The definitive motorcycle insurance thread

[mossy1200]

Wow. sounding pretty good so far.

Told a lie its only $7.60 a month for the second bike.

[Pontiac_Tonz]

I note they use two providers, Vero and Lumly.


At a quick glance the PDS Doc's are the same.


A couple of things stand out.

They will only replace your new bike within 12months of purchase, I am with Youi, I get two years new for old.

Their Roadside is good, but puts a limit on each call out (if I read correctly) to a max of $100.00 !?!?!?

I have no limit, but only 2 callouts a year then $150.00 per callout, Star gives you 3 call outs a year.

I really like their Mechanical breakdown cover, though you have to have your service records with you.



This worries me though:

3. If a claim is made for a total loss of the insured motorcycle
by theft, we will not be required to settle the claim for a
minimum of 30 days from the date of reporting the loss to us;
or until investigations are complete.

Do I read correctly the minimum time to pay total loss after total loss is 30 days?



It is important to read insurance companies PDS Docs, these are always on their web sites, they tell you how they cover, payout, deal with claims and how they pay.

some of the B.S. I have found (NOT in respect to the above) from insurance companies:


"We will pay market value for the damaged item" This was for contents cover at home, it literaly meant that if my 2 year old 42" TV is damaged, they pay me for what they are going for on Trade Me!??!?!? ( I now have full "New for Old" with my current insurer).


"Your vehicle will not be insured while.... being use on an unsealed surface" - Would you believe AA.


Some companies have two levels of cover, Standard and Premier (State has this), they quote on Standard cover to make it look cheaper, but the level of cover is crap.


Others that are cheaper have this rider:


"if two or more quotes are obtained, we will authorise the repairs based on the most competitive and complete quote"

This company uses none original parts.

In other words, they make up for the cheap premiums when fixing your bike.



Once I realised the cover I had was not what I thought it was, I looked very carefully at all the main players, there are some glaring differences when you read the PDS, so take note of everyones personal experience in dealing with Star insurance, but read the PDS first, as this is the agreement you have with them.

Good luck.

[Pontiac_Tonz]

Told a lie its only $7.60 a month for the second bike.

That is outstanding!

When bike two hits the garage I will look at Star too.

[Oscar]

It should be noted that Star, Classic Cover and Protecta are not actually insurance companies.
They are underwriting agents, which essentially means that they sell their own version of of a particular insurers prooduct.
So looking at the financial strength rating of the insurer involved:

Star - Vero A+ Standard & Poors or Lumley (part of IAG) AA- Standard & Poors
Classic Cover - NZI (part of IAG) AA- Standard & Poors
Protecta - Allianz AA- Standard & Poors (technically an overseas based insurer).

[Oscar]

That is outstanding!

When bike two hits the garage I will look at Star too.

Star have a deal on multiple bikes (where the excess is increased for riders other than you to $1,500).
I have seven bikes insured for $800pa + GST

[n3Xro]

Personal experience, have just been through this with Star as of accident two weekends ago.

Sunday 23rd : crash bike.
Monday 24 : Call Kiwibike and have bike collected by agent of my choice. Sent photos of damaged gear.
Tuesday 25: return completed claim forms.
Wednesday 26: Receive replacement gear
Friday 28: assessor advises bike is a write off, forms to settle received.
Monday 31: Return forms to settle, advised payment will be by cheque. Now waiting for payment.

So far everyone has been very easy to deal with, have had direct lines to the assessor and have been kept in the loop through the whole process. Has definitely taken a load off me while recuperating.

[Banditbandit]

I'd unreservedly recommend Star - I have had no issues with them paying out - and even after a 'final' payout after a crash I found the bars were bent and they agreed to pay for the new baers as well. And that was despite sending them a list of trffic tickets over the previous five years that ran to a page and a half .. Star didn't even blink .. just paid out for repairs ..

[jasonu]

. They take its consideration you cant ride both at the same time.

A shame the ACC doesn't see it this way...

[mossy1200]

A shame the ACC doesn't see it this way...

That's the funny thing about turtles. They can pee out their mouth and breath out their arse but couldn't run a 4 minute mile to save themselves.

[Oscar]

This worries me though:

3. If a claim is made for a total loss of the insured motorcycle
by theft, we will not be required to settle the claim for a
minimum of 30 days from the date of reporting the loss to us;
or until investigations are complete.

Do I read correctly the minimum time to pay total loss after total loss is 30 days?

I think you'll find this is just stating what every other insurer is going to do on a de facto basis.
They won't want to pay out on a theft claim if there is any chance the thing is coming back.
The last line gives the assessor the right to recommend a payment at any time though.

[Bassmatt]

sounds pretty good then .
$600 premium 500 excess $2500 gear cover, youi wanted over $1200 $400 excess $3k gear cover, state $1000 with $1000 excess, protecta $700 $500excess.
protecta doesnt seem as good cover as the others eg no new bike in the first year just market value, no gear cover just $500 towards a helmet.

[Banditbandit]

This worries me though:

3. If a claim is made for a total loss of the insured motorcycle
by theft, we will not be required to settle the claim for a
minimum of 30 days from the date of reporting the loss to us;
or until investigations are complete.

Do I read correctly the minimum time to pay total loss after total loss is 30 days?

No. I read it differently. I read it that the minimum time they are REQUIRED to pay out is after 30 days - they may pay out earlier - but you can't hold them to anything less than 30 days.

Oscar is also right - they may wait to see if the bike is recovered before paying out ... What usually happens is they pay out and then if the bike is recovered, it belongs to the insurance company - no matter what condition it is recovered in. Often, if has not been damaged you can buy it off the insurance company - and the figure they put on that is what they paid you for it ...

I would not worry about the clause too much .. unless you are planning for the bike to be stolen ..

[Frodo]

I was with Swann for ten years. Didn't claim, but was sick of paying high premiums.
I then approached Kiwibike (Star). To cut a long story short. My bike is housed in a garage with roller door, well back from the road. I offered to commit to locking the bike, including with a disc lock or chain, but I could not guarantee that the garage would always be locked (there's stuff in there like chook food, etc). Kiwibike said that if my bike was stolen out of my garage and the garage was not locked, I would have a $2000 excess. I consider this unreasonable, so stayed with Swann.
Having bought a new bike, I've just reviewed my insurance and decided to go with Protecta. The relevant bit in their policy states that the bike is not insured if:
"Left unattended, unless it is in a Locked Building or
the steering has been locked and the keys have been
removed. This exclusion applies to claims for the Theft
of the Motorcycle only."
So if its in my unlocked garage and the steering is locked, its covered.
The policy covers:
"New for Old vehicle replacement if a
new NZ vehicle is a total loss within
the timeframe stated on your policy."
I have sought clarification for this timeframe.

I went with Protecta as the premium is $200 per year less than Swann and Swann was not prepared to match.
Its not all about the premium, its also about the payout in the event of a claim. I trawled through the insurance thread and concluded that Protecta did not seem to be any worse.

[Bassmatt]

I was with Swann for ten years. Didn't claim, but was sick of paying high premiums.
I then approached Kiwibike (Star). To cut a long story short. My bike is housed in a garage with roller door, well back from the road. I offered to commit to locking the bike, including with a disc lock or chain, but I could not guarantee that the garage would always be locked (there's stuff in there like chook food, etc). Kiwibike said that if my bike was stolen out of my garage and the garage was not locked, I would have a $2000 excess. I consider this unreasonable, so stayed with Swann.

mate, how are they going to prove the garage was unlocked?

[Frodo]

mate, how are they going to prove the garage was unlocked?

Forced entry I guess.
The point was that they were so anal over the whole thing - long email thread to prove it. It was obviously a big issue for them.
I just didn't want to deal with them.
If they are like that when they are trying to get my money, what would they be like when I try to get theirs?

In contrast, Protecta said no worries.