Help! Insurance coming to take and auction my bike!

[chris8886]

Originally Posted by brodie

Red Ones - I have a pointy with a Renegade can, and the S/H OEM's I have seen go for £35-50 so it's a no brainer for me! I'd be interested to know how your claim went, was yours a write-off and did you get everything you claimed for?

yes, but is that second hand? if so it probably won't be valid as it would be taken from the price of a new OEM exhaust.

[Red ones]

Quotes for insurance repairs usually are based on new OEM equipment, hence the £1,400 for the end can.

My bike was valued at £3,400. Exactly a month after I bought it, it was knocked over. The first quote was £3,200 for repair plus the other costs for hire vehicle etc. The write off value is advised by the garage, not the insurers. This allows you to ask the garage what the write value is and how far they could push the repair cost until it is too close to write off.

Speak directly to your chosen repairer and ask them to give you a quote for repair. I then spent some time with them getting the quote below write off. It's a bit bizarre, but you can end up with some surprises. I had to tell insurance I was happy to accept an aftermarket exhaust which was less than the list price of an OEM. By accepting an aftermarket can I shaved huge sums of the repair bill - after all you have quite a choice of cans for £500 and still save £900 off the bill. (I settled for a carbon fibre Scorpion Red Power)

Personally I'd push for the garage to do the repairs, someone else is paying the labour cost. Besides there I suite a nice feeling when you drop your bike off then pick it up 8 hours and £2,000 later.

[brodie]

Chris & Red ones - I think i'm seeing your point... Are you saying that putting the OEM exhaust on for the inspectors may actually increase the value they think they'll get, thereby increasing the cost of buying it back? It's an 04 pointy exhaust that had only been on for 5 months until i swapped it over.

Red ones - That's almost what I did, but not quite. I took it to my garage who quoted way over the insurance price - £1300 over to be exact. I deliberated, partly under their advisement, on whether to get them to lower it to something acceptable, but at the time I factored in the work I would have to do, and the cost of aftermarket purchases I would have to make and figured I would be paying in my own labour to repair someone else's f*@kup. So i let it go through. This may have been the wrong move, and I kind of feel it's too late to change, the ball is already rolling. Correct me if it isn't.

My maths combined with my limited understanding of claims may have led me to the wrong conclusion, but that's where I am now. I have an excessive quote from the garage making my bike an economical write-off, and my own insurance company is holding me to ransom over the settlement I will get, either I accept their offer - whatever that may be - give up the bike for salvage, or cancel the claim with them and fork out for their costs.

My other options:

Getting a second quote & compromising with the insurers on a quote that comes below a write-off.

I could possibly argue the toss with them regarding my understanding they were claiming from the 3rd party, not using my own FComp, but it's a long winded battle i'm unsure i'll win. If i then pursue the 3rd party, it too could be lengthy, leaving me without a bike until it's settled (my bike is due an MOT it wont currently pass) as I neither have the funds nor inclination to stump up now for costs and claim back.

Continue as is, strip the bike if they want to inspect it, and buy-it back depending on what salvage figure they give.

[Heorot]

I am an insurance claims handler for a local authority.

If the third party (TP) was at fault and is fully comp, then your insurer should settle your claim without loss of your excess. They should negotiate with their insurer and settle your claim first. We determine that a total loss is where the repairs will cost more than 70% of the trade price. You should be able to agree a buy back for a sum not exceeding the 70% (or whatever figure your insurer uses) of the trade price. As a previous poster said, the bike is still yours until you agree a settlement figure. Beware,though, if you withdraw your claim, you will be liable for any storage charges accrued. There is usually a period of free storage (in our case 14 days) before the garage starts charging.

[brodie]

Originally Posted by Heorot

I am an insurance claims handler for a local authority.

If the third party (TP) was at fault and is fully comp, then your insurer should settle your claim without loss of your excess. They should negotiate with their insurer and settle your claim first. We determine that a total loss is where the repairs will cost more than 70% of the trade price. You should be able to agree a buy back for a sum not exceeding the 70% (or whatever figure your insurer uses) of the trade price. As a previous poster said, the bike is still yours until you agree a settlement figure. Beware,though, if you withdraw your claim, you will be liable for any storage charges accrued. There is usually a period of free storage (in our case 14 days) before the garage starts charging.

Thanks Heorot. There is no storage as I still have my bike, the only additional cost I have given (to the solicitor provided by my insurers) was the garage quote fee.

I'll see what the insurers say about the buy back fee...

[Heorot]

Originally Posted by brodie

Thanks Heorot. There is no storage as I still have my bike, the only additional cost I have given (to the solicitor provided by my insurers) was the garage quote fee.

I'll see what the insurers say about the buy back fee...

If it is agreed that you are not at fault, all your costs, incuding solicitors fees, are claimable back from the TP

[brodie]

A little update, with added complication.

I have had the inspector around who has written it off as expected, he told me to expect to pay at least 40% of the value - £200 less than it is currently insured for. So there's a dilemma there, should I buy it back, do it up, for a cost that would likely mean doing all the labour for free, using cheap parts. Or, give it up, look for something else.

Added to that, and this is where it gets complicated, another vehicle knocked it over, whilst awaiting the inspector, and added minor cosmetic damage, but, it looks like, twisted the forks. They no longer seem aligned to the handlebars.
So what to do? Claim again for the 'additional' damage from this new party? Can I do that? How would it work? The damage sustained now would definitely mean its no longer economical for me to repair it myself.

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by brodie

A little update, with added complication.

I have had the inspector around who has written it off as expected, he told me to expect to pay at least 40% of the value - £200 less than it is currently insured for. So there's a dilemma there, should I buy it back, do it up, for a cost that would likely mean doing all the labour for free, using cheap parts. Or, give it up, look for something else.

Added to that, and this is where it gets complicated, another vehicle knocked it over, whilst awaiting the inspector, and added minor cosmetic damage, but, it looks like, twisted the forks. They no longer seem aligned to the handlebars.
So what to do? Claim again for the 'additional' damage from this new party? Can I do that? How would it work? The damage sustained now would definitely mean its no longer economical for me to repair it myself.

You need to stop being so reasonable and tell your insurance company to give you some customer service! Have you not told them to cancel your claim and made a claim yourself against the other party's insurance?

When other people hit your parked bike, first thing's first it's not your fault and their insurance should cover the losses. (Unless you are parking in a really stupid place that virtually makes it impossible to miss your bike.)

You really, really should start from there. Stop talking about buying it back: It's already your bike, don't give it away for any less than you can afford. I'll say it again - someone else damaged it, it their responsibility to compensate for that. Stop trying to fix it yourself. If the bike's unrideable, start charging your replacement transport costs to the other party as part of your claim. It might help focus their minds if the bill is racking up. Threaten to take them to court, if needs be. (If you have legal expenses insurance, get a solicitor instructed asap.) Don't let them off the hook!

[brodie]

Thanks Ruffy. I have enquired about cancelling the claim with my insurers but as I've said, they have told me I will be liable for expenses incurred. I will call them back and try and find out exactly how much that is.

In the meantime, I need to work out what to do about the latest damage from this new party and the correct procedure, so if anyone has some advice and or experience I would appreciate it.

[Sir Trev]

Originally Posted by Ruffy

If the bike's unrideable, start charging your replacement transport costs to the other party as part of your claim.

When my 250 got written off way back in the mists of time I was too green to do this. Could not find bike hire locally and the hassle of getting lifts and getting hire cars was horrible. Now there is an entire industry helping you do this, so I'm surprised you've not been contacted by one via your insurance company. Yes they make a profit (and sometimes over inflate things) but they are working for you and the other party have to pay reasonable costs to keep you mobile if they have taken your mobility away by their actions.