Bike Written Off - What now??!

[Banksie]

Hi,

I'm still a learner and yesterday I was involved in a head-on collision with a van down a country road. I was driving perfectly legally, at around 20 mph when the bike suddenly skidded out from beneath me and I ended up crashing in to an on-coming van. The roads were perfectly dry but the surface on the bend was slippy. My bike was written off in the crash and I only have third party fire and theft insurance cover.

As a complete newcomer to the world of insurance claims and such, what the hell do I do now? I have called my insurance company who have sent me a claims form, but this shouldn't cover me for a replacement bike, should it? I am adamant that the accident was not my fault, but neither was it the other driver's fault so how do I proceed with getting a new bike? Do i call his insurance company to make a claim?

Thanks in advance.

Steve.

[imho]

why is the van driver responsible for getting you a new bike?

[fuzz]

You can't claim off his insurance because he wasn't involved. With only TPF&T cover, it looks like you will have to fork out again for a new bike. Have a talk to your insurance guys and see what they say.
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Bikes: '99 NSR125R, '00 SV650S, K1 GSX-R600, '97 CB500, K3 SV1000S, '16 VFR800

[Black Knight]

Welcome to the world of feeling totally fucked over.

Unlucky mate, sorry to hear you binned you bike. Still, it seems you're ok??
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Where does a turn end? 'Where you can do anything with the gas you want to, where you are brave again, where your attention is free from the turn, where you are sure you can do it better next time; that's the end' - Keith Code.

[Banksie]

If the van hadn't been there my bike wouldn't have been written off?

Someone said I may be able to claim "knock-for-knock" but how would I go about that?

[Banksie]

I'm fine AMAZINGLY, thanks BK. My hand is a bit bruised, but I escaped anything serious. Just super-pissed off that it looks like I'm stuck with having £2000 flushed down the drain and my only means of getting to work taken from me.

[Scorpius]

If he was driving legally it dont matter whether he was there or not. Only thing I can think of is if you arrange something with him.
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Cagiva Mito 125 (sold)
Honda CBR400RR NC23 (sold)
Currently riding: Honda CBR600F

[Black Knight]

I feel for ya mate, I really do. My bikes are insured TPFT and if I binned them i'd have nothing.

Regarding your accident, you can't blame the van. It seems like the tyres lost grip. Was there anything on the road? Mud? Diesel?
Was it raining? How deep was your tyre tread?

Oh and what bike was it mate?
____________________
Where does a turn end? 'Where you can do anything with the gas you want to, where you are brave again, where your attention is free from the turn, where you are sure you can do it better next time; that's the end' - Keith Code.

[fuzz]

You also have to consider that he may want to claim against you as your bike went into his van.
____________________
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Bikes: '99 NSR125R, '00 SV650S, K1 GSX-R600, '97 CB500, K3 SV1000S, '16 VFR800

[Rookie]

He will, assuming there's some damage. Sell the bike as spares and cut your losses, then look around for something a bit cheaper.

In court, the winning plea would be that you should have anticipated the slippery surface, and adjusted your riding accordingly. Unfortunately you can't always do that.

Bad luck.

[Banksie]

When the breakdown van arrived, I stood on the corner to slow traffic down and it was immensely slippery - even to stand on. I have a suspicion it was diesel but I don't know for sure. The bike is a Piaggio Fly 125 scooter. It's only 3 months old so the tyre tread is as new.

I damaged his tyre, so he can make a claim (although he offered to let me pay for it if it suited me). My main question is - do I call his insurance company to try and make a claim or do I just cut my losses?

[Kirmit]

In your case TPFT would cover the van driver if he made a claim against you. As far as you are concerned, your not covered and neither is your bike.
With 3rd party insurance they only way to get anything for your bike is if the van was at fault, which it clearly wasn't.

I had a accident on my Bandit, which had TPFT. Came off when I locked the front. Had to pay myself. Didn't even bother claiming, as they count it against you, even if they don't pay out anything.
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When riding fast, think fast. When riding slow.. speed up.
Grey Honda Cityfly 125 || Red Suzuki Bandit 600 & Blue Suzuki SV650SK5|| Red Honda VTR 1000-F2

[TL666]

Are you sure that the bike can't be repaired?

[Rookie]

If it was diesel, you should have seen it and smelt it. More likely it was ice in a patch of shade?

I agree with TL666, try and assess just how much damage has been done, it might not be as bad as you think.

[www.125power.com]

Glad your okay, i would talk to your insurance and find out what will happen if you try to claim, what you CAN claim of course any sum they give you is minus your exess (because you have to pay your exess then they give you the money) so be damn sure its worth claiming, because next years insurance will be high too...

Just how wrecked is it? I mean was written off purely on value of repairs or becuase it a fucking banana? May be intrested in it if its repairable. Any chance of a few pics? more details? you can PM me if you like
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[Black Knight]

[Banksie]

The garage said it is written off, so it's a whole new bike I need. Looks like I'm fcuked!

[fuzz]

You will get nothing out of calling his insurance company. He was not at fault as you say. You're going to have to pay for the damages yourself. I would suggest that you pay him the damages to his van, rather than him claim against you, as it was only his tyre, and hopefully shouldn't be too expensive. You would also get a higher premium on your next bike.
____________________
https://www.bikepics.com/members/fuzzbcf/
Bikes: '99 NSR125R, '00 SV650S, K1 GSX-R600, '97 CB500, K3 SV1000S, '16 VFR800

[Banksie]

The damage is mainly cosmetic - the front mud guard and part of the plastic body. Apparently the reason it's going to cost so much to repair is that the frame and the forks are bent. Engine etc. is absolutely fine.

I can't get pics at the moment as it's at the garage. I wanted to find out what I can do about insurance but it looks like I'm best off bunging the guy some cash for the tyre and selling the bike for parts.

BK- people have advised me to try and get a knock for knock claim but I wasn't sure how to go about it, that's all. And yes, I'm totally new to this 'game'.

[Hotdog]

[TL666]

What type of bike is it? Just because a bike is a write-off doesn't mean its scrap. Get a second opinion. Some people won't touch bent frames but a frame can be fixed.

EDIT

Oh its a scooter. F*ck it, just ride it with a bent frame

[www.125power.com]

[G]

As has been mentioned, it's entirely on your back, we do occasionaly see a few arse-holes that try to claim it was the other persons fault and claim off their insurance when it wasn't at all. Luckily you can't even try that as they would laugh at you,

I would talk to the van driver and see how much it will cost to sort. This may well save you money in the long run as you don't lose your NCB.

While it seems bad that you didn't have fully comp, if you did you may not get that much money back - ie they would probably value the scooter around £1.2k if you're lucky, say a £300 excess drops it down to £900 that you would get.
But they would also probably cancel the insurance and you would have had to possibly pay around double insurance for fully comp - meaning that if you had fully comp and made a claim you may only be about £200 better off.


First thing, don't trust the garage. Try and get someone trustworthy to look at it.
You may be able to get it rideable fairly easily.

If not, well, this is why people are advised to not buy new bikes.
If you want another scooter you can probably pick one up, or a cheap 125 'real' bike for under £500, should be able to get your insurnace transfered for not much.
Yes, you've had to pay out, but you'll be back in the same situation and not spent that much more than the excess would be on a fully comp policy that would cover you.

[syl]

[Banksie]