Thousands of restricted riders unwittingly uninsured

[Jayneflakes]

Originally Posted by Wideboy

out of interest how many restricted people have sent their licence back to have the 33bhp removed after it expired?

I was planning on doing so in April when my restriction is up, also adding my Reverend to my driving license too.

Do Vicars get points if caught speeding?

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by Jayneflakes

Do Vicars get points if caught speeding?

no they go to hell..

I state again..

IT is a full license with a power restriction

Like my wifes license is a Full car license with an Auto restriction,

the date I gave... The date I tore up my L plates..

it is not rocket science

Originally Posted by 454697819

the date I gave... The date I tore up my L plates..

I had the hard back L plate, got a good 50metres out of a frisbee

Originally Posted by 454697819

IT is a full license with a power restriction

+1

[TamSV]

The issue seems to be that eBike want to know how long it's been since your restriction ended. You could argue with that, and they do seem to be out of step with the market on this one, but they're entitled to underwrite their business as they see fit - free market and all that.

As it happens, I was speaking to the Ombudsman's technical advice unit today and mentioned this case in the passing. Interestingly, they couldn't see a record of any other enquiries on this one (which tells you something about journalistic standards at MCN).

As far as they were concerned this was solely a case about the insurers right to apply their own premium rates. There was never any question that the policyholder had been dishonest - it was accepted that this was a genuine and understandable mistake - but once eBike were aware of the correct situation they wanted to apply the correct premium. The ombudsman agreed they should be able to do so. There was never any question about cover being in place.

I suggested that most riders, when asked that question, would think about the date they passed their test. The chap at the ombudsman agreed with me.

He said that, if an insurer had been trying to avoid a claim on this, they would have to pass a much higher test. In that case the ombudsman would want to see a very clear and qualified question that couldn't be misinterpreted. If there's any ambiguity in the questions asked then, in a claim situation, the policyholder always gets the benefit of the doubt.

If the bloke in this story had a claim denied the ombudsman would have judged that he should get it paid but he, in turn, would have to pay the small additional premium due.

Personally, I think there's an argument to be had here in terms of what constitutes a full licence and, although I quite like them, I reckon eBike have got this one wrong. The way DVLA have chosen to deal with licences reissued after the restriction doesn't help.

In any event, despite the MCN headline, there doesn't seem much reason to worry about your cover.

Well my restriction is up in April and I'll make sure I avoid eBike.

[TamSV]

Originally Posted by Dunn-y

Well my restriction is up in April and I'll make sure I avoid eBike.

I don't see why.

They're one of the better ones IMO. Sensible about mods. Reasonable policy wordings. Decent T&C's - e.g. don't administer an anal raping if you dare to make a change during the course of the year, unlike almost everyone else.

The biker that took this nothing complaint to the ombudsman was a bit of a knob as far as I'm concerned. It was a complaint about pricing and that's doomed to failure every time. Despite what MCN think, the complaint doesn't revolve around the status of a restricted licence and it tells us very little about how the ombudsman views a restricted motorcycle licence. They are also entirely wrong with their mischievous suggestion that thousands are without cover because of this - but it gives them a good opportunity to advertise their own MCN Compare insurance site. They either know they're talking crap or they don't care.

Like I say, I think eBike might be wrong in their discounting strategy but, hey, maybe their stats back up their approach. Who knows? But if you want to avoid insurance providers because one small aspect of their underwriting doesn't seem to make sense, then you'll have no-one left to go to.

All we really know is that eBike had a knob for a customer and MCN employ lazy journalists. Hardly a black mark for eBike.

If you want to avoid someone, avoid MCE.

I have used MCE before and they did get something wrong on my policy at first even though they repeated everything they wrote down which was all correct but somehow still ended up being wrong on paper.

eBike has never given me a decent quote, they've never been in the top 5 cheapest for me on comparison sites but I guess I shouldn't really judge them on this one isolated issue.

But I do agree with avoiding MCE after having minor problems with them myself and reading all the complaints on here.

[Kenzie]

When I get quotes and am asked when did you pass your test, I answer October 2002. If they want the specifics I'll give them, but only if asked. I have only ever had one issue when getting quotes and that was with Confused.com because it said something like that it wasn't possible to have a full license because of my DOB. In which case I added two years and it let the quotes through.

[Spanner Man]

Good morning all.


Looks like another excuse from the 'Hand starters' known as the insurance industry to avoid coughing up in the event of a claim.

Moral of the story is; Make sure you tell them everything that's relevant.


Cheers.