Motorcycle insurer to offer free security ID marks

A bike insurer is due to offer customers free security ID marks in a victory for MCN.

MCN’s Mark Our Bikes campaign has called on motorcycle makers and insurers to offer the marking systems for free to help cut theft. Now a scheme by a major bike insurer is due to be launched within weeks. 

Details have yet to be officially confirmed but a source told MCN: ‘Things are now being finalised and should be signed off by October 5.’

The discreet marks deter theft and help police catch offenders by making individual motorcycle parts easily identifiable as stolen.

The Motorcycle Industry Association is also planning to launch a scheme but has yet to confirm details.

A spokesman told MCN the group was looking at ‘a long-term solution that would also provide a sustainable future for crime prevention and detection around the country’.

A number of systems are available for bikes including SmartWater, Datatag and Selectamark, with prices ranging from an annual £24 subscription fee to a £90 one-off charge.