Riders charged £hundreds for insurance firms’ error

Owners of Suzuki GSXR1000s face paying hundreds of pounds because an error in data used by insurance companies.

The data lists the engine size of the machines incorrectly, leading customers who state the correct size to be treated as though they have modified the bike and charged extra – sometimes more than double the initial quote. Find a Suzuki GSX-R1000 for sale. MCN reader James Gale’s insurance quote shot from £124 to £340 when he pointed out his 2001 GSX-R1000 was 988cc, not 998cc as the salesperson insisted.

Gale, 39, said: “She said the bike must be modified. Then she told me it was going to £340 so I said, let’s just say it’s 998cc then. And she said I can’t because then you wouldn’t be insured.” 

Gale, from Belper in Derbyshire, encountered the same problem with several insurance brokers. Price Comparison websites also incorrectly list the bike’s capacity in a drop-down menu, with no option to correct the error. 

The firm’s believe all GSXR1000s are 998cc. The correct capacity, confirmed by Suzuki, is 988cc for machines made between 2001 and 2004 and 999cc for later models. 
Insurance brokers struggled to explain the error.

The AA confirmed: “For that model Suzuki, the only cc listing we have is 998. That’s the only option that comes up.”

The spokeswoman added: “The fact he’s had the same issue with other insurance companies makes me wonder whether there is a generic anomaly somewhere.”

She said the matter would be investigated but “it won’t be an overnight fix”.