Insurance - Read the fine print

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Monster
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Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by Monster »

Now there are hundreds of examples out there I am sure ... But it is still worth reminding ourselves about this

I recently read the story of the 2 guys who swapped bikes and then had major issues when stopped by the police
Whilst discussing this with a friend he went back and reread his policy to find that it did not cover pillion passengers
He was often taking his GF as pillion so had to upgrade the policy

I took out Carole Nash insurance for a SORN bike that I was planning to sell - 3rd Part F&T was selected at £63.90 (garage kept quiet area) The policy was for 1 year but I expected to cancel at some point ie hoping that the bike would sell in less than I full year

When I no longer needed the policy because the bike was sold, I phoned to cancel. With only 3 months remaining I didn't expect a rebate
BUT ... I did get a surprise and not nice one! There is a £50 cancellation fee.
After they did their calculations they wanted £38.93 to close the account. That is roughly 60% of the original fee

After much discussion and some pretty honest feedback, they agreed to wave these ... as a gesture of goodwill (HA HA Thanks!)
I thanked the nice lad and we did a feedback survey. £50 for 5 minutes of keyboard work is a pretty high expectation IMHO

PS - I could not just let the policy run as this would result in double insurance on the same vehicle (which is illegal)
But perhaps next time I would have forgotten to cancel ... or better yet read the fine print carefully (or ask up front)
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simonw
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by simonw »

Monster wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 9:55 am <snip> PS - I could not just let the policy run as this would result in double insurance on the same vehicle (which is illegal) <snip>
Or worse. There are several accounts of people failing to cancel the insurance on bikes which they subsequently sell, which the buyer fails to insure, is then involved in an accident, which results in a claim against the original owner's insurance policy and the insurance company pursuing the original owner to recover their losses. Scary!

Generally reading the "small print" on terms and conditions and contracts is essential, unless you want to end up on Watchdog whinging "well nobody told us". How many stories have we seen where the "injured" party was told, in "the small print", but they chose not to read it?!

I recall hiring a pair of quad bikes in Croatia a few years ago, which cost a few hundred euros, including insurance. On reading the contract (before signing!) I found there was a clause which stated, notwithstanding I had paid for insurance, that if either bike was stolen I would be liable for the replacement cost (at 10,000 euros each)!! I insisted the clause either be struck out or there was no deal.

Sadly a combination of unreasonable behaviour by claiments and an increasing American-esque (and frankly disproportionate) obsession with covering every square milimetre of a company's arse has resulted in absurdly long and complicated terms and conditions. This was exemplified nicely when I bought a Breville sandwich toaster from Sainsburys online a couple of years ago. Before placing the order I had to agree to 8 pages of terms and conditions. For a toaster, FFS!
Pint Master
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by Pint Master »

Monster wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 9:55 am Now there are hundreds of examples out there I am sure ... But it is still worth reminding ourselves about this

I recently read the story of the 2 guys who swapped bikes and then had major issues when stopped by the police
Whilst discussing this with a friend he went back and reread his policy to find that it did not cover pillion passengers
He was often taking his GF as pillion so had to upgrade the policy

Would that insurance company dare or even think about selling a policy for a car that excluded cover for passengers.
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Monster
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by Monster »

Everyone is looking to push the price down
The obvious first answer is to change the spec
Perhaps car insurance will go that way as an option?
I guess it’s not always about just the price
We don’t all drive Reliant Robins now do we?

BUT .... Know what you are agreeing to !!
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hotbulb
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by hotbulb »

The insurers can always find reasons why their restrictive, punitive, or illogical smallprint clauses are there, but , at the end of the day they have us over a barrel. We have to take out insurance, and the companies just milk it for all they can get away with.
Just renewed bike insurance, and rang up as always for "best price" ...Oh, we always quote our best price on bike insurance renewals! ... What about the car insurance?- oh, that's different, there's some room for manoeuvre :o
It's high time motor insurance was properly regulated! :evil: :evil:
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by garyboy »

to be fair .. I always (Now) telephone the prospective insurance company after doing a search on `confused dot com` or similar (they seem to be very similar recently I notice)
.. and they always go through it all with me in detail.
I just take their word and agree it all, where appropriate,

There is always room for manoeuvre, or additions, but sometimes you got to be the one to bring it up. .. like pillion or no pillion cover, clothing and helmet etc and you can get rid of them if not wanted.
The older ladies are the best, very thorough and knowledgeable .. and the worst are the young male lads, some of whom dont seem to give a f...

Most of the cheap unknown named ones are crap, and try to sting you for the slightest thing, cancelling, changing things, missing a payment, checking every detail of your declaration like where you park etc etc etc. and do tricks with notifications and credit setups etc.
So far Bennets seem ok, tho a lot would disagree of course.

I usually glance over the paperwork afterwards, .. a hard copy .. and it is always as stated over the phone.
Of course there is always the worry that they will not pay out but that is true for everything.


Sometimes I have not known what I have signed up for .. for instance, I have added bikes to a policy, when purchased, and not realised that they do not have ncb in their own right, as the ncb applies to the whole policy and only the first bike insured, so the second bike will not accrue ncb years.
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by DavidS »

The NCB lark is a huge con.
In the end, surely the rider gets the NCB, not the bike but that won't make them more money.
The other rip off is that the bike has to be locked away 24 hours a day at home - I don't mind the 22.00 to 06.00 or similar but, in theory, you could get a theft claim refused for washing it. :evil:
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Oop North John
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by Oop North John »

DavidS wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 7:40 pm The other rip off is that the bike has to be locked away 24 hours a day at home - I don't mind the 22.00 to 06.00 or similar but, in theory, you could get a theft claim refused for washing it. :evil:
I say my bike is kept off road overnight, so if it's not in the garage I'm still fully covered, and it's only and extra few pounds a year on the premium ;)
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by DavidS »

We do similar with house and contents insurance. No BS door or window locks - like the current advert where they don’t know, even under questioning. Didn’t cost us any more than the original quote.
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Chalky723
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Re: Insurance - Read the fine print

Post by Chalky723 »

Oop North John wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:03 pm
DavidS wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 7:40 pm The other rip off is that the bike has to be locked away 24 hours a day at home - I don't mind the 22.00 to 06.00 or similar but, in theory, you could get a theft claim refused for washing it. :evil:
I say my bike is kept off road overnight, so if it's not in the garage I'm still fully covered, and it's only and extra few pounds a year on the premium ;)
Same here, after hearing a horror story where someone washed the bike, left it to dry & it got nicked - wasn't covered because it wasn't in the garage...

I'd rather pay a few quid more & be able to leave it on the drive occasionally....

D
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