decent insurers??
 

Apologies for yet another thread on this .......

Bought a bike last year, my multibike policy was full up so had to take out a new policy, chose LV, absolutely fine.
Unfortunately LV are stopping offering bike insurance so have to switch to someone else. My multibike is through Aviva but actually with another company, and they aren't offering new policies.

All the comparison sites come up with the same (relatively short) list of insurers/brokers at pretty much the same relative quotes within a pound or so. I'm not bothered by price, that's a minimal issue over the range offered, the question is which companies are actually decent to deal with?
Looking at the trustpilot etc reviews of most of the common insurers shows the "bad" reviews are numerous and all the same things, can't contact them, incorrect details taken, policies cancelled, excessive costs, can't get document, can't get them to acknowledge information sent etc etc.
All basically PITA stuff which you don't want.

Are there any decent bike insurance companies out there to deal with? All comments appreciated.

Re: decent insurers??
 

i have been with Bikesure (i think Adrien Flux)for 14 years but in that time i have only had one claim for theft which was dealt with very well but that was 12 years ago. other companies wont touch my bike due to all the mods.

when i had my crash their breakdown/recovery service was a bit to be desired but unlike a lot of recovery services they got my bike home without any charge but the process was a bit feked up.

Re: decent insurers??
 

I am insured with B.S too. They are very compe.titive and since I need 2 bikes insuring I just renew as the comparison sites don't seem to give the option of entering both at the same time.
One word of caution we had the old motorhome insured with them and when I initially insured with them they accepted a fire blanket in lieu of an extinguisher, then after 3 years their call centre agent insisted that only an extinguisher was acceptable. Had we had a fire claim I suspect we could have had problems.

Re: decent insurers??
 

I've been with BeMoto (broker) the last couple of years. not had to claim so can't comment on that. They can be difficult to get hold of via phone though.
No admin fees on small things so a few £ saved if you need to tweak things further down the line. Pricing is also normally ok too.

Re: decent insurers??
 

Also been fairly happy with Bemoto. I change policy details quite often mid term and they've never charged me admin fees, even giving refunds when swapping bikes on the policy sometimes. They are harder to get through to on the phone over the last year or two though. They do offer a call back service too.

Re: decent insurers??
 

Cheers all. I have a couple of weeks to sort it, appreciate all input.

Re: decent insurers??
 

Update -
went with RAC in the end, I have other things with them and it means some free add-ons making it very competitive on price. I got an online quote but needed to clarify a couple of items so phoned. Had to wait maybe 5mins to get through but thereafter the lady was extremely helpful and got in touch with their underwriters to double check something, took a couple of minutes, all very efficient and giving confidence.
I'll add that their online application for motorbike insurance could possibly be improved in a couple of minor ways, the accessory/modification "help" actually refers to car mods, but in the FAQ section it refers to bike mods so that could be tidied up.
My specific query was that the vehicle I have is a Yamaha Tricity 300, which in technical terms is a tricycle not a bicycle (V5C taxation class due to wheel distance etc) and in the FAQ they say they don't cover "trikes", however when I asked the specific question they confirmed that they would cover it, the term "trike" meant the usual concept of a Harley with 2 big back wheels but not pedantically a tricycle classified motorcycle. They said that if a quote is generated against a specific vehicle registration then it will be OK.
They also accept "accessories" like screens etc, but luggage like top-boxes wasn't listed, however they do indeed accept luggage with no charge.

The other thing which might be of help to someone is what I've found with European breakdown. I have personal breakdown (sometimes feels like it!!) through Aviva (actually RAC) as a stand alone policy alongside my car insurance. I had it confirmed in writing from them that it covers me in/on any UK registered car/van/bike/tricycle (over 50cc) in Europe, so I don't need any separate cover for bikes etc when touring. The policy cost me less than £100 (just) with existing customer discount, so I reckon a pretty cost effective all-inclusive way to cover bikes and cars for foreign holidays.

I also use Aviva for travel insurance using a bike for touring. The wording specifically states that providing the bike is your transport from/to the UK then you are covered for all accident/medical type stuff. You do need to be careful to check travel insurance policy wording covers you for riding a bike (e.g. hiring up to 125cc or any size if it is your transport from UK).