Thousands of restricted riders unwittingly uninsured

[TamSV]

Originally Posted by Spanner Man

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

But it isn't. It's nothing like it. Cover was never in question.

You might have a prejudice against the insurance industry but, like those who say all mechanics are cowboys and thieves, in reality you would find the true picture is significantly better than you think.

[timwilky]

Although I no longer use e-bike (Found better bike insurance) I cannot fault them. I have put them to the test with a claim and it ran very well. I would recommend them from that perspective.

To be honest if the question was when did you qualify to ride this class of motorcycle then there would be no argument as the answer would have to be date of full power test (or 250 pre DAS/125 rules etc) or 2 years after reduced power test.

But still what does it matter. eBike has taken the decision to only recognise a licence gained on a restricted motorcycle as full once the qualifying 2 years has expired. So what, you don't like their policy. Go elsewhere

when ever I get that question, i look on my license for the A category and use the date that is there.
I did have a restriction in power placed on my license for the first 2 years (8 years ago) and never had a problem, I dont see how it could be argued that you have to declare your pass date as anything different from what is written on your license.

[yorkie_chris]

It depends what question they ask you, quite simply.

To the person asking if anybody has sent off their license to have restriction removed - I have not as DVLA told me it costs £45 and I don't need to.

I did get stopped by police, who asked if my bike was restricted, I said no, he said it should be, I said let's phone DVLA - he mumbled on to the other two people I was with about riding gear blah blah blah and went on his way.

[Spanner Man]

Originally Posted by TamSV

But it isn't. It's nothing like it. Cover was never in question.

You might have a prejudice against the insurance industry but, like those who say all mechanics are cowboys and thieves, in reality you would find the true picture is significantly better than you think.

Having seen many cases of insurance companies 'ducking out' due to 'small print' errors over the years, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the issue in question is used as an excuse not to cough up at some time.

I have had more dealings with Insurance companies than most I would think. Over the last 10 years or so, they have become a fecking nightmare to deal with.
Since the formation of the likes of Aviva. Which itself was a merger between General Accident, Commercial Union, & more recently Norwich Union, plus a few more besides. I have noticed an increasing trend of 'claim ducking'. What's more the average time they take to pay repairers such as myself has increased from 10-15 working days, to around 60!

I could go on, but suffice to say, the industry is starting to smell like a dead Cat, & it's us that are ultimately paying the price via our premiums.

In short, the true picture is somewhat worse than you think.



Cheers.

[TamSV]

Originally Posted by Spanner Man

Having seen many cases of insurance companies 'ducking out' due to 'small print' errors over the years, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the issue in question is used as an excuse not to cough up at some time.

Then you'll be pleased to see that the ombudsman has already confirmed that, if they try, it won't wash.

Originally Posted by Spanner Man

I have had more dealings with Insurance companies than most I would think. Over the last 10 years or so, they have become a fecking nightmare to deal with.

I've dealt with thousands of claims of all types and the vast majority are settled fairly, even generously - but that's been on insurance contracts that were properly arranged. There were always problems with insurance company staff not knowing what their own policies covered and that hasn't really changed much over the last 25 years. Last year I collected over £600,000 for clients in commercial motor claims that were originally declined. In most cases my clients were never aware that there was a problem because I resolved it. Big companies are often crap to deal with - that's par for the course.

What has changed in the last few years is how insurance is purchased. More people are dealing direct and they're now exposed to this lack of knowledge. I've sorted out a number of "direct" claims for people - so much so I've considered marketing it as a stand alone service. There was nothing unusual about those claims for me - just the usual nonsense I get in my business all the time - and they're usually pretty easy to resolve.

That's not the biggest problem though. A recent study of online motor insurance purchases showed that 40% of them contained an error in the information provided. Half of these errors were enough to make the insurance invalid. This wasn't small print - it was things like driving convictions and previous accidents. That's a huge number and it's much worse than when people used to actually have to speak to someone - it's easier to lie to the machine.

Like my farming client who recently wanted to add a little Fiat with his 18 year old daughter as an additional driver and him as the main driver. His daughter lives 30 miles away and that's where the car will be. He got a quote from me and a quote online. I was MUCH more expensive. The difference was, I told him not to be so daft and I rated the premium on his daughter. The online quote just accepted the information he gave.

I dealt with the issue before it was a problem, as traditional brokers always have. The online guys would accept the business and then deal with him after it was a problem. That's the big difference. I can tell you he would be the first to be crying about the evil insurers and their small print when his transparent lies were uncovered.

There's loads of that going on now. You see threads on it here all the time.

Originally Posted by Spanner Man

Since the formation of the likes of Aviva. Which itself was a merger between General Accident, Commercial Union, & more recently Norwich Union, plus a few more besides. I have noticed an increasing trend of 'claim ducking'. What's more the average time they take to pay repairers such as myself has increased from 10-15 working days, to around 60!

Agreed. Aviva, like most huge multinational companies, is unsuitable for contact with human beings - as supplier, employee or customer. As stated above, part of the problem is lots of customers are now dealing with these companies themselves but they're not equipped with the knowledge, experience or patience to do it.

You can service your own bike, write your own will, sell your own house - but you'll need to do some studying and be capable of the work. If you're unable or unwilling to do that, you should go to someone who knows what they're doing. Everyone is now acting as their own insurance broker but they don't put any effort into the job.

Originally Posted by Spanner Man

I could go on, but suffice to say, the industry is starting to smell like a dead Cat, & it's us that are ultimately paying the price via our premiums.

In short, the true picture is somewhat worse than you think.

Some areas need improvement, no doubt about it.

We need to recognise how the cover is bought for one. I think a move, for motor insurance at least, away from contracts of "utmost good faith" in the traditional sense is now needed. Instead of expecting motorists to declare all material facts the onus should be on the insurer to ask all material questions. So if they want a piece of information they have to ask for it in a very clear, unambiguous way. The regulator and ombudsman are leaning in that direction anyway but it should be formalised.

Secondly, we need to get an urgent grip on the personal injury bandwagon created by the last Government. When you see that from the inside it's hard to comprehend how such a system can be allowed to exist. It's not the culture of claiming so much, but the costs. The costs and fees totally eclipse the actual compensation payments. Madness.

We're obviously going to keep buying online but if claims costs were under control, premiums would be a bit more realistic, people would hopefully be less inclined to stretch the truth and fewer claims would be declined.

In the meantime, all you need to do is tell the truth and check your paperwork. If you do that you're very unlikely to have a problem.