Had a crash, what should i do?

[Boydy]

Hi everyone. 2 years of riding and had my first crash this morning .

It was chucking it down and i was going along at about 30 mph with a row of parked cars to my left.
In the middle of the row of parked cars was a van.
I got about 10 metres away from the van, when he put his right indicator on, and at exactly the same time pulled right out in front of me to either go down a side road or do a U-turn.
I got on the brakes as early as i could but slid onto my right side with my right leg under the bike and went straight into the side of him and bounced off to the other side of the road.
The only real damage i had was burns along the inside of my leg and a smashed ankle. Luckily it was just severe bruising and no breaks.
The police came and took all of our details. He was saying he just didnt see me

The bike took a beating. every bit of fairings and indicators smashed. Right footpeg snapped off, big dent in the tank and im sure theres lots of other little bits that need fixing.

I'm just not sure what to do with insurance.
I'm pretty sure that it would be proven to be totally his fault, but even then would my rates go up?
I'm 19 and am looking to insure a car and i can barely afford it as it is, let alone with a claim to my name.
I think he was working for a company and not self employed, should i go round and see if he wants to give me some money to not go through insurance?

Any advice would be really great.
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NSR 125

[scorps]

Our company has had several incidents where it was our drivers faults,
Never with a bike (touch wood) but we've tended to get all the details from the other party and just told the insurance company to deal with it. Im sure we are not the only company who just accepts that some of our drivers are stupid but as far as I know apart from one incident where our vehicle was stationary and the woman drove into it blaming us for being there, we haven't fought a claimant. The company I worked for prior to this one was pretty much the same, id deduce from that then that speaking directly to the manager is the best way to go.

if you are going to have an accident probably best its with a company vehicle rather than private I reckon
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Do not presume that I am male.

[Jefr0]

From experience and from what you say the damage is I'd go insurance.

Bike will be written off probably, you'll get that value.

Although, I had an accident in December and have just been paid out so could take a while.

Flip side is you agree on a price to pay for your bike, if he agrees.

He's in the wrong not you.

Even a non fault claim on insurance will affect you but not massively, I've had to pay an extra £80 over normal I think.
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Rides: Honda XR 125 ('03) Honda CBR 600F ('91), Ducati 916 Biposto ('95)

[...]

[Dave70]

If it's his fault, can't you claim on his insurance rather than yours?

[Boydy]

Thinking about it, i think he is self employed.

If i claim on insurance and the bike is written off, do i get to keep the broken bike and have the money? or do they take it off for scrap?
I'd love to have a go at rebuilding all the parts myself.

It was all a very friendly crash really . pretty sure he was saying he didnt see me to the police. Witnesses were very helpful and i think my mum works with one of them, so great news there.

If the claim is on his insurance, does that mean it's pretty much nothing to do with me? I'd be in a bit of a mess if i lost my no claims discount and had to pay thousands for car insurance or sort out some new transport.

The bike should be rideable if i buy some cheap new indicators and take all the fairings off. Might have to bodge a footpeg on though.

Thanks for the advice
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NSR 125

[Bike Bunker]

go to insurance this happened to me on my 125. got a massive payout and my insurance was £60 higher the next year once i put the claim on, this year its making no difference but my claim paid for full RST tractech leathers, shark speed r helmet zxr400 all my test fee's an air rifle and still managed to start my own business and i only had minor concussion and bruising my bike was written off some frame damage and bent forks and panel damage


enjoy it and rip it for what you can mate

[dungbug]

[jimac]

You should claim for the damage through the van driver's insurance. You won't lose your no-claims discount (as you haven't claimed on your insurance) but you will probably find that there may be slight increase in your next year's premiums (and potentially for any car insurance) because you now have an accident record. Even though the accident was not your fault, just being involved in an accident can have a slight bearing on future risk.

Not going through insurance will not save you anything as you have still got the accident record and will need to declare it when you renew your insurance. If you don't declare it you will run the very real risk of finding yourself uninsured for any future claim if the insurance company find out about it (and they probably will - especially as the police were involved).

[Jefr0]

[fatjames]

If I was you, I'd get straight onto my insurance company. Explain what happened, and claim against them.
Keep a diary of the medical side of things, as you never know what complications may come of the accident.
If you have legal cover, you can claim against them using that. If not, they normally offer a no win no fee type thing.
I've just had a payout for my accident, and bought back the smashed up zzr for cheap (£50 I think) I then sold the bits, made quite a bit, and it was fun. Although, I did need the help of a very helpful BCFer.
You talk about fixing the bike up..If the bike gets written off, the category might mean you can't have it back on the road.
My accident was at the end of Feb and I've just accepted an out of court settlement.

You're injuries will probably be worth more than the bike.

And yes, this is the reason for expensive insurance...

HTH
James

[Kawksam]

Mcams compensation is very good and currently dealing with my claim, specialise in riders with third part fire and theft policy

[Dave70]

Am currently in the early stages of claiming myself for the first time. ( a white van pulled out of a side road about 8 yards infront of me and stopped). Although my bike has been made road worthy and doesn't look too bad considering, I have been told that it will cost about £3,000 to replace the damaged parts (fairings, exaust, bars, leavers ect...) and that the insurance will probably write it off.

I intend to claim on the other drivers insurance as it was her fault. Witnesses have told the police what happened and that I wasn't speeding and the copper at the time has stated "off the record" that the onus is on the other driver for driving without due care and attention. Am just waiting for the police to officially sort it out.

After talking to a few people who have claimed before, I hope to buy my bike back from the insurance,as the damage is all cosmetic, get my test done and put a nice healthy deposit down on a big bike (possibly an R6 ) with the payout, if all goes well. After ending up on crutches and nearly 2 weeks off work, I think I deserve it.

Good luck with your claim mate

[Boydy]

Thanks a lot for the advice everyone.

Bit of an update, the driver is a nice bloke just came round to see if i was alright. He seems more shaken up than me and is very apologetic. Turns out he is working for a company.

I've got a road collision sheet filled out from the police with a police incident number reference to go with it, and i can contact one witness.

I rang his boss to see what we should do about it, and he hinted that he wouldn't just be accepting full responsibility. I explained what happened and how i am not at fault at any way, and he mumbled something about the policewoman who spoke to him saying it was an accident and he would talk to the driver. Alarm bells ringing that he will be trying some tricks, but left it at that.

I said I'd give the bike a good check over, find everything thats broken, make a note of what replacements would cost, take a list round to him and we can sort something out without going through insurance. He ummed and ahhed a bit and said he has a mate who fixes bikes up to 250cc and he would send him round to give the bike a look over and see what needs doing. Again this sounded like he could try something on here, but didnt want to be too confrontational so left it at that. He's going to ring back on monday.

I didnt know that no matter what, i now have an accident record. I thought that by leaving the insurance out I could just forget about it and carry on as if nothing happened. Will this affect all car or bike insurance in future?
Thinking about it i'm tempted to play it safe and just get the insurance company to deal with it.

Sounds like your claim will go well dave, especially with the police on your side
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NSR 125

[Boydy]

[EazyDuz]

entirely depends on the value of the bike, if its worth less than a grand i wouldnt claim
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[Benson_JV]

[janner_10]

Sounds like you have a clear cut case - i would report it to your insurance company and let them deal with it - likelihood is they cover your costs / bike repair and seek their loss from his insurers if he is found to be at fault.

Sounds like he breached your right of way and failed to check the carriageway was clear before starting a manoeuvre.

Record every phone call you make, letter you send, hospital visit in a diary - always useful in the future.

I would stop communicating with the other driver / firm immediately and go through your insurance only.

Hope you get it resolved quickly
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Yamaha FZS600 (Now gone to heaven) > CBR600F4i (SOLD) > '99 YZF-R1

[Bomberman]

[Boydy]

I can't thank all of you enough.
First thing tomorrow ill call my insurers and let them know whats happening.
This couldnt've come at much worse of a time. Started a new job this week and i'm already gonna have to have a few days off
Made a pic if anyones interested:
https://i.imgur.com/mvnpQ.png
and also i live around Leicester, if anyone around there ever has any problems they need a hand with, give me a pm
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NSR 125

[G]

[duhawkz]

[janner_10]

[Nai]