What type of insurance do you (anyone) use and what are the benefits to you?

[Drifter86]

I'm just trying to get an idea generally speaking, as I'm aware that how people store and protect their bikes can vary greatly, as well as an individual's budget.

 

Any replies will be much appreciated.

 

Cheers

Edited August 16, 2021 by Drifter86

[Bender]

Confused as to what your after, most folk will be fully comp. 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Fully comp is often cheaper than third party only policies. Strange as that might seem insurance companies go off data and the data shows fully comp policy holders have less claims.

[Stu]

Always been fully comp! 

 

I'm not sure where this is leading either  

[S-Westerly]

Fully comp with various add-ons.

[Gerontious]

Fully comprehensive at the lowest possible price and the lowest possible excess. if road side rescue is included then that's an extra selling point. I also try to collate an average value for the bike and its year as there is no point in being unrealistic on that score. So my bike when new cost me £11,000 and I insured it then for £9,200 as its pointless paying to insure the VAT.

 

I have zero loyalty to any specific insurer. I think its best to chop and change or at least investigate that as the "new customer discount" can be significant.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Gerontious

[peatear]

Always fully comp. Have fun seeing the eye watering amounts they want to charge you.

[Stu]

20 minutes ago, Gerontious said:

Fully comprehensive at the lowest possible price and the lowest possible excess. if road side rescue is included then that's an extra selling point. I also try to collate an average value for the bike and its year as there is no point in being unrealistic on that score. So my bike when new cost me £11,000 and I insured it then for £9,200 as its pointless paying to insure the VAT.

 

I have zero loyalty to any specific insurer. I think its best to chop and change or at least investigate that as the "new customer discount" can be significant.

 

All I will say is go careful doing that as if you under value it they will pay out for that price but if you over value it then they always try to go for book price but then at least you have some wiggle room if you can't replace the bike for what they offer. You can then supply evidence of bike prices to help along the way. 

 

A lot of insurers have a value limit that they insure up to anyway usually something like £25k if you bike is below that value then the price stays the same no matter how much you tell them it worth. If you say its worth more than £25k then the policy price increases. 

 

I always over estimate the price as I would rather have that wriggle room just in case.

[Pie man]

2 hours ago, Bender said:

Confused as to what your after, most folk will be fully comp. 

And some folk may not even be insured at all 

[Bender]

11 minutes ago, Pie man said:

And some folk may not even be insured at all 

Undoubtedly 

[bonio]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

 

All I will say is go careful doing that as if you under value it they will pay out for that price but if you over value it then they always try to go for book price but then at least you have some wiggle room if you can't replace the bike for what they offer. You can then supply evidence of bike prices to help along the way. 

Insurers will always try to price your bike well under book price, just to see how low they can get away with. They'll never value it a penny more than they have to: which is the secondhand market price. No point in insuring above what you can reasonably argue it would cost to buy secondhand. 

[Stu]

1 minute ago, bonio said:

Insurers will always try to price your bike well under book price, just to see how low they can get away with. They'll never value it a penny more than they have to: which is the secondhand market price. No point in insuring above what you can reasonably argue it would cost to buy secondhand. 

 

It's been known a fair few times where the book price doesn't reflect the secondhand market price and trying to buy a bike/car of the same mileage age and spec for what the insurers say is book price can be way off. 

 

The main point is under valuing then finding you can't replace it for the pay out and the insurer won't budge on your valuation 

[Bender]

2 minutes ago, bonio said:

Insurers will always try to price your bike well under book price, just to see how low they can get away with. They'll never value it a penny more than they have to: which is the secondhand market price. No point in insuring above what you can reasonably argue it would cost to buy secondhand. 

Nope, but no point under insuring it either cause that's the limit your stuck at. 

 

I've had a claim and used best examples of replacement's from dealers with warranty, on the 3rd offer they gave in and paid up, had I been under insured I would have been out of pocket by a considerable amount. 

 

Wife had a claim with car and she thought I was mad, washing and cleaning it after the prang, insurance paid out in full on first offer, they said it was clearly a well looked after car in pre accident good condition, she still thinks I'm mad. 

[Drifter86]

2 hours ago, peatear said:

Always fully comp. Have fun seeing the eye watering amounts they want to charge you.

Yeah I can't wait lol. Cheers.

[Drifter86]

Thanks for your responses everyone.

 

[Gerontious]

I'm not sure why there has been a general assumption that I am (perhaps) undervaluing the bike.. my main point was 'from new' the price I paid included 20% VAT. which is not covered by any insurance claim. (unless you insure your insurance).  - which might be worthwhile depending. (Though from my perspective it just adds insult to injury)

 

Also, if you allow auto renewal (as some people do) the value at which you are insuring will remain the same unless you change it.

 

My bike was insured this time for £9000, which is overvalued compared to top-price dealership prices. And I will keep it at that for the next couple of years at least. But, from my personal perspective the question is moot as I consider insurance to be little more than a tax on ownership. And I couldn't care less about which insurer I go with. It's all about the price of something I am forced to buy.

 

If the savings were worthwhile I would switch to TPF&T in an instant. But, its not a big deal for me as Im paying £118.10 a year. and this with a £250 excess and roadside recovery. Which was the cheapest I found when I renewed using the comparison sites. And then whittled it down further (by £11) with a phone call.

 

Vehicle insurance in this country is a joke and an insult. "New for old" is pretty much standard on nearly everything else I insure in my home and normal for new vehicles in other developed countries. But not here, where it is little more than a money making scam.

[DJP]

On 17/08/2021 at 06:27, Gerontious said:

I'm not sure why there has been a general assumption that I am (perhaps) undervaluing the bike.. my main point was 'from new' the price I paid included 20% VAT. which is not covered by any insurance claim. (unless you insure your insurance).  - which might be worthwhile depending. (Though from my perspective it just adds insult to injury)

 

Also, if you allow auto renewal (as some people do) the value at which you are insuring will remain the same unless you change it.

 

My bike was insured this time for £9000, which is overvalued compared to top-price dealership prices. And I will keep it at that for the next couple of years at least. But, from my personal perspective the question is moot as I consider insurance to be little more than a tax on ownership. And I couldn't care less about which insurer I go with. It's all about the price of something I am forced to buy.

 

If the savings were worthwhile I would switch to TPF&T in an instant. But, its not a big deal for me as Im paying £118.10 a year. and this with a £250 excess and roadside recovery. Which was the cheapest I found when I renewed using the comparison sites. And then whittled it down further (by £11) with a phone call.

 

Vehicle insurance in this country is a joke and an insult. "New for old" is pretty much standard on nearly everything else I insure in my home and normal for new vehicles in other developed countries. But not here, where it is little more than a money making scam.

Unless you have an agreed value policy, it's irrelevant what value you put on the bike since an insurer will only pay out the "Market" value in the event of a claim. Indeed, the insurance ombudsman service discourage insurers from asking the value of the bike for that very reason. So you can say that your bike is worth £10k, and they'll charge a premium based on that, but when it comes to claim time if the book says £6k then that's what you'll get.

Edited August 26, 2021 by DJP

[husoi]

Fully comp on both

Add-ons:

UK breakdown for Shadow

UK+EU breakdown cover for ST1300

[Throttled]

I had third party/fire & theft insurance for my 125cc, since I knew I was never going to report any accident with it and it would cheaper to do any repairs myself.

[Bender]

My 125  was still cheapest to go with fully comp,  I'm old though so they probably thought more chance of me forgetting where I parked it