motorcycle-style quad bikes where you sit astride a straddle seat and steer using handlebars. Some sit-astride quads have a second seat for an additional pillion passenger sitting behind.

1. Side-by-side quad bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)

Different from sit-astride quad bikes, side-by-side ATVs are more similar to mini cars, with one seat, or two side-by-side, and a steering wheel. They often have body frames, usually with roll-cages. Some have a second row of seats in the back, and can even sit up to five people. These vehicles are sometimes called off-road buggies, dune buggies, or beach buggies. Most are used exclusively off-road, but you can buy road-legal side-by-side ATVs in the UK.

1. Quadricycles (L6e and L7e)

These are four-wheeled road-worthy microcars, like the Renault TWIZY or Citroën AMI. You’ll often see them classified as either L6e or L7e, with L6e covering light vehicles (less than 425kg) and L7e covering heavy ones (above 425kg).

A quad bike model can belong to more than one of these categories at a time. For example, it could be a road-worthy, sit astride quad or an off-road, side-by-side, sports quad.

How Much Does Quad Bike Insurance Cost?

There’s no simple answer to this, as the cost of quad bike insurance will vary by insurance provider, model and the driver(s) insured to use it.

The price of a quad bike insurance policy will be affected by:

• The age of the driver - younger drivers could be more expensive to insure
• What kind of quad bike it is - more powerful and more expensive models will mean larger insurance premiums
• How the quad bike will be used - quad used for agricultural work tend to be more expensive to insure as they’re more likely to be damaged
• Where you keep the quad bike - just as with cars and motorcycles, it could be cheaper to insure a quad bike that’s stored securely
• Agreed mileage - an agreed lower mileage could help reduce insurance premiums

What Quad Bike Insurance Extras Are There?

Not all insurance providers offer optional extras to their quad bike insurance. Some may offer different ones. These are some of the more common additions you can add:

• Breakdown cover
• Personal accident cover
• Motor legal protection (to cover the cost of any legal claims made against you)
• Multiple rider cover
• Helmet and leathers cover
• Track day cover (in case you damage your quad bike on a private track)
• International cover for driving abroad (quad bike travel insurance)

You won’t see options for ‘Add ons’ on the initial quote results page and you’ll need to add these when you click through to the provider you have chosen.

How to Buy Quad Bike Insurance in the UK?

You can easily compare quad bike insurance quotes right here at Asda Money to find the best quad bike insurance for your individual needs. Get a great value quad bike insurance quote today! The quad bike insurance comparison service is provided by Vast Visibility Limited.