Put off by insurance (lack of)

[Oscar]

One day....if I ever own a bike worth $10,000 I might insure it,but as I've always enjoyed older bikes that are not worth much more than the exess it's not really a good idea to insure them.

When I used to work for a small rental car company with just a dozen or so cars,the insurance was crippling....$10,000 premiums 20 years ago.So the boss took a gamble,and put the $10,000 into the bank on a good interest scheme....we had no claims that year,and then he put the next years premium into the bank - hey presto,we were running our own insurance company.

Are you some kinda anarchist?
That sorta talk is attacking the very foundation of our society - the food outa my kids mouths and the motorcycles outa my garage.
Commie Bastid...

[Ixion]

Are you some kinda anarchist?
That sorta talk is attacking the very foundation of our society - the food outa my kids mouths and the motorcycles outa my garage.
Commie Bastid...

'Ere , watch it. I'm the commie bastid around here, Mr Motu's got his own business, he's a capitalist middle class bourgeois (sorry mate, them's the breaks)

[Motu]

I must admit I'm kinda nervous about the DT230,mainly from a theft point of view...considering where I live.I'm still prepard to repair any damage I cause if I dump the bike - and if I do extensive damage to an expensive Mercedes with it I don't think I'll be around to worry about those sort of insurance claims.I'm trying to talk my wife into slipping it into the company vehicle insurance,but she'll have none of it.

[placidfemme]

Hey you could always try Swann Insurance... But thier excess is rather high (about $1500). They Insured both Sam and I on our learners... lol they even insured my bike before I got my learners...

Now we are with NAC (National Auto Club) in Whangarei... excess is only about $800, and they insure your bike for a good amount too... only problem is they take thier time in processing a claim... thier number is: 0800 501-508

[Oscar]

I must admit I'm kinda nervous about the DT230,mainly from a theft point of view...considering where I live.I'm still prepard to repair any damage I cause if I dump the bike - and if I do extensive damage to an expensive Mercedes with it I don't think I'll be around to worry about those sort of insurance claims.I'm trying to talk my wife into slipping it into the company vehicle insurance,but she'll have none of it.

Who'd wanna steal that?
You'd be able to track it by the smoke trail....

[Oscar]

Seriously, it still disturbs me that most people here shop for insurance by price. It may have something to do with the number of threads complaining about claims service.

I mean, if you guys bought motorcycles the way you bought insurance you'd all be riding Jawa's...

[The Stranger:Me]

Can't be bothered reading the whole thread, so sorry if someone else has covered it.
Try cibby and/or TIS insurance.
TIS specialise in the uninsurables, for example my 17yr old son got full cover on a late model Supra. These things are on the hot list. No one else we spoke to would even think of insuring him due to age, cc rating and the fact it is on the hot list.
They can also be very competitive price wise, but this, like all insurers seems to vary so you need to shop around, but I will be very surprised if they can't do something for you.

[Devil]

Make TIS, NAC and to a lesser extent Inbroke your last resorts. If you do end up with them for whatever reason, read your contract very very carefully. Make sure you're well aware for what you'll get hit up for if you have an accident. These guys specialise in taking your money, and often have multiple excesses.

I put my vote in for the www.kiwibike.co.nz guys. Dave was awesome to deal with and ended up talking bikes with him for a while when I was hunting for a new one!

Trumpy is insured through swann (using kiwibike) for about $850 per year (i'm under 25, just)

[The Stranger:Me]

Make TIS, NAC and to a lesser extent Inbroke your last resorts.

Why is that Devil?

[Beemer]

AA won't insure you if you haven't had your full motorcycle licence for five years, no matter what age you are. I was a member and aged in my late thirties but when I tried to insure my bike with them I was told they wouldn't do so unless I'd had my full licence for five years. I went to AMI and they were good, then I had the Beemer insured with Protecta but transferred it to AA for a significantly lower excess. I've got the Goose insured with AA now and it was cheaper than anywhere else I found and the excess is only $300.

Despite having a previous bike insured with AMI and never making a claim, they refused to insure the Goose because I didn't have any other insurance policies with them. We have the house and contents insured with State but they weren't cheaper for the bike insurance.

[The Stranger:Me]

Hard case when according to the Injury Prevention Research Centre, Fact Sheet number 19

-Those with more than 5 years experience show a greater risk compared to those reporting less than two years.

and

-There was no evidence that riders with learner or restricted licences faced greater risk.

[Devil]

Why is that Devil?

These companies specialise in insuring the uninsurable (as you said). High risk vehicles and drivers. Often people who have, and have had plenty of accidents. Consequently, there can be many hidden costs and clauses which make insurance though these guys occasionally uneconomical.

With a good driving history despite being young, sure you can get a good premium out of these people, but if you are at fault in an accident, you can get totally butt-raped with excesses, or not covered at all.

Just a heads up to people who choose to, or HAVE to go with one of these companies, that you must read all the fine print and understand it.

Because of my choices of cage in the past and my age, I've had to go with NAC and am currently with Inbroke (untill I turn 25). I've read all the bumf and it would be easy to get caught out. For example, one car I had quoted (and subsequently didnt buy after I found out the following) had a market value of $20k. If I hit someone and it was my fault, I would have been stung for $1500 excess for my car, and a $1500 excess for the third parties damage. Want to know what the stinger was? After a pressed them a bit, they told me the theft excess. $5000.

I've heard plenty of stories from people insured by these companies, particularly NAC of getting totally done and mucked around.

If you're confident that you're never going to have an at fault accident, then fine, it may work out cheap. But, with a motorcycle, shit happens and I'd avoid them like the plague.

Like the usual bike shop/mechanics debate, I'm sure someone will pipe up and say they've had no problems. But caveat emptor.

[Momentum]

I was With Inbroke for two of my cars and i found them really grate to deal with. I had my levin for 2 days them some chick hit the side of me. Inbroke got it sorted quick and i was not out a cent at all.

[The Stranger:Me]

So you really know little about them then aye?
So why include TIS in your little list?

Whilst they do often write their own policies for cars (backed by a rather large underwriter) they don't for bikes.

So you may wind up with Swann or Protecta or whoever the hell else insures bikes. Now yes they do have access to many insurers which I have never heard of too and can usually place almost anyone.

Sure you may wind up with an onerous policy, same one you could wind up with from any insurer, so yes sure you should read your policy, who's fault is it if you don't?

[Devil]

TIS was added to that list by me because of what you said "specialising in the uninsurables". It wasn't in my "watch out for" list till you said it. I'd never heard of them.

Just alerting people to the pitfalls of these types of companies. They have to make money somehow.