Bike Insurance Illusion

[jafar]

I wonder who will assess which one of the the staff will assess if my arse needs kicking by the claims manager and his cronies before they order cake in for themselves

fixed

[Maha]

100% advisable to recalculate your bikes' value every year(I can do it officially for you) so one can avoid potential BS when it comes to claim time.
No one can expect to get paid out what their bike was worth 5 years (an example) ago if they bin 'today.

I am kinda thinking I should do that Chris.
One thing that bothered me a tad was, there was (probably still is) an 08' CB for sale at $9K, I should add its a private sale so Market Value doesn't really play a part? or does it?
Whereas, if that same bike was on a shop floor it could be up around the $12-13K mark?

So, would an insurance company base the Market Value on the 'average' asking price of any bike of the same year?

[Hanne]

In a similar vein, I bought my zzr250 for around $2k, 2 years later the 250 market had gone insane and bikes like mine (50,000km!) were selling for closer to $4k.
I rang insurance company to ask what happens if 'market value' rises, they drew a blank, telling me that was impossible.
So 'market value' has less to do with the resale value of a vehicle and more to do with the companies' formulas... luckily I never had to test how much I would actually get if anything happened...

[DMNTD:Me]

I am kinda thinking I should do that Chris.
One thing that bothered me a tad was, there was (probably still is) an 08' CB for sale at $9K, I should add its a private sale so Market Value doesn't really play a part? or does it?
Whereas, if that same bike was on a shop floor it could be up around the $12-13K mark?

So, would an insurance company base the Market Value on the 'average' asking price of any bike of the same year?

When I create a valuation for a customer I take into account all of the 'market'.
Prime example...several months ago a poor bloke had his ZX14 stolen. Unfortunately a certain ZX14 was sold for around the $8,500 mark a week prior.
To me it was obvious that I wouldn't/couldn't take that particular sale into account simply because it was a "one off" ,a desperate sale.
I had a phone call from his insurance company querying the valuation I gave...I put them straight and the bloke was paid out at 'true' market value for his bike.

[dogsnbikes]

I am insured with Vero, they are not interested in what the bike is, what CC or anything - they just want to know what dollar value I am insuring it for.......
Unusual I thought, in fact they didn't even ask about what license I have!

I wish you the very best of luck if you ever have to claim.

Agree, you need to be proactive here to save yourself some grief.
I am still with Classic Cover, after they paid out on our quite new bike. We got a hole punched thru the sump by road debris and they wrote it off. You get full replacement with brand new bike for the first year, so we found out. Very happy!

I am with Classic cover and as I found out earlier this year,Vero are the underwritters for my policies.....

service was great when dealing with claim and once all the paperwork was faxed through,my claim was approved within 30 minutes

[Oscar]

Insurers aren't valuers.

If your bike is insured for market value, it's up to you to make sure that figure is correct.
This is particularly true after the first year as most insurers don't adjust sums insured - they can't really: imagine what we'd be saying if they reduced the sum insured too far.

Also the premium is not directly related to the sum insured - a percentage gets loaded to a base premium according to the value, and adjustments are made for other factors (excess, age, claims etc). This is why if you half the sum insured, you will not half the premium.

[cowboyz]

Insurers aren't valuers.

If your bike is insured for market value, it's up to you to make sure that figure is correct.
This is particularly true after the first year as most insurers don't adjust sums insured - they can't really: imagine what we'd be saying if they reduced the sum insured too far.

Also the premium is not directly related to the sum insured - a percentage gets loaded to a base premium according to the value, and adjustments are made for other factors (excess, age, claims etc). This is why if you half the sum insured, you will not half the premium.

Why shouldnt insurers be valuers? Isnt that in their interest? If someone come to me and said... hey.. Ill give you $10 a week and if i get mobbed by 1000 sheep on the way to the dairy I would want to know 2 things.. 1. what are the chances of this happening.. and 2. what is the maximum this could cost me.

the same thing that is wrong with insurers arent assesors either! They use bike shops time and money to do the job for them. This is so wrong. In fact, what do insurance companies do exactly? Little care.. Less responsibility?

[MarkH]

In a similar vein, I bought my zzr250 for around $2k, 2 years later the 250 market had gone insane and bikes like mine (50,000km!) were selling for closer to $4k.
I rang insurance company to ask what happens if 'market value' rises, they drew a blank, telling me that was impossible.
So 'market value' has less to do with the resale value of a vehicle and more to do with the companies' formulas... luckily I never had to test how much I would actually get if anything happened...

I think the problem was that you spoke to an imbecile. If you have a bike insured for $2K and you would have to spend $4K to replace it then you should have take it somewhere to get a valuation. If you take the valuation to your insurance company and tell them that is what your bike is worth and you want to increase your insurance cover to reflect that - it is hard to see them refusing the extra premium they could charge you. They are free to ring up and talk to your valuer and/or check with another valuer - but once satisfied that the value for your bike is correct then they have no reason not to agree to up the cover.

[Oscar]

Why shouldnt insurers be valuers? Isnt that in their interest? If someone come to me and said... hey.. Ill give you $10 a week and if i get mobbed by 1000 sheep on the way to the dairy I would want to know 2 things.. 1. what are the chances of this happening.. and 2. what is the maximum this could cost me.

the same thing that is wrong with insurers arent assesors either! They use bike shops time and money to do the job for them. This is so wrong. In fact, what do insurance companies do exactly? Little care.. Less responsibility?

The can't be Valuers or Assessors & Loss Adjusters because it's a conflict of interest.
I certainly wouldn't be happy if insurers were a) valuing my bike for me, and b) assessing the quantum of a claim. It's in their interest to minimize both.

And if you don't think they don't do much, don't insure.
Your choice.

[R-Soul]

No one can expect to get paid out what their bike was worth 5 years (an example) ago if they bin 'today.
[/B]

But hang on a mo. I bought my VTR on a good deal for $5,500 about a year ago. andI insured it for this amount (which has no probably gone down on "depreciation" by some 15% by now. But if I have a look around at the market value, there is no way that I could replace it with the same bike and same condition without spending anything less than about $6,500.

So how do I approch this?
Do I reinsure it for higher? The market value doesn't ALWAYS go down...

[R-Soul]

I think the problem was that you spoke to an imbecile. If you have a bike insured for $2K and you would have to spend $4K to replace it then you should have take it somewhere to get a valuation. If you take the valuation to your insurance company and tell them that is what your bike is worth and you want to increase your insurance cover to reflect that - it is hard to see them refusing the extra premium they could charge you. They are free to ring up and talk to your valuer and/or check with another valuer - but once satisfied that the value for your bike is correct then they have no reason not to agree to up the cover.

oops didn't see your post.

[cowboyz]

The can't be Valuers or Assessors & Loss Adjusters because it's a conflict of interest.
I certainly wouldn't be happy if insurers were a) valuing my bike for me, and b) assessing the quantum of a claim. It's in their interest to minimize both.

And if you don't think they don't do much, don't insure.
Your choice.

is that what agreed value is? The insurance company doing their job and agreeing on a value first? What I am saying is if you want to insure your FA50 for $250,000 AND an insurance company AGREE TO ACCEPT YOUR MONEY then if you crash the said FA50 and its uneconomical to repair, they should pay you $250,000 less excess. It would seem that the the 'insured value' is an UP TO value.. Bit like a briscoes sale really.. EVERYTHING is UP TO 50% off? Which means frk all whn you look at it.


Oh, and if I had been told right at the start, you know,,... when THEY said that my bike was undervalued that *I* valued at 5k and *they* valued at 6k (or up to 6k.. meaning 3k) then I would have gone.. nah.. flag it.

The really ironic thing about all this...
If I wasnt insured... I would have my bke back on the road already for about $500. But being as insurance want to muck around with it for over a month I am still bikeless.

[p.dath]

The really ironic thing about all this...
If I wasnt insured... I would have my bke back on the road already for about $500. But being as insurance want to muck around with it for over a month I am still bikeless.

I have to say, I've considered third party many times for the bike for this reason. Effectively you are self insuring, and just covering yourself for damage you do to someone else.

But last time I looked at it, the cost difference was minimal (indeed, some insurance companies charge *more* for third party on motorbikes than for full insurance).

[ukusa]

When I create a valuation for a customer I take into account all of the 'market'.
Prime example...several months ago a poor bloke had his ZX14 stolen. Unfortunately a certain ZX14 was sold for around the $8,500 mark a week prior.
To me it was obvious that I wouldn't/couldn't take that particular sale into account simply because it was a "one off" ,a desperate sale.
I had a phone call from his insurance company querying the valuation I gave...I put them straight and the bloke was paid out at 'true' market value for his bike.

So a true market value should be (in my opinion anyway) the price it will cost to purchase the same bike, same age, with the same accessories (after-markets included), with similar milage. It should also be based on a retail/shop price, as you should have the peace of mind of being able to buy your replacement at a bike shop.

[Mudfart]

im with STATE. they insured my truck for 15k some 5 years ago. i imagine seeing as its not some incredibly rare classic, that its now worth about 4k. THEY HAVE NOT DROPPED MY PREMIUMS, yet when I call, they acknowledge, they will only pay to the market value.
You must ring them constantly, or you pay big premiums, and you dont get your money back!!!!!!.
Im gonna call them now, and try this agreed value thing.