Pillion insurance cover>>is it needed?

[HP]

I just passed my test today and phoned up my insurace (cia) to tell them and thankfully didnt charge me for changing the policy, however they said you need to pay an extra 50 quid to ride with pillions. Is this the law or does it just cover them in a crash for injuries and wotnot. I only have tpft so im not covered if it is my fault so i aint gonna cover one of my mates unless it is the law, any advise on what i should do please.

Harry

[Swim41]

If you took a pillion you would be riding outside the terms of your insurance. If you crashed, the insurance company could refuse to pay out to a third party (quite possibly the pillion) and leave you liable for costs/damages or pay out and then seek to recoup the costs from you. Not pleasant.

Either hold off taking a pillion until your next renewal comes up (when it should cost buttons if anything to make the amendment) or pay up
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Yamaha XJ600N

[c_dug]

Pay the 50 quid or don't take a pillion.

Even if its not the law its not worth the expensive court case when your mate looses the loss of his legs through your bad riding.

c_dug
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Ste]

[HP]

ok cheers for the replies looks like i won't be taking a pillion then.

[c-m]

Its got nothing to do with the law.

I wouldn't be signing up to any company that tries to charge extra for carrying pillions. A bike is designed to be able to carry two people, just like a car is able to carry 4/5/7. You shouldn't expect to pay extra, it should be an implied term of the policy.

Ditch them

[ms51ves3]

[Gazdaman]

I once crashed with a pillion when I didn't have pillion cover. I was absolutely shitting myself for ages.

I always have it now, just to be on the safe side.

Gaz

P.s after the accident it all just seemed to go away, I assume the insurance company resolved it.

[c-m]

The insurance company cannot take away your legal right to carry a pillion.

In the even of an accident as other have said, the pillion is a 3rd party and could be covered by that.

If the accident is caused by you, your insurer might try to void your policy for travelling outside of your cover, but the worst that would happen would be that they would pay out then seek the costs back from you.

Its usually worth ticking the box as it doesn't seem to add much if anything to the cost, but for overall answer is 'no' you don't need it to carry a pillion

[kate t]

I purposely chose not to be insured to take a pillion, because I don't feel confident enough yet.

Who the hell in their right mind would ever want to get on a bike with me?

[OssY]

Get some riding experience on the bike before even thinking about taking a pillion out...

[Aka Matt]

It would probably be worth asking the insurance company what the extra pillion cover actually gives you over not taking it up as an option. When I took out my last 4 policies I was told that by not taking the option, I wouldn't invalidate my insurance in the event of a crash and that my pillion could still claim from my policy as they are a third party so am fine to take pillions still. None of them really managed to explain the point of taking the extra cover out to me tbh.
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Current bike(s): 2016 Tuono 1100 Factory, 1998 Hornet 600
Previous: 1998 YZF600R Thundercat, 2001 Bandit 600, 2002 GSX-R 600 K2, 2011 Tuono R, 2013 Z1000SX

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[Ghost]

I've never liked this, car insurance policies don't cost extra because you want to use your passenger seat, so why should a bike policy charge for taking a pillion passenger?

I always go for it as so far it's never added anything to the cost, but if it was drastically more expensive I'd just not ask for it and carry on taking passengers as normal. Insurance companies can only take the piss so much before I get annoyed!

[ms51ves3]

I'm just waiting for somebody to come along and say that you're not actually paying for the pillion cover, just getting discount if you don't take pillions

[Alex A]

As I understand it, the 'extra cover' is not to cover the pillion in an accident (that's already covered third party), it's to account for the fact that if you're taking pillions you may well be more likely to claim.

I imagine it's different to car policies because the added weight and abnormal weight distribution of taking a pillion on many bikes can dramatically affect the handling and require better balance and throttle control by the rider. Even a fully loaded car will only be slowed but handle almost entirely as it would unloaded.

As such, declaring pillion to insurance for an experienced rider will often add nothing or very little indeed to to cost of the premium, declaring for an inexperienced rider with no NCB and a new licence will add a fair chunk (like £50). And just as with everything insurance wise, if you don't declare it, and you do crash with a pillion, they could not pay out with comp insurance. With TPO/TPFT they may well invalidate your policy and withdraw cover, not refund you for the remainder of the year, and all future cover will cost a lot more with any insurer because you have to declare that you've had cover withdrawn.
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

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[Alex A]

You don't seem to realise that insurance is a free market (albeit broadly regulated).

As a private insurance firm, it is their role to analyse and assess risk(s) and quote accordingly (they have to make a profit, they're not just in the business to get you legally on the road). So long as they don't breach discrimination laws on grounds of race/disability, they can ask anything about the circumstances under which you wish to be insured (where you live, whether the bike is locked up, whether you have mods, how many miles you do, what you will use it for). They could ask whether you use premium unleaded if (a) it made any statistical difference to claim rates and (b) they could find out whether you do. In short, it is in the interests of the insurer to have as much information as possible about anything that is relevant to how likely you will be to claim.

As a private individual, you are entering into a contract that has been agreed on the basis of the information the private insurers have a legitimate interest in. You are binded by the information that you disclose, and subject to breach of contract if even the slightest detail is incorrect. If you don't like the questions one insurer is asking (or more precisely, the price increases entailed by your honest answers to those questions), it's a free market, find another insurer. If there isn't another one cheaper, then that's it, that's how much it is worth for them to insure you for what you want to do. Take it or leave it.

Not all insurers ask about pillion use IME, but they may just charge as though you take pillions anyway.
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

[Dibble]

I don't have pillion cover because I hate taking pillions and it gives me a perfect excuse (and not having footpegs or even a seat ).

It knocks about £20 or 20% off my premium

[G]

[Clanger]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

OT

[kate t]

[arry]

[pa_broon74]

Is the extra fifty quid an actual increase in the premium or is it a charge layed on by the broker/insurer to change the terms of the policy?

I always tick the box just in case, it hadn't ocurred to me about the car driver/will you be taking folk in the back comparison, but I see what folk mean.

It is slightly different though so I can understand why insurers ask the question. Although I take ms51's point, I also am perpetually cynical about the motivations of insurance companies.


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Didn't catch anything.