Moved, address not changed on policy, bike stolen :( [Archive] - SV650.org

bourne

01-09-09, 08:03 AM

Hi guys,

Last friday my beautiful SV 650 (2007 reg) was stolen from in front of my house.

I moved recently (month and a bit ago) and have forgot to change the address on the policy. I know it's stupid, but this was my first bike, my first insurance (with ebike insurance)... I only have this to say for myself :)

Anyway, I've reported the bike as stolen and realized the address wasn't changed on the policy when I was looking at it for phone numbers.

The address change was within a mile, same post code, pretty sure safer neighbourhood based on statistics.

Due to bank holidays I'm only going to be called by the insurance today only. Do you think they will try to screw me over regarding the change of address and if they do - do I have a leg to stand on?

I do not have the contract text in front of me so not sure which clause I might have broken, but logically thinking (and I know that logic might get me nowhere) the change of address is important to ensure that the price charged by the insurance company reflects the risks of the area.

I am not keen on lying that I was visiting a friend and want to say it all as it is. Waiting for that call from them today, but I thought I'll ask the smart people on this forum for advice.

Thanks

the_lone_wolf

01-09-09, 08:18 AM

Someone on here moved back in with their parents recently and didn't get round to notifying their insurers, as far as I know they refused to pay out, but that might have involved changing the storage clause from garaged to driveway parking...

I'd be honest, a month is bordering on a reasonable time for sorting out paperwork IMO and if it was stored in the same manner (garaged / on street etc) in the same postcode I would hope they'd be reasonable, even if you had to go beyond the normal call centre monkeys to get it done...

timwilky

01-09-09, 08:28 AM

whoops, prepare for a battle.

petevtwin650

01-09-09, 08:30 AM

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=124727

SUPERSTARDJ01

01-09-09, 08:32 AM

I don't think you will be insured as the policy will state a change in circumstances must be diclosed immediatley, and the policy may have gone up in price regardless of what any website says about the location, they will screw you if they can.

Also did you take the correct measures to secure the bike? I.E any security devices you stated on policy did you use them if not your not insured this includes garages.

If I insure my bike at my house ungaraged it's £96 p/y TPFT if I insure at my mums house garage it's £150+ both MK6.

Sorry

bourne

01-09-09, 08:46 AM

Thanks for the information and the links guys. The only good thing about my situation compared to those others described is that I've stated that I'm keeping my bike on the street and I kept it in the street at the new address.

Other than that - I understand I'm in for a one nasty 'battle' with the insurance company. One thing I know for certain - i'm not going to be lazy complaining to insurance ombudsman should things go sour.

P.S. any of you know a solicitor that had any similar cases? :))

Regards,
G

hindle8907

01-09-09, 11:40 AM

tbh i would just say it was at a friends house ...otherwise you may find yourself without a payout.

hindle8907

01-09-09, 11:41 AM

and ask them can they send all correspondence to a diffrent addres (family member or friend) becuase you have to go live with them as they are ill .

FG1

01-09-09, 11:46 AM

If it was on the street why not tell the insurers that it was stolen from...
about halfway down xxxxx street.

Pop round your old address and tell them that you are having probs with insurance and there may be mail from them coming to the old address.

Then...... get it put right ASAP

petevtwin650

01-09-09, 11:49 AM

tbh i would just say it was at a friends house ...otherwise you may find yourself without a payout.

and ask them can they send all correspondence to a diffrent addres (family member or friend) becuase you have to go live with them as they are ill .

Yes, I imagine they would fall for that.

Get caught de-frauding an insurance company and you're in a different world of pain.

Biker Biggles

01-09-09, 11:50 AM

Yes, I imagine they would fall for that.

Get caught de-frauding an insurance company and you're in a different world of pain.

Yes.Especially after what you have posted on here,a public forum.You now have no choice but to tell the truth as it is in the public domain.

hindle8907

01-09-09, 11:52 AM

sorry didnt put the first part right .

Dont say it was stolen from a diffrent location but dont tell them its your address tell them its a friends .

so really your not liying about much are you .

i think i would rather take the risk then lose out on 3 grand .

hindle8907

01-09-09, 11:53 AM

Wtf

merlin427

01-09-09, 11:54 AM

tbh i would just say it was at a friends house ...otherwise you may find yourself without a payout.

The only downside is that if they do sus it (and let's face it if it is your address they will be able to) they definately won't pay out and you may be prosecuted and will find it difficult/expensive to insure in the future. I think honesty is the best policy.

hindle8907

01-09-09, 11:55 AM

Yes.Especially after what you have posted on here,a public forum.You now have no choice but to tell the truth as it is in the public domain.

yeah because his insurance compay knows its him whos posted dont they :S
it could be anyone in the world whos posted this Thread

hindle8907

01-09-09, 11:56 AM

have you reported the bike stolen to the police yet ?

hovis

01-09-09, 11:57 AM

how freindly are you with the new owners of your house? you say its the same street, so say you still live there, and get the new owners to forward any mail

SIMPLES

(probably a bit illigal but its what i would do)

hindle8907

01-09-09, 11:58 AM

Biker Biggles

01-09-09, 12:00 PM

yeah because his insurance compay knows its him whos posted dont they . :S

He described the bike make /model,named the ins co,and stated it was stolen from the street about a mile from his old address.How many cases like that do you think that particular company is dealing with right now?All too easy for them to cotton on.

hindle8907

01-09-09, 12:01 PM

i verry much doubt it. TBH.
. i wouldnt worry about it

hovis

01-09-09, 12:01 PM

He described the bike make /model,named the ins co,and stated it was stolen from the street about a mile from his old address.How many cases like that do you think that particular company is dealing with right now?All too easy for them to cotton on.

do you honestly think his insurance company will search on the net to see if he has moved?

Biker Biggles

01-09-09, 12:10 PM

do you honestly think his insurance company will search on the net to see if he has moved?

They dont need to search.They have been named on a public forum,so they probably already know.They are an IT based company so they will be aware of their name being discussed for whatever reason.Personally I wouldnt risk it.
By all means make a claim,but dont construct a fraudulent story if they want details.

hindle8907

01-09-09, 12:21 PM

They dont need to search.They have been named on a public forum,so they probably already know.They are an IT based company so they will be aware of their name being discussed for whatever reason.Personally I wouldnt risk it.
By all means make a claim,but dont construct a fraudulent story if they want details.

Well i would say this is not true.
and the likelihood of Op's insurance company linking any sort of forum based chat to his or anyone elses claim is 1 in a billion .

timwilky

01-09-09, 12:21 PM

A quick read and I cannot see you have said the V5 address has changed. That is the real issue, the insurers would want the V5 before they could pay out, possibly a copy of your driving licence etc.

A few days you could get away with but never more than a week.

Easier to say you were visiting, an overnight guest etc. Ebike is so easy to change details, there is no excuse

bourne

01-09-09, 12:37 PM

I know I have exposed myself and this is might be a very expensive lesson to take away. I did not intend to trick the insurance company so having this on the forum is not a problem for me.

I'll will be honest and (which is most likely going to happen) in case of them declining to pay out just going to try and harass them in legal ways that don't cost a fortune. This is one of the reasons I asked about solicitors just to find out if there are cases like these out there and what's their outcome.

The regulations do state that the policy needs to be fair and pay-outs should not be obstructed when due. I know this is legislative bull**** which does very few people any good, but for now it's the only straw :)

Cheers.
G

bourne

01-09-09, 03:32 PM

Hi guys,

Found a couple of posts on other forums. The first one looks professionally written, however, too optimistic for the situation I'm in:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1009723&highlight=car+stolen+changed+address

The second one more of a 'you are screwed' type:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=875161&highlight=car+stolen+changed+address

:)

I've called the insurance company on Friday and have not yet heard from them. I'll try to call them myself.

Once again, thanks for all the advice. I'll let you know how it all went.

hindle8907

01-09-09, 05:03 PM

well good luck mate it would be crap to lose out on a payout for the sake of this .

svsk2

01-09-09, 05:14 PM

My insurance company was quite happy to allow me to change the overnight location of my bike as long as it was within one mile of my first address and still within the same postcode.

So, notwithstanding that you didn't inform your insurance company of your change of address in advance, you might still be okay.

I wouldn't suggest lying. It's not worth it in the long run.

01-09-09, 05:20 PM

You would be suprised at the difference in post codes in short distances.

My girlfriends dad is in an A which I believe is the safet possible. We are less than half a mile away and in a C which is bike must be garaged overnight.

Thingus

01-09-09, 07:28 PM

Just started working for RBS and the amount of things you can check out online to see if someone's lying is unbelievable, put your name on a dotted line and something with .gov on the end of it tells someone else what you've done.

You're right to tell the truth IMO, if they find out then you really ain't got a leg to stand on.

01-09-09, 10:32 PM

If they refuse you and it's less than £5K, have a go in the county court - it'll be small claims, so even if you lose you are not at risk of costs, except for the Court costs of issuing the claim form - you can check this on the Court Service website, look for leaflet EX50 - the issue cost depends on how much you are claiming. And if you win you get the Court costs back. It's very very easy to issue a claim and you might well find that even if the insurers have refused your claim, that they will make an offer cos they don't want the hassle of fighting litigation potentially a long way from your home court.

PM me if you need any more advice. I sue people for a living. I can't act on the claim for you but I'd be happy to help you draft your claim form, and if it went to a hearing to tell you how to prepare a witness statement and how to prepare and present your argument.

*Ed sticks neck out here*

Some on here should know better. On this thread there is:

far too much guessing when you don't have the full facts
far too much speculation when you really haven't a clue, and
far too much dishonesty.
Ed

Neeja

01-09-09, 11:50 PM

far too much dishonesty.
Ed

+1.

I work as a high-risk insurance claim investigator (not for motor claims, fortunately ;)). The type of interviews we do with the high-risk claims are ones that are relatively standard with vehicle claims. Making false statements on these types of phone interviews is just about the worst thing you can do. We're trained to probe and spot flaws in stories, along with verbal and behavioral cues that are signs of deception.

In some of the examples given above (such as "staying with a friend"), there's a list of questions I'd be asking which, if you were making answers to up on the spot, would give yourself away very quickly.

Red Herring

02-09-09, 05:32 AM

I have to second Ed and Neeja on this, I just can't believe how quickly people are suggesting the Op lies and drops himself into a whole world of dishonesty and deception.
It's not as if what he has done is that important, moving less than a mile within the same post district, no material change in the manner or storage of risk exposure, and all less than a month ago, yet some are advocating he go on a criminal undertaking on nothing more than a "concern". Do people really have that little integrity, or is it just that they are happy to advise others on a forum to take a route they wouldn't consider themselves? Out of interest just how many of the persons who posted suggesting a dishonest approach have actually any experience of dealing with an insurance company under such circumstances?

SUPERSTARDJ01

02-09-09, 07:27 AM

Out of interest just how many of the persons who posted suggesting a dishonest approach have actually any experience of dealing with an insurance company under such circumstances?

I can honestly say I would not have done this or even suggested it, fraud or conspiracy to committ fraud is a serious thing and can stop you from traveling to certain countries even if arrested and not charged, :smt014 DO NOT DO IT!!!!

kellyjo

02-09-09, 07:53 AM

If i made a fraudulent claim i'd never be able to sleep again, BE HONEST!!!

timwilky

02-09-09, 08:06 AM

On the issue of fraudulent insurance claims.

A good few years ago, one employee who had handed in his resignation was issued with the short term loan of a laptop to finish the job he was working on.

His car was broken into and the laptop, several hundred pounds, stereo etc were nicked.

He worked in a specialist field. (project planning for power stations) so it was a very close community and one chap asked somebody who now worked with him how he was doing. He is a bit of a pain, he insists on using his own laptop and planning software rather than our systems.

News got back, our HR had a word with their HR and a quick note was made of his laptop serial number whilst he was away from his desk. No surprises and he had a knock on his door that night from his local plod.

I ended up at a police station in Liverpool to reclaim my (company) property. there was a representative of his new employer there to offload their data before it was returned to us (their competitor). He of course lost his new job. He was persona non grata with us, prosecuted and convicted of theft. Whilst I was there, the DI handling it contacted the insurance company as they had also seized his claim form and new what he had claimed for that was discovered in his flat and they were not interested in adding anything to his list of charges. too much like bad publicity

Ironically he ended up with another competior of ours working in China. We went into a joint venture with them followed by a take over. What a surprise he got when the mail systems were merged and his name was discovered.

petevtwin650

02-09-09, 08:10 AM

02-09-09, 09:51 AM

To be fair, he has already said he doesn't intend to try and de-fraud his insurance company.

Wasn't talking about the OP...

petevtwin650

02-09-09, 09:58 AM

Wasn't talking about the OP...

That was in response to the peeps who are telling him not to de-fraud Ed.

Believe me, I agree wholeheartedly with yours and other comments regarding honesty.

bourne

21-09-09, 12:04 PM

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions expressed. I said I'll let you guys know how it ended and although I don't have the cheque in my hands I was told it has been mailed.

So long story short, when I called up to do their Q&A about the event the first thing I said was - I've changed the address recently and only realized that I haven't updated the policy until the bike got nicked. The guy on the line said 'it is very important that you update it immediately after move, why haven't you', i said it's my first license, my first insurance policy - i forgot. We didn't go into details any further than that.

In my policy I stated that my bike is parked on the street and it was on the new place as well, so this wasn't a problem either.

As mentioned in the beginning of this post - I've called today to chase up and was pleasantly surprised to find out that a cheque has already been sent.

I am with ebike insurance and have send the documents over to Eldon Insurance which I guess is the actual insurer. So all in all - a lot of worrying in the beginning - no hassle in the end.

Thanks guys!

Sally

21-09-09, 12:17 PM

Well done mate, a human response from a insurance company for once. :)

21-09-09, 01:00 PM

Excellent:D

gazzeh

21-09-09, 02:52 PM

Fantastic buddy :)

Viney

21-09-09, 03:07 PM

Looking at this though, what is the 'Legal' definition of imediatley? The second you walk though the door? Say you move at a weekend, and your pride and joy get stolen on the saturday/sunday night? Not your fault that you can not contact them, would they have a legel leg to stand on in that situation?

It took me about a week to change every address when i moved. Driving licence, bike and car insurance, log book for bike and car, credit/debit cards, bank stuff etc etc.

sunshine

21-09-09, 04:25 PM

i sent e-mails to all my bank/loan company who then called me into the branch to sign the documents taking ID with me, HR dept. at my job were to stupid to understand i was moving house so it took forever. the licenses and vehicle documents sent a few days before moving and insurance was half way through the week after i moved 2 hours on the phone during company time so getting paid to be on hold!

im guessing if it had got stole there quick response would of been you should of let us know in advance.
But if you did and it was then stole from your address before you moved and the address had been changed already they would of say you should of told us after you moved.