Insurance query - previous write-off
Discussion
Just pondering - what happens if your vehicle is written off, you buy it back and continue using it, and then it's damaged by a 3rd party again?
Genuine scenario: 2 or 3 years back, I was knocked off my commuter bike (value at the time, £9k). Bike was deemed a write off, 100% the 3rd party's fault, and I bought the bike back, repaired what needed repairing, and am still using it today. There's a long back story, but basically the only thing which had to be replaced on the bike was the exhaust header; other than that it was just minor (and I mean minor) scratches. I haven't replaced anything else on the bike and would challenge anyone to spot any damage from 10 feet away. Anyway....
Last week I was stationary at some traffic lights, and a phone user, sorry, car driver, considered their Facebook updates more important than braking to a halt behind me, and ran into the back of me. Actually, no damage caused (other than to my rage levels), but it did make me think, if she'd knocked me over properly and damaged the bike, with it once again 100% her fault, what considerations would the insurance company give to any payout? Is it a straight "we only pay X% since it's a previous write off" rule, or is there some other way they deal with it?
Genuine scenario: 2 or 3 years back, I was knocked off my commuter bike (value at the time, £9k). Bike was deemed a write off, 100% the 3rd party's fault, and I bought the bike back, repaired what needed repairing, and am still using it today. There's a long back story, but basically the only thing which had to be replaced on the bike was the exhaust header; other than that it was just minor (and I mean minor) scratches. I haven't replaced anything else on the bike and would challenge anyone to spot any damage from 10 feet away. Anyway....
Last week I was stationary at some traffic lights, and a phone user, sorry, car driver, considered their Facebook updates more important than braking to a halt behind me, and ran into the back of me. Actually, no damage caused (other than to my rage levels), but it did make me think, if she'd knocked me over properly and damaged the bike, with it once again 100% her fault, what considerations would the insurance company give to any payout? Is it a straight "we only pay X% since it's a previous write off" rule, or is there some other way they deal with it?
In the absence of an agreed value, doesn't the insurance company pay out "market value"?
Market value for any vehicle that has previously been written off is bound to be less than it would be for a vehicle that has never been the subject of a claim.
So - my expectation would be that the insurance company would pay out
Market value for any vehicle that has previously been written off is bound to be less than it would be for a vehicle that has never been the subject of a claim.
So - my expectation would be that the insurance company would pay out
Officially it'd be market value - likely reduced versus a non-previously written off one but they often don't check
As you may know from the commuting thread I only buy ex-write off's to commute on. Going back 3 years my old CBR125R was driven over (yes literally) by somebody pulling out from the left when I was stopped at the front of a traffic queue. Needless to say as she drove over it at <5mph and ended up parked on the forks the bike was written off....again.
The bike I'd bought with 3k miles on the clock at 6m old for £1.1k from the salvage yard, hadn't had to fix as like yours was only scuffing and was now over 3 years old with 15k miles was written off again (cat-c this time) and I was offered £2k.....which I happily accepted straight away, bought back the bike for £500 and sold it on as was for £950....
I think it totally depends and you often get lucky, especially when an insurance company has no idea about bikes
As you may know from the commuting thread I only buy ex-write off's to commute on. Going back 3 years my old CBR125R was driven over (yes literally) by somebody pulling out from the left when I was stopped at the front of a traffic queue. Needless to say as she drove over it at <5mph and ended up parked on the forks the bike was written off....again.
The bike I'd bought with 3k miles on the clock at 6m old for £1.1k from the salvage yard, hadn't had to fix as like yours was only scuffing and was now over 3 years old with 15k miles was written off again (cat-c this time) and I was offered £2k.....which I happily accepted straight away, bought back the bike for £500 and sold it on as was for £950....
I think it totally depends and you often get lucky, especially when an insurance company has no idea about bikes
They pay for repairs, or give market value if written off. Happened to us back in the 80s - car written off, bought back, repaired, written off again. Full market value given both times, different insurance companies though.
...although I perhaps should have got it de-magnetised after the first one...
...although I perhaps should have got it de-magnetised after the first one...
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff