Cheeky f***ers

[Littlepeahead]

MCE have just called to remind me my insurance is due on the SV in March. They insured me this year but after a stream of unanswered emails, letters and spending several weeks on hold while trying to get my licence plate changed on my policy until I had to threaten them with the Financial Ombudsmen I'd already decided I would not be renewing with them.

However, I asked how much my renewal was. He said £187, fully comp.

I then asked how much they had charged me last year despite already knowing. £120.

So I then asked how they justified such a massive increase taking into account he following:

I am a year older
I have another year of riding experience
I have made no claims
My bike is worth less than it was last year so if it was a write off they would pay out less

He blustered a bit, said everyone's policies had increased but to make this up to me they were now including leathers and helmet cover, RAC and legal cover.

I pointed out that I have AA cover already, last year's policy included legal cover at the cheaper rate and my leathers aren't worth covering once you read all the Ts & Cs and pay the excess.

He then went a bit quiet. Quiet enough that I think even he heard the penny drop that it was probably pointless trying to sell me insurance.

Hastings Direct have offered me £78 including legal cover. Anyone with them - are they any good?

[Specialone]

£187? thought women's insurance was supposed to be inline with mens premiums now?

Thats very cheap Clare, id bite their hand off.

[dizzyblonde]

Could be worse, you could have had a £400 hike in your insurance.....had it automatically renewed, you still haven't recieved your renewal notice through the post, and its due next week. On top of mixing up some quote for a different car and knocking off the one thats been there FOR TWO YEARS! Which would have meant our car was uninsured had we been pulled or in an accident, due to some halfwits stupid fingers on a computer!

I've told them to foxtrot oscar


Although this is for my car to be perfectly honest £187 FC ain't bad for a little SV.
I'm likely to go with Hastings Direct for the car, as they have offered me insurance at the same price as I had it last year with Aviva.
I'd also like to know if they are any good :)

[Dave20046]

All of them try it; I got admiral down around £700 this year, and my home insurer down about £80 (when they were already the cheapest despite the increase on last year!). The prices are going up thanks to scammers and insurers generally being cnuts but not at the proportion they initially quote.

Hastings direct are supposed to be okay. They only insure over 21s I'm afraid though :(

[Red Herring]

Hastings Direct have offered me £78 including legal cover. Anyone with them - are they any good?

For that she might have to bite more than their hand.....;)

[Littlepeahead]

Maybe someone told Hastings that alsthough I own a motorcycle I seem to ride it so infrequently that the biggest risk is a meteorite crashing through my garage roof and flattening the SV.

[-Ralph-]

It was Hastings that once offered me that kind of price for the SV. When you took into account the second bike though it wasn't the cheapest.

[dizzyblonde]

Maybe someone told Hastings that alsthough I own a motorcycle I seem to ride it so infrequently that the biggest risk is a meteorite crashing through my garage roof and flattening the SV.


May I use this when my multibike policy comes up for renewal in March.

Apparently being a 'housewife' makes you more at risk, as you are more likely to go out in/on a vehicle spontaneiously :rolleyes: mmmmmm of course, I just put the kids in a carboard box and leave them locked in the shed while I do it!!!:smt095

[kiggles]

helmet and leather cover is worth it. helped me for when i had my accident. £187 for a year is nothing compared to £1,300 fully comp

[Littlepeahead]

I'm just waiting on the final price based on modifications - they asked if they improved the perfomance or appearance of the bike. No to performance - Beowulf can, black screen, crash bungs - but surely appearance is subjective. I reckon adding rim tame would halve the value - others might disagree. And if I'm riding the bike it looks OK, stick Angelina Jolie on it and I'm sure it would have a far more attractive appearance.

As for leather covers. I have 2 sets of leathers, 2 sets of textiles and some Kevlar stuff. So if I did come off I have other kit I can use until getting my Hide Out gear repaired or replaced. He tried to say he'd add in free courtesy bike cover. I said that with a car on the drive and 2 other cars I'm insured on that really wasn't doing it for me.

[Sabarius]

Standard practice in the insurance game, get people in cheap to be competitive then hike the premiums in later years on auto renewals and hope that people don't notice.

Having said that there's lots of talk about personal injury claims pushing prices up too which won't be helping.

[timwilky]

I am with Hastings after Carole Nash went up 70 quid despite yet another no claims etc. And refused to make a competativ quote.

It is so annoying that I need to change every year to keep the price down.

Make sure MCE get notice that you will not be renewing as they tend to hit your card otherwise.

[Wideboy]

my cage insurance has gone up 300 quid this year because i was rear ended (not in a good way) at a junction. 100% not my fault, woman was with the same insurance company so it was sorted and settled within 10 mins on the phone and i had in writing that my insurance would only go up or down based on the claims made in my age group yada yada ya, yet when i run a quote with the same company without declaring and accident its the same price as the year before?

seems i am paying for the privilege of someone else hitting me?. if i didn't like my car as much as i do I'd sell it just out of principal

MCE need to go die anyway, they stole money from me before, only gave it back when i pointed out the illegalness of their ways

[Fallout]

I only have TPFT. I don't see the point of having fully comp for an old curvy like mine. It only takes a few years of insurance savings to cover most of the parts for a minor accident (a few cracked fairings, a lever etc), if I was to have one. And I wouldn't claim for those anyway, because it wouldn't be worth losing my NCB over. I could only imagine claiming if I wrote the bike off in a big way, and then I think I would have snapped legs to worry about.

My insurance was £62 last year. I know it's a gambling game, but it's worth a gamble if you're skint.

[ogden]

Re: Hastings, I've used them a few times, including one theft claim, and they've been fine. They're one of my handful of go-to guys for quotes.

They're just a broker though, remember - when it comes to a claim you're dealing with the underwriter and their handlers. On which note Chaucer didn't mess me about at all when I put in that claim.

[NTECUK]

I'm with Hastings and my reg number was wrong.They sorted it straigth away and as the docs are e mailed got my tax next day.
They do seam very cheap for comp ,yes i know im an old duffer but £130 2 mods (exhust and throttle) with no no claims?
Wounder what claiming like though

[DJFridge]

Mine's up in May so I might give Hastings a try depending on where Bike Team are compared with this year

[Red Herring]

I'm lucky being an old git and I pay under £200 for a garage full of bikes, several of which are fairly modified, but I've only got 3rd party cover. Unless you're got a particularly valuable bike which you leave parked in public regularly (commuters?) I decided long ago that it wasn't even worth having theft cover. If your bike is worth 3-4k by the time you knock off any excess and then add up the next five years hike in premium it's just not worth claiming. I have got a big dog and a well alarmed garage though.....

[dyzio]

Fair enough, but have you never been quoted more for TP only cover than fully comprehensive?

[Iansv II]

I'm with Hastings, gave me a great quote last year, Not had to test them but I've always heard good things otherwise I wouldn't have gone with them

[Red Herring]

It started when they wouldn't cover me unless I fitted an alarm to my Blade. I told them to stuff the theft cover which they did, and my premium dropped by about two thirds....never looked back.

[SpikeTM]

WAs with Hastings previously but now with Bennetts as they are only £98 fully comp for year with legal cover , as Hastings wanted £136 on last renewal with them , think it's just a case of shopping around to see who gives u best deal.

[ogden]

I'm lucky being an old git and I pay under £200 for a garage full of bikes, several of which are fairly modified, but I've only got 3rd party cover. Unless you're got a particularly valuable bike which you leave parked in public regularly (commuters?) I decided long ago that it wasn't even worth having theft cover. If your bike is worth 3-4k by the time you knock off any excess and then add up the next five years hike in premium it's just not worth claiming.

Only if there's a hike in premium, and when I did some comparison quotes recently with a theft declared and not, there was no difference. Obviously the loss of NCD made a difference in theory, but I had bikes on two separate policies so used the other one to insure both bikes I have now.

Given the choice between being paid £1850 (against £2100 insured value) for the bike that was stolen, or being paid nothing, I didn't have to think for very long before taking the cheque.

Of course, with both bikes on the same policy they have to be insured to the same level, which bumps up the cost of cover for the GSXR which would otherwise only be TPFT. But I have a non-running (!) 1977 CB400F frame on a TPO policy racking up some NCD at the moment, which will take care of that in a year or two.

[Sabarius]

Don't forget to watch bennets and their mods policy. Three mods and that's it (stickers count as one) anymore than that and you aren't insured.

[AZZ3R]

I'm with CIA, 1yNCB, £700 TPFT, Gear covered to £1500, Breakdown cover, 90day euro cover. As many mods as I please, aslong as it doesn't effect the performace & I don't turn it into a streetfighter.

Exhaust, Lowers, Seat Cowl, Restrictor, Shorty Levers, Crash Bungs, DB Screen, Fenda Extenda & Mirror Indi's. The reply to all these was, "if your not at fault we'll only repair it to factory condition."

I could only wish for my insurance to be £187 FC, I'll be 26 when I get to select the option 9years+ on the form. & I'll still get ripped a new one even then.

[Specialone]

Don't forget to watch bennets and their mods policy. Three mods and that's it (stickers count as one) anymore than that and you aren't insured.

Mate, I'm not sue this is entirely true, it's been discussed on here, I think it maybe down to stupid call advisors misinterpreting their guidelines.

Load of crap anyway, all they have to do in the event of a claim is to pay out as if it was a standard bike, so you don't get your mods replaced.

[Runako]

Can you get a premium reduction if you take all the standards stickers off? ;)

[Littlepeahead]

So if the tinted screen, heated grips and black can make it 'more attractive' can I then counteract this by adding stickers of Reeder and Dave Preston drunk all over the bike thus making it less attractive?

[Runako]

So if the tinted screen, heated grips and black can make it 'more attractive' can I then counteract this by adding stickers of Reeder and Dave Preston drunk all over the bike thus making it less attractive?

Maybe we can do a group buy using this concept :smt045

[yorkie_chris]

My usual retort to them asking "does it have any extra security features" is "it's appearance".

[ogden]

I could only wish for my insurance to be £187 FC, I'll be 26 when I get to select the option 9years+ on the form. & I'll still get ripped a new one even then.

I'm 35 and I've just paid the thick end of 1200 quid for my insurance (with 5 years NCD)

Or, to put it another way, don't get your hopes up.

[Littlepeahead]

I'm 35 and I've just paid the thick end of 1200 quid for my insurance (with 5 years NCD)

Or, to put it another way, don't get your hopes up.

What! Really. How do they justify that? The day after I passed my Test with no NCD, no riding experience and a brand new SV in the garage I only paid £240 fully comp.

[ogden]

What! Really. How do they justify that? The day after I passed my Test with no NCD, no riding experience and a brand new SV in the garage I only paid £240 fully comp.

Well for one thing I don't have an SV in the garage (see sig)

[Littlepeahead]

That's true but insurance companies these days try and claim that they are insuring the person as much as the vehicle. Maybe they just assumed Female + late 30s = rides like a granny on a mobility scooter.

[ogden]

That's true but insurance companies these days try and claim that they are insuring the person as much as the vehicle. Maybe they just assumed Female + late 30s = rides like a granny on a mobility scooter.

To be fair, I was paying about 140 quid tpft for the gixer thou on its own, and that was with a couple of big stains on my licence. It's having two big bikes with a combined value of about 13 grand insured full comp that makes it expensive.

[BoltonSte]

They're all at it, just had my RAC renewal through and it shows:

Cost £155
Savings £30.89
Renewal £124.20

Looks good, until you look online and see new members can get the same cover for £100, then a bit of shopping round and I can get t elsewhere for £89. Call them up told them I won't renew and why...Oh, computer says we can do it for £89 for you this year.

Why not offer me at that in the first place?...they just rely on complacency to make money, the Father in law way their dream member, he had family membership, even though we weren't in the country, he'd got divorced and the other daughter lived with her boyfriend rent free with a well paid job. Just kept letting it auto renew for years.

[Quiff Wichard]

£75 for me .. 800 cc bike

It pays to be old .


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[Quiff Wichard]

Don't forget ..
What may appear a cheap deal might not be the best ..
Don't always go for the £ saving
Your insurance is there for a reason and if you need it you need a competent and professional insurer and process .. So a £20 saving at one end could be false economy


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[Littlepeahead]

I always haggle with the RAC or AA. They really try it on. And for my mobile phone. And today Sky retentions are about to get a call.

I drive a hard bargain, I even managed to get compensation for me and six friends after Ryanair left our bags in London. I made them drive the bags 150 miles the next day in a taxi from the airport to our holiday cottage over in Ireland on a bank holiday, received a grovelling letter of apology from one of their directors and a cheque to cover the cost of the spare knickers and toothbrush I had to buy plus an amount for the inconvenience.

[dizzyblonde]

+1 Quiff.

I alway batter Carole Nash for a good deal, I don't want to move from them if I can help it, as they've been exceptional when requiring breakdown.

When I had three bikes, they had me for £340 fully comp(which isn't too bad considering where I live).
I got rid of one SV last year, and they still wanted over that, but I did a bit of research, and got it reduced to under £300 FC.

The VRap ain't the best to insure, and it don't matter if I'm old, smell of wee, and female wearing incontinent pants, I still have to haggle a saving each year. You'd think nobody would want to nick a funny looking Italian....obviously magpies think they are pretty!