compensation for bike and kit

ludek777 · L Plate Warrior Joined: 14 Jun 2010 Karma :

Does anyone know how much is the compensation for damaged riding kit:helmet, gloves, jacket and trousers?
Also I wonder if anyone can help?
My 8months yamaha was written off after I have been hit by car.The 3rd party insurer offered to me £4175 as preaccident value of my bike. On bike trader the same bikes cost £4999. After 2 weeks faighting they increased the amount to £4495. Thats still leave me with £500 out of pocket to get the same bike as my before the accident. I was searching for some legal advice but couldn't find anything.
Anyone knows what asle I can do? Any legal advice?

herulach · World Chat Champion Joined: 19 Apr 2010 Karma :

MarkJ · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Apr 2006 Karma :

How much did you have it insured for? If it's 5k it might be worth getting your insurance to send them a letter saying it was insured for 5k.

multijoy · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Oct 2008 Karma :

tahrey · World Chat Champion Joined: 07 Jul 2010 Karma :

^ All this, but be warned
1. it'll probably take the best part of a year to sort out properly. See if you can get the highest agreed value immediately (so you get get back on the road, with a little personal outlay) and push for the rest as a top up.

2. realise it's something of a barter thing. Try going in high (rather than precise, as I did). Various parts of the things listed above will be flat out refused just because they're stingy buggers, and they won't shift even as the solicitor's bills (paid by insurance, usually) rack up.

I tried claiming for them... some stuff was allowed, some not. Can't remember exactly at the moment, but I don't think they agreed to pay travel or phone costs, despite them being quite considerable, presumably because I could have just settled for the nearest and first putative replacement I came across (despite it being a/ shite, b/ probably a ringer). Did at least get full market cost of vehicle (once excess was recovered), courtesy hire covered and, after quite a bit of wrangling pointing out that there's no way in hell anyone with any sense would take a hire vehicle without it, the CDW.

Good luck, it's like getting blood from a stone. STILL haven't had the (cosmetic) crash damage from last year sorted on my car because I refuse to pay for it out of pocket (£500... 700... 1300? - they can't decide - that I can ill afford) until they sort the damn liability out. Spent god knows how long on the phone putting my case and pretty much doing the insurer's and solicitors' work for them because they it sometimes seems they CBFA unless it's a really big juicy case with a brand-new motor and plenty of personal injury involved.

weegieblue · Nova Slayer Joined: 21 Jul 2010 Karma :

I work in the complaints department of a motor insurance company and deal with total loss valuation issues all of the time so this might be useful for you.

When looking at the value, the engineers will take into account the age, mileage and condition of the vehicle. If, for example, it had damage that was not accident related, the engineer can make a deduction for the cost of that repair from your settlement figure. Ask whether any deductions have been made for 'wear and tear' or 'non-accident related damage'. If so, make sure they are correct, and challenge them if not.

The actual valuation is taken using a number of things - the first is Glass's guide. This is always the starting point as it is quite accurate. Another thing is the selling price of the same vehicle IN YOUR LOCAL AREA! If you find a similar bike selling for £500 more but in London and you're in Aberdeen, this is not a relevant comparison and either won't be used, of the amount will be altered to reflect the general higher costs in London.

Finally, the other source, believe it or not, is Autotrader. They will look and see what vehicles similar to yours are being offered for, as this is a likely starting point for you to buy a replacement.

So, in order to get your value increased, present the insurer with 3 bikes in the same condition/age/mileage as yours, and say that to be put in the position you were in before the accident, a settlement of £x is required. You will be surprised to find if you can present a logical argument they generally accept it. You can also ask for information regarding how their figure was arrived at - the engineer will have completed a report to justify his figure and you are entitled to see this. The Data Protection Act covers it as it will have your name on, so either they tell you, or put in a Subject Access Request and they will send everything to you.

As a last resort, you can accept the settlement and confirm that you are only accepting it as an "interim payment" as you feel it is too low, and that you wish to submit a complaint. This will be logged and processed, with a response within 40 days. If it still doesn't suit you, the Financial Ombudsman Service will review it for you (at a cost of £500 to the insurer!) although this can take an age.

Hope that helps. If you need anything more, let me know.
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Suzuiki EN 125-2a - July 2010 to August 2010
Suzuki SV650s, 1999 model - August 2010 - now

GML · L Plate Warrior Joined: 19 Aug 2010 Karma :

Hiya,

A mate of mine came off the other day, wrecking his and his wife's gear and the bike was a write off. He's managed to get everything back, including the kit. Was claimed off the other party since it wasn't his fault. I think he had to go through the personal injury claims route though. I have a feeling it was www.claimability.co.uk, he reckoned they were pretty good, at least he wasn't really out of pocket.

How did you go about fighting with the insurance company? I usually manage to do most things over the phone, but I think you can often get a little further by writing a letter to the department. Which company was it?

Cheers,
Geoff