Ebike insurance Gripe

[Aikman666]

Now being as young as i am, and not being experienced in insurers etc maybe ive got the wrong end of the stick here. Anyway, down to buisness:

A few weeks ago i was riding down to the local tesco's to visit a mate and get some money in the phone etc. as you do. Approaching a junction doing under 30mph (spotted unsure looking cars at said junction). Anyhow as i got closer to the junction (within 5 metres) a car pulls out - i went for the emergency stop and the front end washed out on me - cue me and bike sliding down the road. I never hit her car as the crash seemed to scrub of enough speed for her to make it out of the junction. The driver of said car came out to make sure i was ok, claimed liability by saying "its my fault, im sorry, i thought you were further away than what you were". There were witnesses also who agree she was WAY too close when she pulled out and had i not ditched the bike i would have went into her.

Now after this i phoned her a few days later and said basically either she could pay for it or we could go through insurance, then she turned round and said "well ive spoken to my insurance and i dont really think it was my fault" - now this says to me her insurance company have told her NOT TO ADMIT FAULT. Fair enough, so i phone my insurance (Ebike insurance).

Eventually im put onto a woman. She collects all of my details, my insurance policy details and the bike's details. She then asks for the damage done to the bike, then asks for me to describe the events that happened. After spending about 45mins on the phone to her she tells me i cant claim off my insurance because im only third party fire and theft. (at this point she became very short with me and uninterested). Fair enough i said "yeah i know that, but i want YOU guys to claim off her insurance" i told her. She then tells me that because i never acctually HIT the vehichle i cant claim from her, not a penny. Now i said earlier that she admitted liability at the scene (which was witnessed) and there was witnesses that clearly told me it was her fault - however the woman on the phone never asked for anything to do with her admitting fault, witnesses etc, she really didnt care and seemed to want rid of me.

Now maybe im naive but isnt it kinda thier job to persue this and treat me with a bit of respect instead of realising when they cant milk me for more money and want rid of me. I personally thought thier interest in the customer (me) was absolutely shite, and i hope anyone here with Ebike will seriously consider not renewing with them. Am i wrong for saying this? Isnt it their job to persue this? What the fuck am i paying through the nose for insurance for?! For a peice of paper and a line in a fucking database. Cheers

Oh yeah - and the woman who pulled out infront of me, her project manager was in the car with her and she conveniently "Didnt see it happen".
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[trevoriv]

Thats a pretty poor show to be honest. Shows that the cheapest premium isnt always the best way to go, you get what you pay for in insurance. You could try putting forward a formal complaint to your insurer about their shoddy claims service but to be honest i think they are just being realistic. Without a stack of witnesses, a police report and an engineers report it's your word against theirs.

It sucks and your Insurer should at least be showing willing to help, you could just thereten to cancel your Policy due to the poor service you have received, they may call your bluff though and just say fine then

[_Will_]

Tis a pisstake really, i know your'e on tpf&t butif its her fault something should be done, we pay absoutley ridiculous amounts of money for reasons that are'nt justified- either do what your'e meant to or it shouldnt be sodding compulsory.
Basicly what they are saying you should have done was cause an accident - otherwise you get shafted.
Next time jump off and ram it in her bonnet, write off your bike and squeeze her like a lemon for every feckin penny!
____________________
Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[tintin]

Similar thing happened to me in France a few years ago, driver initially admitted the fault but then changed his mind and as I was only TPF & T the insurance company didn't care.

TPF&T only insures you for what it says, which is the bike being nicked (or burnt) and any damage you might do to someone else or their property. Insurance companies will not usually pursue a claim on your behalf unless you are fully Comp.

You could look at a private claim for damages but it may be difficult to prove, although if you have independant witnesses then that would help.
Have you got legal insurance on your cover? If not you could try someone like these people, Rider Support Services:

https://62.73.167.66/pngs/index.htm
____________________
The older I get the better I was

[Adam_P]

Do you have her address? If so, firebomb her house!*

Can't fucking stand this 'it's not my fault' attitude in this country any more. It's time pepole took responsibility for their ineptitude.


* Please note, this is a joke and in no way meant to be a serious comment.
____________________
Colin McRae MBE 1968 - 2007 RIP
Orwell Rolls in his Grave
God is imaginary

[G]

[dainesefreak]

Your insurers won't be interested as you are TPFT, this is one of the reasons you pay more for fully comp. Did you get legal cover with the policy? If you did you will need to call the people on the legal cover policy and they will deal with the claim on your behalf with her insurers. If you don't have legal cover then you will need to persue her through some specialist Solicitors, there are plenty about, you'll find some names in the back of one of the bike mags.

Be sure that you have a reliable witness who is willing to stand on your side before proceeding as this could be costly if you wish to proceed privately. I believe some of these firms will act on a no win no fee basis but will only take the case on if they believe they can win.

Good luck.

Edit - beat me to it G, oh well.

[Blau Zedong]

I beleive it's a condition of your insurance not to admit liability at the scene of an accident.
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[finpos]

Pretty much as pointed out - you're stuffed. Even if you are fully comp with the legal cover, it will only get persued if there is cast iron chance of it not costing the insurance company any more money. Seen as it's basically your word against somebody else's, that's not going to happen.

The trick is to always try to put a small dent in the car without breaking your leg. Whenever I'm get into one of these situations now (which is very infrequently since I became old and dull), the car driver will normally be treated to the sight of my face pressed up against their window.

finpos.

[GodzGift]

ok

2 things to do, in the furture fork out the extra and always get comprehensive cover,

and finally, you have her numberplate, find the car, and smash the fuck out of it
____________________
Bike Level: Amateur | CBT Passed

[G]

[doggone]

Actually your narrative suggests to me it was as much you fault for braking too harshly.
The bike evidently did not have enough speed to slide on and hit her car - if you'd kept it upright and braked less severely, it would have stopped quicker than sliding on it's side.

[Syx]

Before I was 21 my insurance premiums were ridiculous - for FC I'd be paying almost as much as the bike... not worth it.
Nowadays my insurance had dropped a lot, but that's expected.

Summary: I agree with G.

[GodzGift]

sorry i didnt take the age into into account, id choose comp cover always just based on building up your NCB upto a decent level

edit: SYX, that is one sick r6 you have, 1 day i will get one
____________________
Bike Level: Amateur | CBT Passed

[Aikman666]

Thanks for all the replys guys. First of all; even if it is not thier responsibility to persue this claim, it would have been nice to give me a little advice. It was also the way the woman spoke to me after realising that they could gain nothing from the situation that she did acctually want rid of me.

Second of all; all of you who said i braked too harshly, im fairly sure i didnt. Its not the first time ive done an emergency stop, and i used to do offroading so its by no means a lack of experience either. It had been raining for a good few days and i was near the studs that are put across traffic light crossings ( you know the metalic squares) and i cant be positive but theres a posibility i might have been on one at the time of the accident. I was told by the witness that had i not reacted i would have went into the side of her (which i wish i did now).

I was also very dissapointed with the woman, who seemed nice enough at the time, but she has now wrecked my what used to be almost showroom condition bike (my pride and joy) and couldent give a flying fuck.
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[G]

I suspect the person on the end of the phone probably isn't even allowed to give you legal advice.


Rubber has more grip than metal/plastic sliding on a wet surface.
So therefore it must have been possible to brake in time if your bike slowed intime while sliding.
I've slid down wet tracks plenty of times and know that you can slide an awful lot further than you can stop by braking.

Not saying it's not something I wouldn't do (lock up the front) - but this was a case of you went down because of lack of skill (again, not having a go - it may be you would have to be a very, very skilled rider to have got the initial braking just right on your bike in the situation you were in).

As you say, you may have been on a surface with low grip - inwhich case you braked to hard for the surface you were on .

[Aikman666]

Yeah theres no doubt it was a fucking stupid thing to do. It was my fault that i went down yes and im not debating that it would have slowed better if i had braked, thats not my beef at all. Ive never liked the front end of the RX, it feels too light and ive lost the grip on the front tyre before.
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[yambabe]

[GodzGift]

about 5 years ago when i was actually driving my car round a round about a bus swung in my lane and crushed the left side of car, bus driver admitted his guilt but as ther was no witnessed and cos i never called the police

when i called my insurance comp (morethan ) at the time said, to be honest mate if i were you dont waste your time, for damage of 200 quid, ull end up with 50/50 and loose ur NCD, which at the time seemed like BALLS but was fair enough.

its not hard to HAVE A SPINE and be good, obviously u get some good call centre workers and few muppets, its a shame u got a complete monkey who u spoke to.

whats the damage to your bike anyways? price wise?
____________________
Bike Level: Amateur | CBT Passed

[Aikman666]

mudguard £75
side panel £42
Front brake lever £16
Rh foorrest £29
Rear brake lever £15
Parts total =Sidi Way Tepor Boots -£100
Fieldsheer Astro Pant -£95
Gear Total = £195

Grand total = £372
____________________
Will work for petrol
My Design Blog

[GodzGift]

as someone suggested take some legal advice, i know you can also go and get legal aid which is free, if you have witnesses you can take the guy to small claims court,

but do ur research first
____________________
Bike Level: Amateur | CBT Passed

[Paivi]

Legal Expenses Insurance is included on all eBike Insurance policies.

The Legal Expenses policy is underwritten by DAS Legal Expenses, an established market leader within the legal expenses insurance market.

Legal Expenses insurance allows you to recover your uninsured losses if you are involved in an accident which is not your fault. Uninsured losses can include the following;

* Compensation if you are injured, or compensation for your family if you are killed.
* Compensation for damage to your leathers, helmet or personal belongings.
* Accident repair costs if you do not have comprehensive insurance cover

Clicky

[st3v3]

[trevoriv]

Your cover has no relation to how your Insurance company approaches a claim.

Comp only covers your own damage when its your fault, that really is the only bonus to Comp cover which really isnt worth it if your premiums are over £750ish or your bike is worth less than say £3kish. And if you are young u don't want to be claiming cos you will lose NCB and have a fault incident strike against your name which will nerf your premium.

Your insurer should be contacting the 3rd party insurer and asking questions as to the circs from the 3rds party and who is liable. Id say if there was contact you should get a 50/50 but since there was no contact its gonna be very hard to prove that it was her fault im afraid unless you have many witnesses.

The same applies to ULR, you have to provide proof that it wasnt your fault and DAS will probably ask for a Police report. DAS are crap anyway by the way.

I'd say your screwed for being honest unfortunately i wouldnt hold it against the woman either, she will have been told by her insurance company to deny liability as the womans insurance company doesnt want to pay out for damage to your vehicle if they have an once of doubt that it wasnt her fault.

Next time get a police report, witness statement or just run into the side of the vehicle hehe easier said than done i know

Thats the insurance perspective anyway