Bike Insurance Query - Written Off

[The Beaver King]

Guys/Girls,

I posted this on SP&L a few months back, with no response. Wondering if anyone can provide some insight?

TBKing a while back said:

To summarise; I was knocked off my motorcycle a couple of months back, entirely the 3rd parties fault and the correct process was followed (photos, details etc).

As I'm less than a year riding, I didn't particularly want to involve my insurance company, so I have pursed this through an AMC (I have notified my insurer though). The bike has been assessed and has been written off as a Cat C; through the AMC, I get to keep the bike as salvage as part of my settlement.

So I now have the bike back and I'm 100% certain that I can fix the bike easily enough. I've done some research and apparently it is just a case of putting the bike through an MOT and making sure it is listed as a Cat C if/when I ever sell it. All good.

My question is; at what point can I put her back on the road? The AMC and the 3rd party insurer are still duking it at the moment and this is likely to go on for at least a few months, leaving me without a bike (it's a weekend toy, but I still want to ride...).

Can I fix her up, put her through an MOT and get her re-insured before the insurers have settled or do I have to wait...?

Basically, I've now fixed the bike but my MOT has run out. I guess common sense says I should wait for the insurance issue to be settled, but I get the feeling this isn't going to be sorted quickly by the AMC, so I'm likely to be bikeless for another 3 odd months.

Second quick question; if the bike is written off Cat C, am I now only able to insure it 3rd party or TPF&T? I'm reading mixed things on the internet.


TL;DR

1. Can I put my bike back on the road before the insurance paid out for it being written off?

2. After I make it roadworthy again; am I restricted in the level of cover I can insure it for?


Cheers folks; these answers are not easy to find. If only there was a BB PH forum member who worked in insurance...

[CAPP0]

The Beaver King said:

If only there was a BB PH forum member who would admit that they worked in insurance...

The Beaver King said:

TL;DR

1. Can I put my bike back on the road before the insurance paid out for it being written off?

2. After I make it roadworthy again; am I restricted in the level of cover I can insure it for?

1. I don't know. I can't see why not, I guess the only issue which might arise is if the final settlement hasn't been, er, finalised and they wanted to change the terms, ie, wanted the bike back after all

2. Don't believe so, I think that's for you and the insuring company to decide? You ought to be telling them though, then they haven't got any get-out in the future if you need them.

[CarsOrBikes]

You can put the bike on the road when you've been paid for it if you want to feel safer in regard to the salvage being yours, as you will have signed the settlement and will know the agreed values within it, and have a cheque a few days later if not at the same time, however, the bike is yours already isn't it, so if you have all the images to prove the damage, and a copy of the engineers report, I would say put it on the road whenever you wish. You do not need to Mot it beforehand, but obviously yes if it is due or expired, and you can re-insure it as comprehensive just as if nothing had happened. If another event occurs, the insurers will see it marked as cat c on the database anyway, and the value will be marked down accordingly.

[The Beaver King]

Appreciate the answers guys

I suppose on one hand; it is my bike and if I've paid out to repaired it prior to receiving a settlement, then that is my choice. Part of the settlement includes getting the bike back as salvage, so that shouldn't be an issue.

On the other hand, I'm just a little concerned that getting it back on the road prior to settling may provoke a bit of a 'WTF' from the third-party insurers.

I have all the pictures of the damage though and the engineer's and specialist's reports, so there is no doubt it was actually damaged.

I guess it all comes down to how badly I need to scratch that riding itch over the next few weeks/months....

[sc0tt]

I'm just going to throw this out there... Have you called the company and asked them?

[TooMany2cvs]

The Beaver King said:

1. Can I put my bike back on the road before the insurance paid out for it being written off?

What's delaying it? Blame, value or other factors (injury etc)?

If the bike value's all agreed, then I'd do it. If not, then I'd leave it alone in case they want to inspect again.
But that's just around repairing. Once it's repaired, no reason not to put it on the road.

The Beaver King said:

2. After I make it roadworthy again; am I restricted in the level of cover I can insure it for?

No, but the future market value will of course be hit, so next time it gets hit, the payout'll be for a CatC rather than a straight bike.

[The Beaver King]

sc0tt said:

I'm just going to throw this out there... Have you called the company and asked them?

.....No; that would be far too sensible

I'm waiting on an email back from them, so I'll ask them when I reply.

TooMany2cvs said:

The Beaver King said:

1. Can I put my bike back on the road before the insurance paid out for it being written off?

What's delaying it? Blame, value or other factors (injury etc)?

If the bike value's all agreed, then I'd do it. If not, then I'd leave it alone in case they want to inspect again.
But that's just around repairing. Once it's repaired, no reason not to put it on the road.

I think they're just dragging it out. Really regret using an AMC now; they don't do anything fast....
Value has all been agreed and report produced, so I can't see them needing to inspect again.

TooMany2cvs said:

The Beaver King said:

2. After I make it roadworthy again; am I restricted in the level of cover I can insure it for?

No, but the future market value will of course be hit, so next time it gets hit, the payout'll be for a CatC rather than a straight bike.

Excellent; so as long as I let my insurer know then it is business as usual. Awesome.

Thanks

[Drawweight]

Just a point about insuring it again.

Some companies will not insure previously written off bikes.

I wrote one off and the insurer I was with refused to reinsure it.

It shouldn't make a great deal of difference in cost to insure but the choice of insurers may be diminished slightly.

[The Beaver King]

Thread resurrection time!

fk st bks ing ahole fking uninsured drivers! I fking hate the wkers!

So we are now 6 months into my bike being rear-ended and the AMC have finally told me that the 3rd party isn't insured (something about company insurance and the vehicle not being listed on the insurance policy); so I'm being told I will have to go to the Motor Insurance Bureau to calim for the bike.

Sounds great, except the MIB probably won't pay out for my bike as I have fully comprehensive insurance, which they recommend I claim against....

So not only will I have to make a claim on my own policy, it will be on my first year of riding (so no doubt my premium will shoot up) and the 3rd party cocksucking wker will get away with it scot-free!

Where is the fking justice in this country?!!!

ETA - I know 'this is why we have insurance' but I was hit by a commercial vehicle owned by a company that are currently trading. So because they didn't do their paperwork properly and hired a st driver, I now end up taking the financal whack for it.

Edited by The Beaver King on Wednesday 24th August 15:32

[catso]

I'm no insurance expert but if the vehicle was uninsured then surely you have a claim against the driver/company as they were driving without insurance.

Apart from anything else I would imagine they would pay up in full to avoid the legal ramifications...

[The Beaver King]

catso said:

I'm no insurance expert but if the vehicle was uninsured then surely you have a claim against the driver/company as they were driving without insurance.

Apart from anything else I would imagine they would pay up in full to avoid the legal ramifications...

Potentially, but I'm not sure what angle to take yet.

The AMC (acting on my behalf) have said that the MIB may pay me out and sue the company for the money, which is the option I would prefer. The company is some little dairy outfit in Birmingham and their company house info doesn't show them turning over massive amounts of money (think it is around £100k a year), so they are likely to ignore/fight it.

I'm tempted to threaten legal action against them, but I need to review my options first.

I just can't fathom how a business can operate vehicles on the road without insurance and nobody seems concerned.

My current choices are:

1. Send them an email directly and ask them to cover the costs, in which case I'll call off the AMC.

2. Let the AMC handle it with the MIB and either, lose out or get lucky that they handle it correctly.

3. Get legal off the bat and take them to small claims.

I'd rather not do option 3 as it is a bit extreme and likely a drawn out affair. Option 2 is very 50/50 in terms of outcome.
Option 1 seems sensible but I'm not sure what the ramifications are if I contact the business outside the AMC and if it will cause more problems.

[black-k1]

My concern in all of this would be where are the AMC costs now coming from? That may make a BIG difference in how you decide to proceed.

[The Beaver King]

black-k1 said:

My concern in all of this would be where are the AMC costs now coming from? That may make a BIG difference in how you decide to proceed.

God knows I've considered that; I've got some paperwork I signed at the start that covers me for their costs if they can't be claimed from the other side, but I am a little worried they will try and find a loop hole.

Something else to triple check.

[vonhosen]

I doubt their T&Cs allow you to tell the AMC you don't want them to pursue it anymore without you being liable for any costs so far.
If so that'll be option 1 out the window.

Edited by vonhosen on Wednesday 24th August 17:10

[TooMany2cvs]

The Beaver King said:

Sounds great, except the MIB probably won't pay out for my bike as I have fully comprehensive insurance, which they recommend I claim against....

Yup. MIB funds are the last resort when the alternative is that or nothing.

Claim off your own insurance, and they'll chase after the other party if there's anything worth hitting them for.

The Beaver King said:

and the 3rd party cocksucking wker will get away with it scot-free!

Well, apart from a prosecution for driving while uninsured.

[vonhosen]

TooMany2cvs said:

The Beaver King said:

and the 3rd party cocksucking wker will get away with it scot-free!

Well, apart from a prosecution for driving while uninsured.

Probably not the driver, he will probably claim the statutory defence.

[The Beaver King]

TooMany2cvs said:

The Beaver King said:

Sounds great, except the MIB probably won't pay out for my bike as I have fully comprehensive insurance, which they recommend I claim against....

Yup. MIB funds are the last resort when the alternative is that or nothing.

Claim off your own insurance, and they'll chase after the other party if there's anything worth hitting them for.

Yeah, well guess who is about to get the World's Stupidest tt Award?

Me.

Which dhead let his insurance policy lapse as he wasn't using the bike due to damage, but then repaired it last month and took out a new policy with another insurer?

They weren't even the cheapest! I picked a policy with better cover and reputation as I didn't want to have to deal with the ex-insurer, due to horror stories and poor feedback, if I had an accident in the future.

I'm pretty sure I've just shot myself in the foot when MIB come back and say "recover costs from your insurer".

Stupid, stupid thing to do. As if the situation wasn't complicated enough....

[dibblecorse]

The Beaver King said:

Yeah, well guess who is about to get the World's Stupidest tt Award?

Me.

Which dhead let his insurance policy lapse as he wasn't using the bike due to damage, but then repaired it last month and took out a new policy with another insurer?

They weren't even the cheapest! I picked a policy with better cover and reputation as I didn't want to have to deal with the ex-insurer, due to horror stories and poor feedback, if I had an accident in the future.

I'm pretty sure I've just shot myself in the foot when MIB come back and say "recover costs from your insurer".

Stupid, stupid thing to do. As if the situation wasn't complicated enough....

Your new insurers are irrelevant, your claim would have to be made against the insurer of the bike st the time of the incident, current insurers have no liability in regards historic claims elsewhere. Also I'm fairly sure the MIB won't entertain this as you had Comprehensive cover at the time, also your original insurer will have a process in place to handle such claims, you should have just gone straight to them and not an AMC I'm afraid.

[CarsOrBikes]

Just continue with the AMC, if they didn't think they'd recover it they wouldn't have taken it on, they'll most likely take the company to court, and it will be settled beforehand, without touching your insurance, as you say, it's repaired now and back on the road. Doesn't matter if you have a new insurance company.

[Wedg1e]

So presumably you didn't mention anything about the incident to the new insurer? I'm sure they ask you to declare 'any accidents, claims or convictions' so even if there was no claim they would cite that as withholding a material fact, cancel your policy and proceed to roger you with a traffic cone forevermore.