Motorcycle insurance poll

[cowboyz]

If you have a cheap bike then you should at least have third party insurance, doesn't cost much ($50-$100 per year) and on the day someone in front of you does something stupid and you hit them from behind it will save you a hell of a lot of trouble, been there done that...

it doesn't matter that you might not have been doing anything wrong, if you hit someone from behind you are deemed in the wrong because you "weren't able to stop in half the clear distance"

I have always had insurance and while it has cost money I have had enough use of it (car & bike) to mean that I am better off with it than not

Or you could practise self presavation and ride to the conditions and avoid hitting that car from behind. There are plenty of people who have riden for a lifetime without causing an accident. It is not rocket science. If you are the type who likes to ride with the theroy that "I am in the right so it wasn't my fault" then you probably need insurance. If you are the type of person who rides like everyone is out to get you and pay attention to what is going on around you then you probably don't need insurance.

[BUNGY]

I always get full cover. Used to for my scooter as well. Maybe im just a bit paranoid.

[Roj]

Or you could practise self presavation and ride to the conditions and avoid hitting that car from behind. There are plenty of people who have riden for a lifetime without causing an accident. It is not rocket science. If you are the type who likes to ride with the theroy that "I am in the right so it wasn't my fault" then you probably need insurance. If you are the type of person who rides like everyone is out to get you and pay attention to what is going on around you then you probably don't need insurance.

I am just dealing with insurance at the moment, my wife was knocked off her bike by an uninsured driver doing a right hand turn directly in front of her, she was riding to the conditions, had all her gear on, headlight on and witnesses at the accidnet say she was not speeding, she was doing everything the right way and still was hit by a driver making a mistake. I know in this case it was not hitting someone from behind.

The other driver was uninsured and does not have a current license, our insurance paid out the full value of the bike, did not deduct an excess and we do not lose our no claims because she was clearly not at fault.

it will take us about 15 years to pay the insurance company in premiums what they just paid us, excpet that we aren't paying them anything as the policy is now discontinued since the bike was written off...

[cowboyz]

Sure there is an exception to every rule. Sure I have had people pull out in front of me and swerve into my lane without watching. I have even scrapped my knee slider on the front of a truck that didn't give way and a roundabout. Believe me that one was really close. But in your example you could have chased the other party for the money. Sure it might take more effort than ringing an insurance company but down the right path and things work out. The other thing to look at is how much damage was actually done to the bike? Bad enough to be written off or could it be repaired cheaper with aftermarket parts and stuff? How many years have you paid insurance up to this point and why is your wife crashing a $15000 bike while you are riding a 27 year old bike?

[Roj]

Sure there is an exception to every rule. Sure I have had people pull out in front of me and swerve into my lane without watching. I have even scrapped my knee slider on the front of a truck that didn't give way and a roundabout. Believe me that one was really close. But in your example you could have chased the other party for the money. Sure it might take more effort than ringing an insurance company but down the right path and things work out. The other thing to look at is how much damage was actually done to the bike? Bad enough to be written off or could it be repaired cheaper with aftermarket parts and stuff? How many years have you paid insurance up to this point and why is your wife crashing a $15000 bike while you are riding a 27 year old bike?

a couple of points,

my wife did not crash her bike,

I ride what I choose

we obviously pay a hell of a lot less insurance than you do

I have had a car stolen, a couple of windscreens replaced, been burgled a few times, water damage to our 6 month old kitchen repaired when a plumbing fixture broke, over the years I have had my fair share of payouts, at the moment I would say I am on the plus side.

[cowboyz]

a couple of points,

my wife did not crash her bike,

I ride what I choose

we obviously pay a hell of a lot less insurance than you do

I have had a car stolen, a couple of windscreens replaced, been burgled a few times, water damage to our 6 month old kitchen repaired when a plumbing fixture broke, over the years I have had my fair share of payouts, at the moment I would say I am on the plus side.

ok

I must have misunderstood a couple of posts ago when you said your wife crashed her bike to mean that your wife crashed her bike.

No idea if you pay less insurance that I do. Maybe. Costs me a little bit but like all things I try to get the best deal I can.

In all years I have paid insurance for I have had 1 claim and that was for my golf clubs a couple of months back. They were stolen from work and they paid out a grand or so to replace them. I am well into the red with insurance. Maybe it is that you are well into the black that makes the premiums so costly? I don't fancy taking on risks for the house or contents on my own and for that reason I do pay and insurance company for these. The car is also a risk that I am not willing to pay for on my own because of its value so that is also insured. Never claimed on car and hopefully will never claim on the house. It is a calculated risk and right now the numbers don't stack up for those things not to be covered. The bike however just doesn't stack up to be worth insuring. If I had a $20k bike then that could be different. All I am saying is insurance is not complusary. It is a risk/reward thing. But you know this already and if you are running in the black.

[Roj]

ok

I must have misunderstood a couple of posts ago when you said your wife crashed her bike to mean that your wife crashed her bike.

As I said earlier she was hit by a driver that forgot to engage brain first where she was doing everything right and given no chance to avoid, to quote her words it was "O sh" never had time to finish the thought let alone react

[Lias]

I am just dealing with insurance at the moment, my wife was knocked off her bike ...

ok

I must have misunderstood a couple of posts ago when you said your wife crashed her bike to mean that your wife crashed her bike.
...

Re-read what he wrote. There is a huge difference between saying someone crashed their bike, and someone was knocked off their bike.

[quackquack]

I have to Laugh at the chase the uninsured third party for the money. I hope you look forward to getting your money at $10 a week. For a 15K bike it will only take 28 years to get your cash. Trust me they always pay as little as they can. You insure what you can't afford to lose or don't want to lose. There is not that many house fires but everyone has Fire cover on your house there are lots of bike crashes and lots of people without bike insurance you figure it out.

[Roj]

I have to Laugh at the chase the uninsured third party for the money. I hope you look forward to getting your money at $10 a week. For a 15K bike it will only take 28 years to get your cash. Trust me they always pay as little as they can. You insure what you can't afford to lose or don't want to lose. There is not that many house fires but everyone has Fire cover on your house there are lots of bike crashes and lots of people without bike insurance you figure it out.

I agree with that, it is why I advocate insurance on everything, my son had an old bike that was not worth a lot but we still had third party insurance on it so that if there was ever a problem, like someone opening a door on you, or as my son was only new to riding he made a mistake, the damage to someone elsesproperty was covered