Insurance

[Apsin]

Hi.My motorbike was stolen and I got it back without making claim or telling about it to insurance company.
I need to renew insurance soon and when I’m trying to make quote there is question did I had incidents accidents thefts last 5 years and option there was no claim.What do you think do I need to tell insurance company about theft?Does it will affect my no claim bonuses and does insurance will cost more?There is no difference in price every month if I push yes or no.Can they cancell insurance if I will tell them there wasn’t theft or they will find out about that?

[MarJay]

It depends how it's worded. If it says incidents or accidents, you need to declare it. If it says claims, you don't need to.

Watch it, because if you answer dishonestly the insurance company can cancel your policy.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Apsin]

[Ste]

Yes you were meant to have reported it to your insurance company at the time however that ship has sailed.

But you didn't so now when taking a new policy out or renewing your existing policy, personally I'd advise against choosing to tell them that you're previously broken the terms and conditions of an insurance policy which is ultimately what you'd be doing if you tell them you've previously had a bike stolen.

They'll see on the Claims and Underwriting Exchange, which is a database for insurance companies, that you haven't reported a theft and they can see that because it would be on the database as a "notification only" incident. At that point they would start asking you awkward questions and cancelling your policy. Having a policy cancelled is very bad because you then have to declare that which will mean much higher prices.

When you decided at the time of the incident that you weren't going to report it, that means you're never going to tell any insurance company.

[Apsin]

[Ste]

[Apsin]

[Ste]

How long ago did it happen?

[MarJay]

Maybe you could argue that an incident does not include theft?
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Apsin]

[Ste]

3 months... if you're going to tell anyone then you should first tell your current insurers about it. I don't know how that would go as they'll be unhappy that you didn't tell them at the time but I've no idea how unhappy they'll be as if they're really unhappy that's when policies start being cancelled.

Telling new insurance companies about something your current insurer knows nothing about could end badly as they'll be no record of what you're declaring.

You can either go on and tick the box which say you're had no accidents / losses / incidents or you'll have to unpick the decision to not tell your current insurer when it happened.

Point of note, I'm saying that you should have told them at the time but that doesn't necessarily mean I would have told them about a theft I had no intention of making a claim for.

[Apsin]

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

Why didn’t you inform the insurance company when the bike was stolen?

[Ste]

Have had a look at a few policy documents and they say things like:

- you must tell them details as soon as possible of any accident, theft or damage regardless of blame and whether or not a claim is being made.

- please report any road accident or any other incident that may result in a claim as as you can.

and so on and so on.

I'm not saying that it would be better to not declare it to a new insurer as that would be advising you to commit fraud.

You need to think carefully about what you do here. If you declare it then you'll be declaring something which isn't on their database which would raise questions that you might prefer not to be asked.

If you don't declare it then it's not completely impossible that your new insurance company could for obscure reasons come to be in a situation where information they request from the police would include even a passing mention of the theft that occurred a few months ago.

You made the decision three months ago that you're not going to declare the theft. If you start a lie then you kind of have to keep it going.

It might be possible to declare it to your current insurance company three months after the event and bullshit your around the question why didn't you report it at the time. If they only look at the situation in very black and white terms then there's no way to bullshit around the fact you didn't report the theft at the time. They might be completely unbothered, I don't know.

There is no good answer for this. Personally, I probably might just not tell them about something that happened which I was never going to claim for.

From their point of view whatever might be claimed for the value of the vehicle is small and the real reason they insist policy holders tell them when the vehicle is no longer in their possession because if the vehicle is in the possession of someone end then they want to terminate the policy asap to prevent them being liable for damages done by the thief riding the insured vehicle. They don't really care about the however many thousands of pounds would have been involved had you decided to make a claim, they care about the multi million pound claim that could come their way as a result of the thief crashing the bike whilst your insurance company is liable for third party damages.

I'm interested to hear what MarJay has to suggest. It should have been reported at the time and it should be declared now. Declaring it now when getting quotes elsewhere is only a viable option if it's reported to your current insurer first. It's a tricky one.

Twenty years ago I'd have completely said keep going and don't tell anyone, no one will ever find out and everything will be fine. Now I'd rather take a more careful and considered approach especially as you say there's no difference in price if you say yes or no to declaring the theft. There's no benefit in lying and not declaring the theft other than you've started the lie so now have to keep it going. You'd still have your no claims as you haven't made a claim for the theft however the theft would be on the database as a "notification only" incident.

Just to add to your headaches, you've been getting quotes declaring the theft and quotes not declaring the theft. Should you buy insurance from one of those quotes then they can see that they quoted you with the theft declared and without the theft declared. If you take out the policy without it declared then that can raise questions about what's going on, why were you getting a quote declaring the theft and then taking a policy out which doesn't include the theft declare.

[BanditsHigh]

Feign ignorance, inform your current insurer that you didn't know you had to report the theft as you got the vehicle back, and it was only after talking to a friend that you were informed that you should've reported it.

[Apsin]

[Ste]

How long was the bike stolen for and out of your possession?

[Apsin]

[Easy-X]

16 days?! That's not an insignificant theft! If my bike went missing and I found it in a ditch the next day I might not bother the insurance about it if it was mostly scuffed and (in my opinion) roadworthy but strictly speaking you should.

Over two weeks, what could have happened in that time? Maybe a few robberies committed with your bike, a few "leaving the petrol garage forecourt without paying"... you're opening yourself up to all sorts of problems! Okay, "that ship has sailed" as others have said but wow, don't skip reporting for future reference.
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Apsin]

[Apsin]

[A100man]

FWIW...

..I was side swiped by a German lorry some years ago. he admitted responsibility, no police were called..

I badgered his insurance night and day to get my car fixed. I didn't inform my insurers cos I figured why? they'll only uplift premium even if no fault, cos cnuts.

It got repaired.. (to the tune of about 5k).. and I got insured still since... no kitttens were harmed.
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[Capt Sisko]

If I get say 3pts on my licence for a speeding ticket mid insurance policly I don't have to tell my insurance company until renewal time, so what's the difference between that and having a bike stolen & recovered when there's been no damage done to it and no claim has been made?

As long as you keep to the truth with the renewal (with either the existing company or a new one) you're doing the right thing.

[Ste]

If about two or three days means two days then being able to say 50 hours sounds a lot better saying than 16 days.

[BanditsHigh]