Insurance advice: How to get insured on a mate's bike

I want to borrow a mate’s bike for four days but can¹t find insurance companies who can offer both me and my pillion cover. There is cover for me alone with £1000 pound excess but that seems ridiculous. The bike is only third party fire and theft at present and if I was to be added as another rider it would cost another 300 quid! Can you suggest another option please? I’m desperate to get on two wheels for a bit this summer.
Andy Brown, Melton Mowbray

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Answer: Alas it’s not going to happen as far as I’m aware. To get insured you have to have an ‘insurable interest’ in the bike. That basically means you¹d have to face a financial loss if the bike was stolen or crashed to qualify for insurance. If you didn¹t own it, you¹d have to have a contract similar to the ones that vehicle hire firms use. Insurance also works on an annual contract basis to allow them to rate the risk and set the premium. The only way you’re going to be able to ride your mate’s bike is by becoming a named rider on the policy. Maybe you could go for more than a few days rides to make it worthwhile?

EM10

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