Fear not the 5-0 but the insurer

[madboy]

I've long held the opinion that it was not the ticket, not the fine, not the demerits and not the disqualification that was worth worrying about. They are events that have attached to them fixed penalties and fixed timeframes. A fine is simple - pay the money and it's over. Demerits mean nothing unless you get over 100. And even when you do get disq, if you have my mentality, that just means you don't get stopped for X months. So none of these really have any impact on you as such.

I've always said I was scared of my insurers. They are the ones who arbitrarily decide what my premiums will be, what my excess will be, and whether I can even get insurance cover in the first place. And it is on the basis of the driving history that they do so. And my driving history also impacts on my family, because after all we share vehicles so I have to be covered, and if the terms are adverse then they often have to suffer too.

Since my driving history has always read like a novel (a legacy of the young man/fast car/bad attitude days), I've always ended up having lengthy and sometimes frustrating discussions with insurers. When my partner and I got serious and bought a "mutual" car a year or two back, we went with her insurer because she had a guaranteed no claim bonus for life. I got a $1500 excess and a nice clause saying if I got another ticket then I would no longer be covered. I figure if I'm at fault then I don't mind coughing up $1,500. And when we insured the 2nd car with them a few months later, the terms were continued. And when I insured the bike, the terms were carried over too. All fine by me.

You may (or may not) recall a wee thread I started a few months ago where I outlined my ticket for lanesplitting. Since I was in a "good boy" phase, I stopped and took my beans. And never bothered contesting the ticket because I figured $150 tax was fair enough for two years plus of complete tax avoidance.

So today when I rang my insurer to cover our third car, I was a good boy and when asked disclosed my ticket two months ago. I'm sorry, sir, we cannot cover you anymore. You now have no cover as a driver of any of the cars or the bike.

First ticket I've had in probably 3 years (or more). A piddly little $150 fine for lanesplitting. Something many of us do, particularly the regular commuters. Now look at the consequences. What have I learned from this? Ironically I bear no malice against the police for this, but sadly they and the general public will also wear the consequences too, for the likelihood of me getting any more piddly little tickets is now all but zero.

I share this for those who choose to read it. If you don't like my opinion, just remember no one forced you to read it.

[Motu]

It's a sad day when Insurance companies control your life - the lowest scum on earth telling you what to do...and you jump.

[igor]

It's a sad day when Insurance companies control your life - the lowest scum on earth telling you what to do...and you jump.

hey shut the F#*K up and get under my car and fix it. i ant paying ya $12 an our for nothing:blah:

[texmo]

How many tickets have you had madboy? I have in the three years (since I got my licence) written off a $8000 audi, a $6000 motorbike, a $65,000 volvo I have had about 6 tickets from speeding to passangers on a restriced to running a red. I am still given insurance $1500 excess with a $800 yearly fee for a $5,500 motorbike.

[Ixion]

The more I read about insurance companies, I more confirmed I am in my opinion that it's not worth having.

I really don't understand why you are so worried about insurance. You are prepared to do a runner (I pass no judgement on that call) and presumably you have sufficent confidence in your ability not to be worried about the risk of injuring or killing yourself. Yet you are not confident of your ability to not damage the bike?

Even if you DO have insurance it seems to me that there are so many weasel clasues in the policies that the odds are you won't collect anyway. So are you really risking anything more not having it.

[The_Dover]

How many tickets have you had madboy? I have in the three years (since I got my licence) written off a $8000 audi, a $6000 motorbike, a $65,000 volvo I have had about 6 tickets from speeding to passangers on a restriced to running a red. I am still given insurance $1500 excess with a $800 yearly fee for a $5,500 motorbike.

Yeah, but you had to fuck grahameeboy to get it!

[texmo]

Yeah but you had to fuck cibby to get yours....

[madboy]

I really don't understand why you are so worried about insurance. Simple - if I crash, it's my fault. My ego and my conscience can live with forking out $10k to replace a bike. I'm not so keen on replacing a stolen bike. I also know that by writing off my bike, I can choose not to replace it if I can't afford to. I don't think Mr Richandinsuredman will be willing to wait 20 years while I scrape up $400,000 to replace his Porsche. It's all about how much risk I'm prepared to accept myself.

[igor]

How many tickets have you had madboy? I have in the three years (since I got my licence) written off a $8000 audi, a $6000 motorbike, a $65,000 volvo I have had about 6 tickets from speeding to passangers on a restriced to running a red. I am still given insurance $1500 excess with a $800 yearly fee for a $5,500 motorbike.

and you r 1 of the many who probably think the r a good driver.

i suggest u invest some money in a driving course, preferably on a track. safer for me and my family

[imdying]

Get the wife to insure it. It won't be insured for you to ride, but at least it'll be insured for theft.

[kornboy]

If you didnt do anything illegal in the first place you would be sweet as....?

[texmo]

and you r 1 of the many who probably think the r a good driver.

i suggest u invest some money in a driving course, preferably on a track. safer for me and my family
Nah im a shit driver but im keen, I crashed the audi when I was trying to get it sideways on the gravel and I crashed the volvo when I was going just a bit to fast for a corner. As for the bike that wasnt really my fault. I am a good rider just not that great behind a steering wheel.

[limbimtimwim]

I am still given insurance $1500 excess with a $800 yearly fee for a $5,500 motorbike.I am paying $900/yr for a 750cc insured for $13K motorbike. I am paying $382/yr for my 400 which I insured for 7K!

So you are paying through the nose, at least from my point of view. I'm am under 25.

And I drove a car into a hill once. Made it fly up the road sideways landing on its side. Hilarious. On retrospect of course.

[texmo]

Yeah but being on my restricted makes heaps of diffrence and the fact that I had insurance on only my audi and motorbike. It took me 3 months to crash the car and 6weeks to crash the bike. So really its not all bad.

[riffer]

I guess this all depends on your insurer.

I'm with Vero for Car, House and Contents, and with AMI for the bike.

AMI have never asked me to disclose any tickets. I made a claim in April last year for the fire which destroyed my FZR750R. I reinsured with AMI despite the fact that I lost my no-claims bonus (50%) taking my payments up to $65 a month for my bike, fully comp insured for $5000 replacement (however they will pay market value - handy if it is written off and you can get a bike shop to give you a higher valuation).

My policy on the RF900R came up for renewal this year in May, and to thank me for keeping my business with them they gave me back my 50% no claims bonus, so I pay $32 a month fully comp.

[Speedracer]

Simple - if I crash, it's my fault. My ego and my conscience can live with forking out $10k to replace a bike. I'm not so keen on replacing a stolen bike. I also know that by writing off my bike, I can choose not to replace it if I can't afford to. I don't think Mr Richandinsuredman will be willing to wait 20 years while I scrape up $400,000 to replace his Porsche. It's all about how much risk I'm prepared to accept myself.

Thats what pisses me off. You need 3rd party. If some retard in a porsche crashes into me and I have no insurance, I'll probably lose the case and have to pay out. I'll take the risk on first party, except theft is a little harder to control.


written off a $8000 audi, a $6000 motorbike, a $65,000 volvo
Nah im a shit driver but im keen, I crashed the audi when I was trying to get it sideways on the gravel and I crashed the volvo when I was going just a bit to fast for a corner. As for the bike that wasnt really my fault. I am a good rider just not that great behind a steering wheel.

:tugger:

[crshbndct]

Nah im a shit driver but im keen


but keen

or green

[texmo]

but keen

or green
huh???????

[TygerTung]

National auto club will insure anyone.

Try them or tasman pacific.

[Zed]

...I got a $1500 excess and a nice clause saying if I got another ticket then I would no longer be covered. I figure if I'm at fault then I don't mind coughing up $1,500. And when we insured the 2nd car with them a few months later, the terms were continued. And when I insured the bike, the terms were carried over too. All fine by me....

So today when I rang my insurer to cover our third car, I was a good boy and when asked disclosed my ticket two months ago. I'm sorry, sir, we cannot cover you anymore. You now have no cover as a driver of any of the cars or the bike.O well, I'd be gutted too, but you can't say they didn't warn ya. I tend to think it sucks what they did to you by cancelling your other existing policies that weren't in question, I hope they refund the balance of any premiums you've recently paid, it would *pay* to ask them!

My licence history is exactly rosey either, I was refused repeat insurance with AMI after I wrote of my 600 two years ago, and that was when I had a car, house, and home contents insurance with them. I tried using the other policies as leverage but they wouldn't budge, but at least they didn't cancel all my policies!

[avgas]

How did texmo right off a ovlov?

[Lou Girardin]

Rather than tickets, what's you're accident history like?
It sounds like it's time for a chat with the insurance ombudsman.

[madboy]

I don't believe the ISO covers underwriting decisions. I work in insurance, albeit not general, so I have a fair idea of how the game works. I'm trying to see if I can swing some staff cover before I drop down to the 2nd tier insurers. Their policies are, in my opinion, rubbish. Ironically if the staff cover comes through, I'll be covered by the parent company of the insurer who canned my cover. I will delight in letting them know that.

To clarify, the cars + bike are still insured, just not for me to drive.

Edit: And accidents, Lou? Officially two in the last ten years, neither my fault.

[pritch]

The more I read about insurance companies, I more confirmed I am in my opinion that it's not worth having.

Back in my BMW days many of the guys I knew didn't have insurance, (cash buyers obviously). They were sufficiently sure they weren't going to crash, or that if they did, the savings on the premiums they hadn't paid over the years would cover the cost.

Of course now that the originator of this thread has been refused insurance that makes the situation even more complicated for him in future.

[vtec]

Yeah, I don't insure (except for 3rd party), and in 8 years of driving, and 4 years of riding, I've never damaged a car, I've dropped my bike a few times, but always minor fairing damage that I can live with. However I did lose a $20,000 car to thieves. It was two years ago, and I'm still poor because of it. Makes me want to go thief hunting.

[Oscar]

First ticket I've had in probably 3 years (or more). A piddly little $150 fine for lanesplitting. Something many of us do, particularly the regular commuters. Now look at the consequences. What have I learned from this? Ironically I bear no malice against the police for this, but sadly they and the general public will also wear the consequences too, for the likelihood of me getting any more piddly little tickets is now all but zero.

I share this for those who choose to read it. If you don't like my opinion, just remember no one forced you to read it.


I'd be shopping around.
If you've had no claims, are of a reasonable age (25+), then three years with one ticket is reasonable record (providing the previous tickets weren't really horrendous ones like DIC or Dangerous Driving).

[Oscar]

It's a sad day when Insurance companies control your life - the lowest scum on earth telling you what to do...and you jump.


Note to self: Scratch Motu off Xmas card list...