Guy smashes into my bike, insurance messing me about

[alex965]

Hi all, I'll try to keep this brief:

Basically, a guy smashed into my parked bike, leaving it un-driveable and pretty worse for wear.

He admitted fault and his insurance company have contacted me to sort something out.

My bike is pretty old (1994) and worth around £700 - they are saying they want to write it off as a total loss.

They are trying to insist that a company called Plantec picks my bike up, does a full inspection, and then makes me an offer.

I really don't want this to happen - Plantec works for insurance companies and it's obvious they'll look for any reason to not have to pay what the bike is worth.

Also, the bike was (legally) parked on the road, but I hadn't used it for a while so the front brake is seizing quite a lot - I'm worried that they will try to use that as an excuse to say the bike wasn't roadworthy and thus they don't have to pay out.

Basically, what I want to happen is for the insurers to pay to get the bike transported to my local mechanic - who then gives them a quote on the damage.

Has anyone had a similar experience with this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers all
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Passed A2 licence 19th Dec '14.

[pinkyfloyd]

Sounds like you are messing them around, Sadly its their insurance that is going to cover the cost, it'll be their garage, their dealer, their everyone, you can always contest the amount of the settlement offered if you are not happy with it.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[natefz6]

You could ask your insurance to deal with it, then they will get their inspector to look at it but obviously with your interests in mind. As there is no way it will be found to be your fault you should not have any problems with your no claims once its settled.

Obvs some people think you should never tell your insurance anything as they will try to screw you each way, in my experience though I have not had a problem.
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[Nobby the Bastard]

Just belt the callipers with a lump hammer to loosen the pads from the disk slightly and then when it siezes whilst they've got it it's not really your problem.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Monkeypony]

An insurance company will write off a £700 bike if a bird takes a dump on the seat (fyi, if this happens, don't offer to take her out again...). What advantage will you gain by having a local mechanic quote for repairs, for them to then write it off and still try and shaft you with the valuation?

Let them have it. Haggle over the pay out, buy back the salvage, THEN give it to a local mechanic to repair.

Dicking about as you are, is only leaving you with a fucked up bike for longer. Makes no sense.
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Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[Alpineandy]

You're probably better off searching (saving/printing off) copies of adverts for similar bikes (Year/Model/Mileage/Condition etc)
so you can argue over the correct price of the bike when they offer you scrap value for it.

By all means ask your local mechanic to price up the repair, but the insurance will take no notice of it.
So it's only benefit is you knowing if it's worth buying the bike back from them to repair yourself (which It probably isn't).
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The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me.

[Ste]

They can come and inspect the bike but there's no need for them to take it anywhere.

[Rogerborg]

That. They can have possession when they pay you the full market value of the bike. Or the replacement value. How much is an abandoned, seized up, 23 year old bike worth?
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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

[alex965]

It's low mileage, (was) in near pristine condition etc.

It was in daily use until about two weeks ago - hence the front brake sticking.
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Passed A2 licence 19th Dec '14.

[ZX-7R]

Seems a lot of drama over a worthless bike that insurance companies will write off and pay out as its so little money.
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Current Bike - 2000 ZX-7R

[Tierbirdy]

My insurers set me up with PlantecAssist when I got twatted off on a roundabout a few months ago, I found them pretty helpful.

Similarly they wanted to take my bike away and have it inspected in their storage yard. I said no because can guarantee youll never see the bike again when they declare it a cat B and crush it for you. They had no problem with that, they were happy to let me keep the bike in my garage and sent round an engineer to do the inspection at my home. So I see no reason why they cant do the same for you, give them a ring and see!

Some bloke in a van with a clipboard turned up, spent 2 minutes poking my bike and hmmming at it, then went.

They did massively undervalue my bike, but when I kicked off a little bit and sent in some proof they were taking the piss, they quickly upped their offer with no fuss.

[alex965]

[P.]

Remove calliper. Press pads apart gently, re-fix. Apply fresh dirt to the cleaner looking bolts and sorted. Perfect brakes.

[SuperMike]

I went through the plantec experience a couple of years ago when my scooter got totalled and actually they weren't too bad. Bloke with van turned up, took it away, it got the inevitable Cat C write off label and then I got paid out at market value minus the salvage. It was actually a good valuation - sold the salvage on eBay and between that and the pay out was only £200 or so short on what I paid brand new 2 years prior.

I don't think that Plantec have any vested interests one way or the other with regards to writing off your bike. They made an absolute killing on the hire bike I had for 6 weeks - billed the other insurers for about 5 grand for a scooter!

As per the above, if it were me I would just get on with the process. Count yourself lucky liability has been admitted and you don't have to go through a 2 year legal battle to get the money. Claiming on insurance is a truly miserable experience for most.

[alex965]

Thanks guys. Some really good advice on here.

I'm just going to crack on with the process and make sure I collect ads for similar bikes so I can argue the toss with them over the valuation.
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Passed A2 licence 19th Dec '14.