Susan Difford

Electric bikes are still a thin market. Only around 250 were registered in the first two months of 2026 (UK registration data, as at May 2026), so a Zero SR/F owner and a Super Soco CPx commuter can see very different panels, often shaped more by battery value than by the rider.

A common pitfall is the charging kit. Riders assume the home charger and cable are covered like a fitted accessory, but they usually are not, because they are not attached to the bike. A stolen charging set on a NIU or Maeving can quietly become an out-of-pocket cost.

The licence band trips people up too. An electric bike is rated by continuous power in kW, not engine size, so a rider can read a headline peak figure on a Sur-Ron spec sheet and quote against the wrong category entirely. The GOV.UK licence categories table settles it.

Owners of imported cars are sometimes surprised at how much the price spread widens between providers once a non-UK-spec vehicle is in the mix. A UK-spec Lexus bought in Ireland often quotes close to a domestic car, while a Japanese-market Skyline or a American-spec Mustang can attract a much narrower quoting panel and a wider price band.

A common pitfall is treating parallel and grey imports as the same thing at quote stage. A parallel import is the same model and spec as a UK car, simply bought in another market. A grey import was originally built for a different market and may need an IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) test and a Q-plate registration. Declaring which type the car is, honestly, lets the provider price the real risk rather than guess.

The other one is paperwork. The DVLA registration documents, the HMRC NOVA receipt and any IVA certificate are the records insurers look for, and a recent independent valuation tends to help where Glass's Guide has no entry. The GOV.UK importing vehicles guide is a useful sense-check on what should be on file.

A PC10 feels bewildering because it does not tell you what you actually did. It is the catch-all code for pedestrian crossing offences that do not fit neatly into PC20 or PC30 - and that ambiguity can make the whole experience feel arbitrary, as though the system could not be bothered to work out the specific regulation you broke.

PC10 covers undefined contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations. The penalty is 3 points and a fine, with the endorsement staying on your licence for 4 years. Disqualification is discretionary but extremely rare for this code.

The vagueness of PC10 can cause problems with insurers who treat undefined codes with more suspicion than they deserve. Specialist brokers are experienced in presenting PC10 in context, ensuring underwriters understand that this is a minor crossing offence, not something more serious hiding behind an ambiguous label.

Electric car drivers are often surprised that the premium can sit above an equivalent petrol model. The reason is rarely the driver. It is the battery value and the cost of approved high-voltage repairs feeding into a higher insurance group.

A frequent pitfall is assuming every policy treats a leased battery the same way. Some cover it with the car, others expect the lease provider to carry it, and the gap only shows up at claim time. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles is a useful starting point for grant and charge-point rules.

The drivers who fare best tend to read the charging and cable clauses closely, then compare on those terms rather than headline price alone. That is the quiet step that keeps an electric car claim straightforward.

Riders already feel exposed on the road. A conviction on top of that - whether speeding, drink-drive, or something else entirely - adds another layer of vulnerability. You know you need insurance, but finding cover when mainstream insurers have turned you away can feel like the system is designed to keep convicted riders off the road.

It is not. Specialist brokers work with insurers who assess convicted riders individually, looking at the full picture rather than applying blanket refusals. The type of conviction, how long ago it happened, and your riding history since all matter.

One thing is essential: be completely upfront about your convictions. Insurers will check, and any undisclosed offence could invalidate your entire policy. It is far better to declare everything and pay a fair price than to risk having a claim turned down when you need it most. Premiums do tend to come down as convictions age, so the quotes you see now are likely higher than what you could get at your next renewal.