UK motorcycle accident claim guide — what to do in the first hour

**Bottom line:** if you've come off your motorcycle in the UK and it wasn't your fault, you can recover the cost of repair (or pre-accident value if written off), a like-for-like replacement bike, loss of earnings, medical bills, and personal injury — all from the at-fault driver's insurer or the Motor Insurers' Bureau. £0 cost to you for non-fault cases. But the first 60 minutes decide how much of that you actually get.

This guide is the exact playbook our team uses when a rider rings the 24/7 line from the kerb.

The first 5 minutes — your own safety

Sounds obvious, but riders often skip this in shock:

1. **Get off the carriageway**. Wheel or walk the bike to the pavement / hard shoulder if you can — even if it's painful. A second collision with another vehicle is the most dangerous moment after the first one. 2. **Keep your helmet on initially**. If you're feeling neck or spinal pain, don't remove it — wait for paramedics. Helmet removal with a possible spinal injury can cause more damage. 3. **Call 999** if anyone is injured, the road is blocked, or the third party tries to leave. **101** otherwise — but you still want a police log for the claim.

The first 30 minutes — evidence (the part that decides your settlement)

This is where most riders lose money. Insurers will try to argue contributory negligence ("you were filtering", "you were going too fast", "you weren't visible"). Hard evidence kills those arguments. Get it now while it exists:

**Photographs — minimum 12**: - The third-party vehicle plate (clear, sharp) - Damage to the third-party vehicle - Damage to your bike — every panel, every angle - The road scene — wide-angle, both directions - Skid marks (yours and theirs) - Debris field, especially any glass / plastic from the third party - Your riding gear if damaged (jacket, gloves, helmet, boots) - Road conditions (wet / dry, visibility, sun position) - Any relevant road signs or traffic signals - A close-up of your motorcycle's odometer (proves you were on the bike) - A photo of the third-party driver if they're cooperative (else describe them) - Time-stamped — your phone does this automatically

**Witness details**: name, mobile, one-line account. 30-second voice memo is fine. Police may not chase witnesses — you have to.

**Look for CCTV**: TfL camera, bus camera, shopfront, ATM, dashcam from a passing vehicle. Note the location and time precisely; we can request the footage within retention windows (often 7–14 days).

**Don't admit liability**. Even casual phrases like "sorry, didn't see you" can be used. Say: "I can't comment, my claims handler will be in touch."

The first hour — get help to the scene

PCO and motorcycle accident management firms (us included) can dispatch recovery + a replacement bike or PHV-licensed scooter within hours, not days. The 24/7 line is **0208 090 8872**. We arrange:

• Recovery of the damaged bike to a secure compound - Medical attention if not already in place - A like-for-like replacement bike (or PHV scooter for delivery riders) - Immediate evidence preservation

For non-fault claims, all of this is recovered from the third-party insurer at £0 cost to you.

In the first 24 hours — paperwork

• **Police**: get the incident number / Crime Reference Number (CR/...). Required for any MIB claim and useful even for normal claims. - **GP / A&E**: even if you feel fine, get checked. Adrenaline masks injury. A medical record dated the day of the accident is the foundation of any personal-injury claim. - **Insurance**: notify your own insurer for record only — don't let them log it as a fault claim. We handle insurer liaison so your no-claims bonus stays clean. - **CBT certificate (DL196)**: if you're a CBT-only rider, locate your certificate. Insurers and solicitors will ask.

CBT, MOT and licence — the questions insurers ask

Three things determine whether you can claim cleanly:

**CBT** (Compulsory Basic Training). Required for any motorcycle or moped on UK roads if you don't have a full A1/A2/A licence. Lasts 2 years — check yours hasn't lapsed. If it had lapsed when you were hit, that's a contributory-negligence argument the insurer will use.

**MOT**. Bikes need MOT after 3 years from first registration. A lapsed MOT is a contributory factor the insurer can use to reduce settlement (e.g. 10–25%).

**Licence category**. Riding a 600cc bike on an A2 licence is uninsured and almost always fatal to a claim. Double-check before claiming.

If any of these were lapsed at the time, **don't lie** — disclose to us and we'll route the case appropriately. Solicitors hate retrospective surprises.

Filtering — the most argued-about issue

If you were filtering between traffic when hit: - It's **legal** in the UK and accepted as a normal riding manoeuvre - It's **not** automatic contributory negligence - But: speed differential matters. If traffic was stopped and you were filtering at 10–15mph, you're in a strong position. If you were filtering at 30mph past stationary traffic, expect a 25–50% reduction in damages.

The insurer will argue you should have been at walking pace. The legal test is whether you were riding to a reasonable standard for the conditions. Evidence (CCTV, dashcam, witnesses, bike speedo data on newer bikes) is everything.

See our [bike filtering and liability guide](/blog/motorcycle-filtering-liability-uk-2026) for more.

What you can recover

For a non-fault motorcycle accident, all of these are recoverable:

• **Bike repair** (genuine OEM parts, our bodyshop or your choice) - **Bike write-off** at pre-accident market value (we push for the top of the guide range) - **Like-for-like replacement bike** for the repair / replacement window - **Riding gear** — damaged helmet (legally must be replaced after any impact), jacket, gloves, boots, leathers - **Loss of earnings** — for delivery riders, evidence via app earnings + tax returns. We have a [calculator](/loss-of-earnings-calculator). - **Personal injury** — whiplash, soft tissue, fractures, scarring, road rash. Routed via panel solicitor on a no-win-no-fee basis. - **Medical expenses** — physio, scans, painkillers, private appointments where NHS wait is long - **Recovery and storage** — picking the bike up and storing until authorised repair

What you can't recover

• Damage caused by your own negligence (no CBT, no MOT, no insurance — sometimes can still recover via MIB) - Speeding or dangerous riding that's the substantial cause - Drink / drug-driving (criminal offence, no civil recovery) - Foreign-registered uninsured driver in some scenarios (Green Card scheme applies)

Mistakes that cost UK riders thousands

Don't do any of these:

1. **Going through your own insurer for a non-fault claim**. They log it as a fault claim, hit your NCD, take your excess, and recover from the at-fault insurer — but you pay in years of higher premiums afterwards. 2. **Accepting cash from the third party**. "£500 and we forget it" sounds reasonable at the scene. Doesn't cover bike replacement, lost earnings, or PI. Decline. Get details. Claim properly. 3. **Removing damaged gear before photographing it**. A snapped helmet, torn leathers, ripped gloves — all evidence of impact severity for the PI element. 4. **Saying you're fine to police**. Adrenaline lies. A medical record dated the day of accident is worth thousands in the PI settlement. 5. **Delaying past 5–7 days**. Witnesses become unreachable, CCTV gets overwritten (most retention is 7–28 days), memories fade. Report within 24 hours.

Special case — hit-and-run / uninsured driver

If the third party fled or was uninsured, you claim through the [Motor Insurers' Bureau](https://www.mib.org.uk/) under the Uninsured or Untraced Drivers' Agreements. Process is paperwork-heavy and slower (4–6 months) but you still recover via MIB.

See our [uninsured driver MIB guide](/blog/uber-driver-hit-by-uninsured-driver) — same process applies for motorcycles.

What to do right now

If you've just come off the bike, [submit your claim](/submit-claim) or call **0208 090 8872** — we'll have someone on the line in under 2 minutes and recovery dispatched within an hour. 24/7, UK-wide. £0 cost for non-fault claims.

For everything else, save this guide. Pin it in your rider WhatsApp group. The riders who recover well are the ones who knew the first-hour sequence in advance.