INSURANCE ALERT!!!!!

[Squashed_Fly]

Did anybody see the article in MCN or Bike magazine about the insurance companies not paying out due to undeclared modifications.

Fair enough you might think, except in one case, it was the addition of a top box, another case it was the addition of heated grips and in the worst one, someone had put 1 sticker of their football club on the fairing and the insurance company refused to pay out!!!!! None of these are modifications that changed the performance of the bikes in question.

In most cases, after a long ordeal with the insurance ombudsman, they did eventually relent and pay out on the claims, but not all cases.

If you do make ANY changes at all to your bike, or if you're not sure if something on it is exactly how it left the factory, then the advice is to declare it anyway. Unless it's a performance increasing mod, then it shouldn't change your premium.

Juts thought I'd share it here in case anyone hadn't read the article as I'm sure most of us wouldn't think to call the insurance people if we'd added a sticker, or heated grips....

[Nelly]

Oh no! I added some flies to the front of mine this year! [smiley=cry.gif]

[Ducatista]

Good advice, but also some blatantly bad behaviour from insurance companies.
Were they named and shamed?
Of course sometimes there is more to these stories than is reported.

[BB]

Yes, Ghost was reading bits out to me. To have a claim disputed for a sticker!

BB

[wiltshire builders]

If you do make ANY changes at all to your bike, or if you're not sure if something on it is exactly how it left the factory, then the advice is to declare it anyway. Unless it's a performance increasing mod, then it shouldn't change your premium.

The reason they don't want to pay out, especially for a theft, is because they believe any modification makes the bike more desirable to thieves.
Think R&G crash bungs would lower your premium? Not in the insurance underwriter's eyes. To them it means you're more likely to crash, that's why you've got them so your premium goes up.

A mate of mine saw smoke coming from his van, stoped and found the electrics smoldering and alot of damage. He was TPFT and they wouldn't pay out because it didn't actually burst into flames. They even admitted that if he'd carried on driving 'til it did they'd have payed out.

[Ducatista]

Think R&G crash bungs would lower your premium?

Ebike insurance gave me a discount for R&G crash bungs.

[Moo]

Ok I admit its not quite in line with the rest of the thread but there are similarities:

I received a text today from my (car) insurance company telling me to only drive if essential, take a shovel etc etc. This is obviously a bulk text but my question is this:

If taken to extremes, could they consider that in their opinion that:
a) I had ignored their advice (or instruction) not to drive.
b) They considered the journey to be of a non essential nature

hence invalidating my insurance? :-?

[benobiker]

oh no! I have put some petrol in mine!

[Jon_W]

I've changed the tyres on mine.... must be a modification....

[Ducatista]

I had ignored their advice (or instruction) not to drive

I think they are merely offering advice and could not invalidate your insurance.

The good news is that there is an independent ombudsman for insurance that is both independent and free (although not quick).
I've won a few cases with different ombudsmen (pension/endowment mis-selling) so I know they work (but not quickly).
So, there is protection if you have a geunine problem.

I am afraid though that smouldering electrical problems have never come under the definition of fire, so you still have to fall within the defiitions of the policy and it's cover.

I am not aware of any policy definitions about poor weather.