Fully Comprehensive Insurance; worth it?

[nitrosurf]

Hello all,

It's renewal time for the bike. It's been on TPFT for the last year, but my commute has recently gotten longer and potentially more dicey so I've been thinking about fully comp. The issue I have is that on a good day in the middle of summer my Jinlun JL125-11 (catchy!) could change hands for 600-750 quid. I know many people will guffaw and fall over after reading that, but before you break too many ribs laughing try buying any 125 when the weather is nice, especially if it's all chopperised and looks like a bigger bike. The barely legal lash up that is 100 quid in December exponentially grows in worth come June. Not that mine is a lash up; it's pretty ace for what it is. Anyway, I digress. If I tell the insurance the bike is worth 700 that means nothing, they will have some magical 'book' value come pay out time. My question is if the excess is 200 notes am I likely to have anything worthwhile from Mr Insurer should I write my bike off avoiding death by HGV/Bus/Focus ST etc? I know we're talking small fry cash for many people, but I'm trying to keep costs down as much as possible. Apart from the two kids, house bla bla bla, I am trying to save for the test, better gear and at some point a lovely clean ZZR600. I've got until tomorrow to make my mind up before my old policy auto renews on Monday, so I'd really appreciate the advice of those that have 'done it all before' and have the financial scars to prove it.

Cheers in advance!

[Itchy]

If you can't afford an outright replacement then it's worth it.

If you can then less so.

Namely because if you claim or have a claim against you the insurers WILL get back any money they pay out via hugely increased premiums.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Rogerborg]

'Kin hell, just stick to the facts.

Bike is worth £500.
Best case payout is £300
FC costs you how many more monies than TPFT?

Me, on that bike, I'd go with TPO, TPFT or FC, with £0, £200 or £500 excess in combination with whatever declared value and listed (or not listed) security gets the cheapest quote.

I'd treat it as effectively TPO and plan to (metaphorically) leave it in a ditch rather than make any fire, theft or comprehensive claim.

Savings go on security and the next bike jar.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Piercee100]

These days it's the insurance excess-

Similar situation- Just bought a Vespa PX cos 2 strokes are at an end. Need insurance as 0 no claims on new bike. Bike cost 2.8k. Insurance want 159 quid fully comp... But lowest Excess I could find was 600 quid on that policy. Some wanted 1100+
Who wants to fork out 600 quid in case of accident? Increased insurance premiums would mean anything they pay out to you, they will get back.
I don't intend on crashing or letting the fecker be nicked. 70 quid third party only and no excess (I was tempted by the extra 50 quid windscreen cover though).

It obviously still covers me if I'm hit and I'm legal.
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Rides: Honda H100a (Retired), VT500e (Sold), Kawasaki ZX400 (sold), Kawasaki GT550 (Sold), Suzuki Inazuma (Daily), Honda CD185t (Broken), LML Star 2t (Last run edition).

[bikertomm]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Sometimes fully comp is cheaper than tpft for bizarre reasons.

Do various quotes and see what the real difference is in cost. If it is small then go for fully comp even if all you are using it for is a way to get paid out quicker when you have a non fault accident.

All the best

Katy
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Kaya75]

Does it effect personal injury claims - if I'm off work with a broken leg cuz a chucked my bike down the road with no one else involved don't fully comp sort me out too??? (what can I say I'm an optimist!)


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ybr125 Sold, GSF600 K1 Bandit (For Sale), FJR13000 gen2.

[Rogerborg]

[G]

[bamt]

^^^^ This. Plus, in that situation, your insurance company should be sorting out recovery of your mangled machine, which could be tricky to do personally if you are enjoying the best the NHS can offer.

[c_dug]

[nitrosurf]

I did a load of comparisons before posting, there's a 35-45 quid difference in TPO to FC. I understand the need to keep checking quotes and how the filthy insurance world usually works in this regard, I was more after peoples actual experiences with claiming against a policy when it comes to 'at fault' situations and with bikes that you/we know are worth a certain amount but the insurance industry may not agree.

I'm not lazy and/or thick, I can do my own purchase research. What I don't have is any experience of being in the situation of trying to get what you think a bike is worth out an insurance company during a claim. IF it's going to be toil I'll save my pennies, get TPO and take the hit should the worst ever happen.

[P.addy]

I'd insure it tpo. Would be ludicrous to claim for it either way.

[Rogerborg]

[GSTEEL32]

Anything worth "600 - 750" is pointless insurance... its merely a legal formality ..........

By the time the excess has been taken, its nothing more than a couple of hundred quid in your pocket.

Go TPFT if you must... or just be canny and try not to get it nicked for a year. I've never seen a Lifan, but they sound sh!t, let alone nickable... so I'd play the numbers game and just get a decent lock.

A no claims bonus discount on your "post test" bike is probably going to be worth more than the 125 you've currently got .......

[nitrosurf]

Fair enough, it does kind of reinforce the thought I'd had about getting any money back post accident/theft being nigh on impossible. It is worth bearing in mind though that a couple of hundred quid can be a lot of money to some people, and a Jinlun may be [insert your own derogative comment here] but it's my bike, it's doing a solid job and I'm trying to look after it as best I can.

That said though I'm hitting the TPO button in the morning, found one for £60 earlier.

Thank you all for the 2p.

Out of curiosity, has anyone actually had an experience where they've tried claiming back money for a low value bike (it being considered 'over book value' due to condition etc) and succeeding? I had a Volvo 460 Turbo once (again, insert comment here...) that some old dear reversed into and put a lovely dent in. Book value of around £1.85 (£200 actually, according to the guy on the initial phone call), but they sent an assessor because I argued the point that the car was immaculate. He agreed when he saw the car and I ended up with a £500 pay out as the dent was so large he considered it a write off. As it hadn't gone through my insurance it wasn't recorded, so I pocketed the money and drove the car as it was for a few more months, then sold it for £250. Sometimes it pays to stick 'yer oar in, as it were.

[Kickstart]

[Rogerborg]

[SuperMike]

Go TPFT or TPO unless the fully comp is the same or pennies more.

Insurance companies don't make money by paying out claims. Unless you have video evidence / very good witnesses (even then) it will likely be a 50 / 50 claim anyway in pretty much any accident situation as the lady said to me last year when I was taken out on my scooter. That is the default. Suits them as both sides will probably just go oh well, no point in claiming then, which of course means they don't pay out. Thanks to my video evidence, matey who took me out was found guilty in court of fleeing the scene and driving without due care and attention but the claim is still ongoing with no end in sight. My view of insurance companies really couldn't get any worse which is why I am resigned to not paying them a penny more than necessary. Quite happy to take your money of course.

In your case, you are never going to claim for that bike. Not meant in a derogatory sense, but it just isn't worth it. A few hundred quid is a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of things when they put your premiums up you will get shafted in the end. The house always wins.

Still quite happily TPFT on my new £6500 bike.

[Kickstart]

[Rogerborg]