Motorbike insurance, car claims
Discussion
I'm trying to sort my motorbike insurance but am struggling to determine if I need to state my car insurance claims (I have been unfortunate enough to have made 2 car insurance claims since taking out the motorbike policy last year so this is the first I've come to it...).
I'm trying to do this via a comparison site (as I don't want to phone every insurer under the sun) and whenever I try to enter a claim type description they always refer to "rider", implying that car insurance claims are not required. However it also says "claims on any vehicle", implying car insurance claims are required. I also can't specify anywhere that the claims were not on a motorbike and were in a car, which must surely have some impact, especially as I'm a relatively new biker but have been driving for about 15 years. I guess it's sort of relevant to state these claims as they are "motorised road vehicle" claims of a sort, but I also see it as irrelevant as I wouldn't be expected to state if I'd claimed on my home insurance or my mobile phone cover for example.
I'm trying to do this via a comparison site (as I don't want to phone every insurer under the sun) and whenever I try to enter a claim type description they always refer to "rider", implying that car insurance claims are not required. However it also says "claims on any vehicle", implying car insurance claims are required. I also can't specify anywhere that the claims were not on a motorbike and were in a car, which must surely have some impact, especially as I'm a relatively new biker but have been driving for about 15 years. I guess it's sort of relevant to state these claims as they are "motorised road vehicle" claims of a sort, but I also see it as irrelevant as I wouldn't be expected to state if I'd claimed on my home insurance or my mobile phone cover for example.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Ncb discount and claims record are two entirely different things.
You might as well say "it seems unfair that they want to know my postcode, but they won't cover my dad who is 93".
well they aren't really "entirely different things" are they... No claims discount and claims record are almost one and the same (if you ignore the fact that a claim doesn't automatically lose you your NCB. They are definitely linked, albeit not interchangeable. Post code vs Dad's age are however completely independent. You might as well say "it seems unfair that they want to know my postcode, but they won't cover my dad who is 93".
Any way, I phoned the insurer, they said no problem, added <10% onto the quote. Might have overpaid a little but much easier than trying to do it on a comparison site.
Yes you have to declare your car crashes when applying for bike insurance. They’re assessing risk. Look at it this way, you’re an experienced driver who’s managed to have two claims this year, yet are an inexperienced bike rider. Think what that says about your risk to them.
Xtravia9 said:
It doesn't sound fair that you have to declare all claims but then won't allow the transfer of NCD between bike and car.
And yet if you have a car crash it doesn’t affect your bike NCD which seems completely fair and vice versa. NotBenny said:
well they aren't really "entirely different things" are they... No claims discount and claims record are almost one and the same
No they aren't. Drug dealer gets 5 years in jail, forgets to cancel insurance that rolls over on auto renewal and direct debit, comes out to 5 years ncb. Charity worker doing 30K miles a year, claim free for 20 years, has 2 claims in the last year, hit whilst parked, tp unknown, and damage by hailstorm, and she has none. You can have 20 accidents in your van at work, all your fault, and still have max ncb on your own car and bike..
They are 2 different things.
kestral said:
Xtravia9 said:
It doesn't sound fair that you have to declare all claims but then won't allow the transfer of NCD between bike and car.
Insurance companies used to be fair years ago but now the entier business is rotten to the core.They're pretty reasonable if you ask me.
kestral said:
Xtravia9 said:
It doesn't sound fair that you have to declare all claims but then won't allow the transfer of NCD between bike and car.
Insurance companies used to be fair years ago but now the entier business is rotten to the core.
Having worked in an industry that seen me closely involved with insurance companies for 40 years, I can assure you that the exact opposite is true. Back in the late 70s and 80s, it was completely unregulated and they got away with murder. The stories I could tell about insurers sharp practice would shock you. But now, they can't even go for a piss without logging it. The consumer has never had it so good.
zingrock said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
The consumer has never had it so good.
So are you telling me that 40 years ago the cost of insuring a person under the age of 30 cost more than a first (sub £1k) car? I know that in the 80s when I was 27, I paid £600 to insure a £3K Peugeot 309GTI. When I was 17 I paid around £400 to insure a £50 Austin 1300. I now insure a Merc GLC worth £35K for £300.
zingrock said:
So are you telling me that 40 years ago the cost of insuring a person under the age of 30 cost more than a first (sub £1k) car?
My first car in 1986 was a 10 year old Polo. It cost me £275 to buy and £740 to insure TPF&T, fully comp was in the thousands. The fact that TPF&T is so expensive compared to FC is the change in legal processes and the multiple parasitical industries that now earn significant sums out of the insurance pool. When a simple rear end shunt can run to over £25k then you can see why insurers need to charge so much to higher risk drivers
Teenager in old Corsa with his mates crashes into family in a Vauxhall Insignia at sub 10mph with minimal damage
All of teenagers mates claim for injury - 4 x £1800 plus 4 x £800 legal fees
Family car - new rear end - £2000
Hire car whilst being repaired 14 days @ £200 per day + VAT
Mr & Mrs average claim for injury - 2 x £1800 plus 2 x £800 legal fees
Two kids also claim - 2 x £1800 plus 2 x £2000 legal fees - has to go to court as child compo must be approved by a court.
And that’s
Here's an example of the stuff that went on in the past. This was early 80s.
A girl in our office, 19, with a VW Beetle (old style), tp pulled out of side road right in front of her and she hit him, went thru the screen (no seatbelts fitted to car), badly scarred.
Third party insurers show up within a few days of her coming out of hospital, uninvited, and make her a great offer for her car. Was worth about £500, they offer a grand. She's delighted, and they ask her to sign a form accepting the offer. Except the form says that she accepts a grand in full and final settlement of the entire claim. So when she gets her solicitor to start the injury claim, they chuck the form back at him and that's that.
All perfectly legal and it happened on a regular basis. It was caveat emptor, it was the customers job to ensure they didn't get caught out.
If that happened today, people would be literally going to jail. Back then, the claims assessor who pulled off the trick would get a bonus.
A girl in our office, 19, with a VW Beetle (old style), tp pulled out of side road right in front of her and she hit him, went thru the screen (no seatbelts fitted to car), badly scarred.
Third party insurers show up within a few days of her coming out of hospital, uninvited, and make her a great offer for her car. Was worth about £500, they offer a grand. She's delighted, and they ask her to sign a form accepting the offer. Except the form says that she accepts a grand in full and final settlement of the entire claim. So when she gets her solicitor to start the injury claim, they chuck the form back at him and that's that.
All perfectly legal and it happened on a regular basis. It was caveat emptor, it was the customers job to ensure they didn't get caught out.
If that happened today, people would be literally going to jail. Back then, the claims assessor who pulled off the trick would get a bonus.
Conversely, not all car insurers are interested in motorcycle claims. Admiral (at least when I was insured with them last, 2 years ago) didn't care about them (although they did get confused by a bike claim they found in the CUE database and thought it was a car claim at one point, I had to get a note put on the policy about it).
TwigtheWonderkid said:
zingrock said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
The consumer has never had it so good.
So are you telling me that 40 years ago the cost of insuring a person under the age of 30 cost more than a first (sub £1k) car? I know that in the 80s when I was 27, I paid £600 to insure a £3K Peugeot 309GTI. When I was 17 I paid around £400 to insure a £50 Austin 1300. I now insure a Merc GLC worth £35K for £300.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
NotBenny said:
well they aren't really "entirely different things" are they... No claims discount and claims record are almost one and the same
No they aren't. Drug dealer gets 5 years in jail, forgets to cancel insurance that rolls over on auto renewal and direct debit, comes out to 5 years ncb. Charity worker doing 30K miles a year, claim free for 20 years, has 2 claims in the last year, hit whilst parked, tp unknown, and damage by hailstorm, and she has none. You can have 20 accidents in your van at work, all your fault, and still have max ncb on your own car and bike..
They are 2 different things.
The charity worker has made 2 claims in the last year and has 0 NCB.
I'm not saying that NCB reflects the circumstances, but in the case you used to prove your point, NCB and claims record are interchangeable.
The way that NCD cannot be transferred car to bike (or vice versa) but premium loadings can be applied is typical insurance cake-and-eat-it.
In 2014 my garage was burgled and two of three motorbikes were stolen - one was mine, one was Mrs DSs.
Now factor in that we have a motorbike each to insure and a car each, and we are named drivers on each others bikes and cars.
That's all vehicles with both the driver and named driver (and there aren't cheap cars and bikes - R1s, MV Agustas, Mercs) having a total-loss claim.
We've had five years of premiums akin to those of a drink driving 17 year old living in Bradford.
They've just got back to normal (ie. her R1 is sub £100 comp). But the insurance aggro has been horrendous.
In 2014 my garage was burgled and two of three motorbikes were stolen - one was mine, one was Mrs DSs.
Now factor in that we have a motorbike each to insure and a car each, and we are named drivers on each others bikes and cars.
That's all vehicles with both the driver and named driver (and there aren't cheap cars and bikes - R1s, MV Agustas, Mercs) having a total-loss claim.
We've had five years of premiums akin to those of a drink driving 17 year old living in Bradford.
They've just got back to normal (ie. her R1 is sub £100 comp). But the insurance aggro has been horrendous.
You seem to mention this all the time. How much money did you get paid out for the thefts out of interest as this seems to be missing from your claim description.
If you think normal is sub £100 then that’s insane given the risk being taken on. I have made one claim on my bike insurance and I will never ever pay that amount back into the overall industry pot.
If you think normal is sub £100 then that’s insane given the risk being taken on. I have made one claim on my bike insurance and I will never ever pay that amount back into the overall industry pot.
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