I'm a 'wrinkly' so I guess my insurance premiums may not be representative to young stallions, but I've had some interesting experiences with insurance companies in recent years. My worst was with a broker that uses a certain feathered creature as a logo.They gave me a quote (I was doing the annual shop-around to renew my policy). The figure I was quoted for a comparable policy to my existing was competitive so I signed up, only to find out when the docs arrived the excess was far above what had been discussed in my 'phone call. Cutting a long story short (missing out details of appalling customer service) the company eventually gave a full refund of premium (but there had been several frustrating exchanges and I thought I'd be going to the Insurance Ombudsman). Being somewhat 'short in the leg', I'd lowered the suspension height on my last 'bike and been upfront with my then current insurer and, whilst there had been sharp intakes of breath when I told the broker my 'bike wasn't standard, did in fact get unloaded cover. Having had the problems with the feathered friend broker I decided to check with my car insurer (LV=). Oh what a different experience that was ! Again I was up front with them re my intention to upgrade the suspension on my Bonneville to better quality units. The phone call to get a quote was short and pleasant, no sharp intakes of breath were heard and I had a fully comp quote for under £100 in no time (separate policy not a joint vehicle one). I've been back on a 'bike for 12 years or so now, and the LV= process was quite impressive by comparison to previous processes I've encountered. The annual renewal price wasn't a rip-off either. So far I've had no need to shop around for a decent renewal quote (but time will tell !). At least with my experience, it seems it can pay to go direct to your car insurance company rather than go via a broker (If my memory serves my right, the broker fee with the company mentioned above that I've not named was in the region of £100, although this wasn't made clear until I picked through the detail of the paperwork they sent me !).
Weird aint it, I use LV for my home insurance and no one else comes close to their price. For my car , 308 pug they are one of the higher priced insurers. My car is with Adrian Flux but they couldnt get close on my bike policy. My car is up in january,be interesting as I have been with them 2 years now.
My complete mistrust of the insurance world has driven me for the first time in 43 years to go for Third party F&T. Not for everybody I know, it's not for lack of funds or coming from Yorkshire (lol) but I see it this way. 1) It Meets the legal requirements of Third Party cover 2) It covers Fire damage 3) It covers theft 4) if I damage my bike through my own fault then I will handle that at the time. Minimal savings really in the grand scheme of things, but the thought of being fleeced by an unregulated, unscrupulous industry pisses me right off. FYI Maximum NCD on my car No convictions 1 year NCD on my bike (had to start from 0 last year which was fair enough after 30 years with no bike) Third Party F&T incl minimal breakdown cover which covers all my needs = £111 I repeat not for everybody, but I feel better for it and who can put a price on that ?
I always shop around, takes 10 minutes or so and can save you a shed load of money to then buy nice things for the bike and you,,win win. And wtf is all that admin charge bollox? A licence to just print money and take the piss.
I have very rarely been with the same insurers 2 years running for the past 25+ years As we have all said, no rewards for loyalty and shop around before every renewal time. What does annoy me is that I could not find a single insurer that would cover my car and bike in the same policy, FFS I can only drive one vehicle at a time and surely it would be in a companies interests to get all your business. Maybe I'm missing something ?
Funny you say that , my Bikes with Aviva through HR Insure, but they are pointing me at Agis as being a cheaper quote - I need to sort it out, you've reminded me!
Hi Mick, A bit late I know but I am a new member. My renewal is due on the 17th Dec & it is costing me £285 but this is for four bikes, all fully comp. I have been with the same insurer for quite a number of year after getting ripped off by Carol Nash. Every renewal has been very competitive from "Motorcycle Direct" & they pay out with no quibbling if you should be unfortunate enough to have to claim. Regards, Stu
Bennetts a bunch of robbing muppets-motorcycle specialist my arse-asked them for a quote on my winter bike(Suzuki GS 500)said they couldn't quote as they couldn't find the model on their data base-also my renewal was 140 squid more than with any other quote I got for the Speed'94-went with Principal Insurance not the cheapest but at least they knew what they were talking about,still £120 cheaper than Bennetts for the same level of cover/benefits.
It shows how Dickensian bike insurance is when they keep asking....does it have a sidecar?...I always visualize my tiger with one & it makes me smile...reality normally kicks me in the nuts quick enough though when they give their pie in the sky quote. It's outrageous the motorcycle insurance industry & a con too
My worst ever dealings with any insurance company was Bewiser....they were truly awful, quoting me a reasonable quote then ringing me a week later to say that they had put my 2012 thruxton down as a 2002 model ( even though they didn't make em then) & saying when they put in the proper date it had gone up by several hundred pounds & to cancel now would cost me £50 per policy...Bewiser...go somewhere else!
My car insurance renewal arrived to day, £75 more for same deal. Went on-to gocompare and got quotes, then phoned my insurer who (surprise) matched the best one, Back to square one.
Lol. Ok car insurance this time, my renewal from Flux came thru this morning, been waiting eagerly for it. £480, the websites as usual have beaten that quote, moneysupermarket being the lowest at £313 with AXA, then I note that it needs upgrading to breakdown cover and legal cover (fuckin rip off that is and all) so I adds the 60 quid for them making it £373 with ncb protection and £250 excess. I did however have european cover last year coz of going to France, which I no longer need so I would expect Flux to come down a bit. Sooooo as I am looking at my quotes, my Union,Unite send an email offering me quotes for the insurance. Nout to lose think I, and fill the forms in , my cheapest,now get this, cheapest was £133, wow thinks I, until I look again and see that is monthly. They wanted £1392.79 annually, Jeez.
Motor legal insurance is a con. Because of the fees lawyers earn from injury claims they don't actually charge the insurers for it at all and indeed they pay the insurer a commission of hundreds of pounds for every live case. So when the insurer offers you legal expenses insurance for £10 or so that is just the cherry on the icing on the cake for them. Don't buy it.
A few years ago I was looking through the small print & realised I hadn't been insured to carry a pillion - for the past year! All my life I've just presumed they were covered. Is it just a trick to make your premium seem more competetive? Do they charge extra for car passengers also?
no its to f u when you go to court. cos if you add a pillion it does not cost any extra! why else would you do that?
She'd need to be a decent bit of stuff to be allowed on the back of mine, and she'd need the death grip to stay on
