Motorbike insurance claim advice needed please

[d8mok]

Re:

I was T -boned in 2015 by a 83 year old who admitted full fault. Went through his insurance 100% his fault. Settled on personal injury directly with them to keep costs down.

My insurance went up for next 3 years. Almost double.

Keep it away from insurance if at all possible. Even if you can’t get a loan bike. It’ll pay off in long run.

I had no choice as it was a £15k bike + £3k gear + injury but for something so minor I wouldn’t even consider insurance.

 

[ferrus]

Thanks for the reply’s chaps, some useful insights and points to consider...

I spoke to my insurer yesterday to see if I needed a particular garage to assess the damage; if she decides to claim I don’t want her insurer dismissing the credibility of the quote. They said that the companies would agree somewhere appropriate then mine would arrange collection.
They said they needed to record the accident as a matter of course, whether we claim or not and asked for her reg. number. I’ve emailed her twice politely requesting details but she’s gone quiet. I think she might be pissed that I’ve reported the accident....

So it’ll probably go through the insurers now, especially if she’s gonna try and be evasive :facepalm:
The one thing that concerns me is the possibility of the bike being written off. I’m certain it’ll be the lowest category’N’ if that’s the case, but it could increase my premium and reduce resale value. Can her insurer really determine such an official designation just because they deem it uneconomical to repair?? Seems ridiculous.

What bike is it by the way?

It’s a Suzuki Van Van! I’ve customised it into a farm bike with off-road tyres; a 180 Bridgestone TW34 rear and 130 Shinko Trail up front.
It’s kind of a goofy little bike but is amazingly reliable and practical on the tracks and pot holed lanes I use it on. Perfect in the snow + ice with its massive tyres.
I’ve not really looked after it much, it’s outside uncovered in all weathers covered in mud and shit but it never misses a beat, starts first time and does over 100 mpg. Bless!

 

[d8mok]

Re:

Doesn’t take much to write a bike off. Parts, labour and cost of hire bike.

However now you’ve spoken to the insurance you will be hammered anyway on renewal whether a claim goes ahead or not.

My Panigale was about £17k new at retail (I paid £15k). At one year old was T-boned.

The bill for repairs only came out at £18k. It was Cat C. Wasn’t even that bad - see pics

If your bike is fairly cheap it will be written off quickly. But they will probably give you opportunity to buy it back super cheap. (Mine was £4K to buy back but I didn’t )














private image hosting

 

[ferrus]

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Lovely looking bike, you must’ve been pretty gutted to loose it for that kind of damage. I don’t know much about bikes and prefer trials or vintage (esp. vintage trials!) but Ducati’s are a bit special (except the scrambler.. :|)

Anyways, a local garage is now gonna have a look at the Van Van, if the damage is minimal I’ll let them fix it. No claims have been made yet and the insurers haven’t been given any details, so I can always tell em it turned out to only be a broken speedo case or whatever...

 

[d8mok]

Re: Re:

Lovely looking bike, you must’ve been pretty gutted to loose it for that kind of damage. I don’t know much about bikes and prefer trials or vintage (esp. vintage trials!) but Ducati’s are a bit special (except the scrambler.. :|)

Anyways, a local garage is gonna have a look at the Van Van, if the damage is minimal I’ll let them fix it. No claims have been made yet and the insurers haven’t been given any details, so I can always tell em it turned out to only be a broken speedo case or whatever...

To be fair I got paid out very well , bought same bike again new but paid less so ended up decent.

If you have told them your name and info or called from your mobile on file they will know you have had a incident now. Whether a claim is made or not is irrelevant.

So when renewing and the question is asked .... don’t get caught saying no and insurance voided.

 

[mattr]

How much the insurance goes up can be an absolute minefield.

I've had a couple of fault claims and 3 or 4 no faults, one of the fault claims was north of 40k by the time it was all dealt with, mostly legal fees defending the claim (which my insurance company won!) change to insurance, about 20 quid, that was a group 19 car with a high mileage policy, no protected no claims (and not much NCB either!), and i was still classed as a "young driver"!) so, no idea how i got away with that. Was only about 700 a year to insure as well.

One of the no fault claims (different car, some years later) added about 30% to the policy, 400 to 550 or something. (the year after it dropped to under 300 quid.....)

 

[ferrus]

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hmm.... they know it was knocked over and wouldn’t start. Don’t remember what I said about the locked steering and speedo. Can’t I just say it wasn’t as bad as thought and I fixed it myself?
It was clear that I was just phoning to get advice about which garage to check it over/get a quote.

 

[d8mok]

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To give you a idea of how things are logged ....

I work in the Motor trade. Cars get bumped whilst constantly moving them around for display. One occasion a colleague bumped a customers car. Our excess is £25k so pretty much all damage we just pay for. The damage was £100 ish and paid and sorted by us. All sorted.

The next time said colleague came to renew his wife’s insurance (he’s a named driver) they had a record of the incident. Customer had mentioned it on renewal. All they had was his first name and where he worked and it was connected up. It’s crazy.

You’ve now told them you have had a incident. Regardless of whether it costs them it will be logged. When you renew you now have a decision to make.

 

[ferrus]

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Arse! well it’s due for renewal late March (happens automatically I think) so we’ll see what happens :?

 

[d8mok]

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It’s more if you don’t say a thing , and then have a proper claim it could be voided and you left footing a huge bill for not declaring