Thatcham Approved Locks/Chains, Insurance BS?

[NutsyUk]

Well I got myself a Mammoth Chain and lock with Thatcham approval, which was supposedly meant to give cheaper insurance quotes...

However when talking with Aviva (i cant really find anyone else with my circumstances) the chain and lock made no difference at all to the quote.

So is all this thatcham approval stuff which is meant to give cheaper quotes just bull?

Or has aviva done a naughty?
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Yamaha FZ8/Fazer800 (split headlight one) 2014, gingerly getting used to the massive increase in HP and not killing myself in the process! That was easy to get used to.
Kawasaki ER6F 2007 650 Gonna sell as a project bike!
Lexmoto XTR S 125 Sold!

[Ste]

"supposedly meant to give cheaper insurance quotes"
Says who?

The advice generally is not to declare your chain to your insurer as it's not going to make your quote much cheaper and realistically you're not going to lock your bike up every single time that you leave it somewhere. In some cases, declaring your security products will actually cause the insurance quote to become more expensive.

Aviva haven't done a naughty.

[bamt]

Insurance discounts for security can be variable or non-existent. Sometimes they charge more if you say you have a chain! (probably something to do with statistics showing that people in your area with chains have had bikes stolen, but people without haven't, or something equally bizarre and random-number generated).

What I have seen is that the insurance companies who will give a discount for advanced driver/rider qualifications, or security, or membership of owners clubs, etc. tend to be the ones that are the most expensive anyway, and the discounts don't bring them down to more competitive pricing.

Buy security for the increased likelihood of not having a theft claim, not to reduce premiums!

[ADSrox0r]

Aye it's better not to tell them about security devices because they'll just shit on your claim the day you forgot to put it on or just 'nipped in the shop'.

The other one they'll fuck you over with is if it gets nicked while washing it. Nobbed off indoors to get a cup of tea? Pikey scum chored it off your drive? Insurance says fuck you it wasn't locked.
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Current bikes: '08 VFR 800 VTEC(yo) , '07 ZZR1400 Winter hack: '95 Aprilia 650 Pegaso Currently lusting after: RC30

[NJD]

"Thatcham approved" holds no value to me. An Oxford chain I own is Thatcham, or the lock.. whatever, "approved" but the first sight of a Prag 13mm compared to the links of the Oxford told me I would never look back. Most of the shelf products are crap. I've not tested them mind but again 13mm vs chain sold by shops = 13mm all day long.

I'd say buy Pragmasis (based on the fact I own one so can recommend it) and be done with it. Shame them and Almax are not in shops and newbie's don't find out about them unless they come across it online or want to find out more about chains. I dread to thinks there's a poor sod securing their brand new, to them, 125 with an Oxford being misslead by a shop monkey.
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The do it all, T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶l̶u̶m̶p̶,̶ ̶C̶h̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶N̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶

[Rogerborg]

The first year I insured my Nazi Tractor, I found that the cheapest quote with an Almax chain and Squire lock was 1/3 higher than the cheapest quote with no security declared.

Higher.

As above, use it, but don't declare it.

I may be imagining it, but isn't Mammoth a brand-name of Oxford? If so, I'd expect it to offer minimal actual security or deterrence.
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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

[Ste]

[ADSrox0r]

[NJD]

[sickpup]

[NutsyUk]

Well i live and learn, next year i wont declare any security measures :p

The mamoth one i have is 12mm i think... its big and heavy and i certainly wouldnt want to be hit round the head by one.

the problem with my bike, though not exspensive or powerful... looks pretty and and opportunistic sod carrying a battery powered angle grinder might want it... not realising how shit it actually is.

I know ill never get it stolen to order...
____________________
Yamaha FZ8/Fazer800 (split headlight one) 2014, gingerly getting used to the massive increase in HP and not killing myself in the process! That was easy to get used to.
Kawasaki ER6F 2007 650 Gonna sell as a project bike!
Lexmoto XTR S 125 Sold!

[Commuter_Tim]

[Loui5D]

Thatcham is a joke, it's mostly marketing bollocks.

I think it was Almax who did a video where they got a guy from MAG of all places and he cropped a chain that had the highest rating in less than 20 seconds.

Sold secure & Police approved are what you should really look at.

[Rogerborg]

[owl]

Told my insurance that I use an almax at work and they refunded me £70
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Observation is the greatest source of wisdom.

[NJD]

[Cali747]

When I took my insurance out recently, I got two quotes. One was without any security device, the other was for my Oxford chain. The annual premium including the security chain was exactly £1 cheaper than without a chain. So I just told them I did not have any security as I thought it might make it easier if I ever have to make a claim. Hope I did the right thing.

[tom_e]

[definitelyinc...]

Post above it sums it up - It's about being more secure than the next guy, which feels horrible to say, since it's another biker losing their bike...

I'm getting a tracker and an alarm (once funds permit myself to do so), but purely for security purposes, I'll tell them about those, since they're always there but regardless, it almost feels like you're getting conned, because I can see some dodgy company giving some BS about the chain not being there or whatnot.

[talkToTheHat]

Insurance quotes for me this year were split between £500ish and £120 but call us.

Turns out car thefts and vandalisms are up in my area so brokers are after security. It would seem that Principal and their underwriters are quite realistic about this and told me they didn't require to know what kind of chain or lock I would be using if I declared my home-made ground anchor.

As an aside I've got amongst my collection a mammoth chain and lock (old white on black branding) that used to live under the seat of my 125, lock is better made and more weather resistant than an oxford mini-shackle by a long way. I had been using the inexpensive mammoth kit to secure a steel ramp I'd had made to get the bike up a high kerb into the front garden at my girlfreind's old place. Old mammoth is still going, oxford has failed despite only really being used for 18 months of the 5 years I've had it.

I've got a newer mammoth disk lock (big green plastic-shrouded padlock) but my girlfriend lost the spare key to it whilst on tour. Does anyone know where I might be able to get spare keys for that done as it's still minorly useful despite not fitting on my bandit without some swearing.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Loui5D]

[c_dug]

I declare my Almax because it reduces the premium by a bit.

Realistically I will never claim for theft of my £1000 bike, so it not being locked all of the time doesn't fuss me greatly.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Freddyfruitba...]

It's presumably a similar issue for keeping your bike in a locked garage. That's what I told my insurer I did when taking out my policy, and was consequently advised that if my bike ever gets nicked from my drive or from my unlocked garage, I won't be covered. It didn't occur to me to check the cost of insuring it stored unsecured on the drive, but I certainly will try that come renewal time. It's a pain in the neck that if ever the bike's out on the drive for any reason during the day (eg for maintenance/cleaning) I either have to lock it away again when I go inside for a bit, or else leave it there and just get anxious until I go back out again.
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KC100->CB100N->CB250RS--------->DL650AL2->R1200RS->R1250RS

[talkToTheHat]

Most but not all security clauses contain the terms stored overnight in relation to security arrangements if you dig through the fine print.

Cleaning the bike or maintaining the bike, parking up on the road whilst you dash back into the house to collect wallet/keys/etc, or other such parts of reasonable* daily use do not count as storage.

Be aware however of the difference of during the hours of darkness and overnight as the former means at any time it is dark and the latter implies for the duration of the night. The latter covers you if you stop briefly at the chippie/post box/corner shop on the way home/out, the former probably does not.

*The reasonable man test can be your friend, but be aware courts may interpret this as how much they like you...
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Bandit. does. everything.

[JP7]

A condition of my Bikesure policy was that I got a Thatcham approved lock for my bike, and they emailed me over and over again until I sent back the declaration telling them I'd bought one. Then after sending the declaration back I rang them and asked them how much my premium was going to reduce, having bought the lock they insisted on. That was a short conversation.

Don't expect a discount. And, as others have said, perversely it can go up when you declare security. Sometimes less is more!