Advanced courses worth it?

Blitzkrieger

I was thinking of going along to Bikecraft or something to try to get a discount on my insurance. The trouble is, I'm not sure it's worth it. After paying for the course, it could take years to get my money back through discounts on my insurance. Has anybody done one of these courses lately? What kind of price and discount would I be looking at?

Idleater

I can only comment on the RoSPA Advanced course, as I did not do the one you mentioned, but the one I did cost me €500 I think for the training.

On passing the exam (Silver grade) I got an immediate 30% (€300) off my insurance at the time (about 4 months into my insurance year) and at renewal the 30% saved me about €500.

So, if you want to break it down in monetary terms, it can pay for itself immediately if you time it correct, or within a year at worst.


Next you have to factor in the benefit of training. There are numerous threads on this, so I won't bore you, but I found that it improves confidence in abilities, which results in smoother driving, which results in less wear and tear on the motorcycle which reduces the annual maintenance costs.

Just be aware that some advanced courses (RoSPA for one) are internationally recognised, and transferable too, while others are only recognised within Ireland, while others again may only be recognised by specific insurers.

L.

Steffano2002

Don't think of training in financial terms only... Think about them in terms of safety and potentially life saving experience! The added bonus being you will make your money back eventually!

andrewh5

Advanced training is most definitely worth it in terms of the extra skills you will learn - positioning, defensive riding etc. As an OP has stated already, think of it in those terms not monetary ones.

Idleater

Stefano2002 wrote:

Don't think of training in financial terms only

Nonsense.

Tell anybody to just think of it in monetary terms! As I have shown at worst it pays for itself in 1 renewal.

The added benifit of actually _being_ trained is lost on many people who think that they can already drive well. Money talks to those people.

If even a quarter of those people would realise that they could save a couple of hundred euro every year by actually passing some training _that_ would be worth something!

Obviously the OP is not in this category, but spelling it out in monetary terms just shows these people how silly poo pooing training actually is.

Blitzkrieger

nereid wrote: »

Obviously the OP is not in this category

lol - thanks for that. I'd actually like to think that I don't need the training and could just go for the test. I went for some pre-test training and got the same instruction as a guy doing an advanced course, so I should be okay.

faceman

Steffano2002 wrote: »

Don't think of training in financial terms only... Think about them in terms of safety and potentially life saving experience! The added bonus being you will make your money back eventually!

+1 I can say hand on heart my advanced training saved my skin more than once. :cool:

Steffano2002

nereid wrote: »

Nonsense.

Tell anybody to just think of it in monetary terms! As I have shown at worst it pays for itself in 1 renewal.

The added benifit of actually _being_ trained is lost on many people who think that they can already drive well. Money talks to those people.

If even a quarter of those people would realise that they could save a couple of hundred euro every year by actually passing some training _that_ would be worth something!

Obviously the OP is not in this category, but spelling it out in monetary terms just shows these people how silly poo pooing training actually is.

It's only nonsense to the nonsensical!

Thinking of advanced tarining in monetary terms can get people interested because they can make a saving on their insurance quote which is indeed a good thing as at least they'll learn something to make them better riders even though all they wanted was to save money in the first place.

But I'd rather ALL riders out there understood the need for advanced tarining solely for safety purposes.

The way I see it is: would you pay €500 EUR for training that could save you from spending the rest of your life (e.g.) in a wheelchair?

That is why I find it nonsensical to think of training in monetary terms.

I do get your point however!

Steffano2002

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

lol - thanks for that. I'd actually like to think that I don't need the training and could just go for the test. I went for some pre-test training and got the same instruction as a guy doing an advanced course, so I should be okay.

Well Blitz, the fact that you're actually thinking of training is already a huge step in the right direction!

JCDUB

I did a days advanced course a few months back and found it excellent.

Very good tips on observation, positioning, avoidance of trouble, throttle control etc. all the way down to basic things like gear selection.

I found it very beneficial and think it definitely stands to me every time I get on the bike.You can't put a price on that.

Incidentally, I only did it to improve my capabilities and make me a safer rider but at the end of the day the instructor told me I was ready for the Aon level 2 test which we did for almost an hour and I passed, bonus!!

Pity I'm insured with CN, but next year I'll benefit from it financially too..