Equity Red Star insurance...anyone had problems?

Has anybody else here had problems with this company? I'm going thru the claims process just now for an accident that wasn't my fault and I feel like I'm being given the run-around. They seem very complacent and don't seem to even bother to update the records whenever you speak to them...the reviews I've found online all seem to say that the company is a nightmare to deal with except one written by somebody who hadn't claimed!! What can I do to make sure that I don't lose out due to an incompetent insurer?

Ta. Lou

[Biker Biggles]

Do you have legal aid on your insurance policy?If so get on to them and let a specialist bike lawyer deal with it all.
If you dont have this,try White Dalton who are the same thing,but I think they will take on cases where someone else is at fault costing you nothing.

[TSM]

Yep deal with legal aid, much better plus when they value the bike for a possable write off you dont get your payout capped at what you insured your bike to if the book value happens to be higher.

Thank you I've got a solicitor sorting out my uninsured losses etc. thru Yamaha Assist which is run by the RAC...will they be able to help with the bike too? I'll call tomorrow but I'm just curious!

[timwilky]

My experience of ERS was not brilliant. They grossly undervalued my bike. When I queried why they had not even offered the Glasses value, they said they had. After about a week, they conceded they had valued it at the wrong year, and then at the wrong model. Then they had not taken into account the low mileage. At about the time I informed them that I had previously been one of their independent engineers suddenly their valuation and mine mysteriously aligned.

The problem with modern insurance, is that they no longer employ professional staff to handle run of the mill cases and instead use clerks with a few simple rules. It is only when the claims get messy and likely to run into large figures do they refer the claim back to the few professional engineers still in business.

Your solicitor can do little more than chase your uninsured losses from the third party. If you are unhappy with any settlement offer, you may find that you need to appoint an engineer to compile a report on your bike, and assess the damage, value , pre accidental condition etc.

[steveg]

I initially had problems with ERS when I claimed a total loss , once I managed to pin down the name of the guy who was dealing with my claim, I rang him every day , he got the message & got a good offer within 2 weeks , money did take another 2 weeks to come through.
Good luck with your claim

Cheers Steve

yeah i had dealings with them 3 yrs ago, when my 4 week old Hayabusa was knocked over whilst parked after having a set of Akrapovics fitted that morning.(which added all of 3 bhp without any other mods, and were cheaper than OE cans) the other driver admitted liability (as i had him by the throat at the time). ERS refused to pay out. i had the 3rd party insurance co. pay for repairs 3 days later. i cancelled the insurance and refuse to deal with them as they will not allow ANY modifications to bikes.

I am using them now and they didnt seem to have a problem accepting my bike with mods. Lets hope thats my only dealing with them.

im going through the claims stuff atm, the guy who came to look at my bike said they covered small mods not over £100 in cost that do not improve performance. means i will be getting new crash bungs

Originally Posted by timwilky

Your solicitor can do little more than chase your uninsured losses from the third party. If you are unhappy with any settlement offer, you may find that you need to appoint an engineer to compile a report on your bike, and assess the damage, value , pre accidental condition etc.

My bike has gone back to the main dealer for it's assessment (at my request...was a battle tho) and they've said that I'm welcome to go thru it with them to make sure everything is covered in terms of the damage. Hopefully all will be good from that side of things. Finger's crossed!