Insurance companies are rip off Bast*@^+

[Mika]

Well that time of year again when it comes to renewal, in comes the insurance quote from the company I have been with for the last few years, £190 fully comp for the year. Not bad me thinks.

Call them up and say by the way my wife was driving my car earlier this year and reversed into a pole (don't ask, 4 wheel drive BMW with winter tyres on the one day of the year we have snow and she manages to prang it) resulting in a claim.

Anything else they ask, yes my car was parked and someone reversed in to it, they accepted liability and paid for the repair without any bother.

Thanks they say, you are now too high a risk and we will not provide insurance for you, thanks basically for your money the last few years  !!!

Feck me, I wasn't even in the car when she pranged it !

Then tried Carole Nash £880  (sorry to international readers but they are a big company in the UK), Bennetts were £450, finally managed to get it for £250

Really pisses me off when you are penalised for other peoples mistakes, and not one involved a motor bike

Any experts out there tell me why I am now a bigger risk than I was last year?

The irony is the car insurance was fekin cheaper this year than last!

Fukers 

[andyrob]

Makes you feel better writing it down dunnit?! ;)

Had my trousers pulled down on the CT insurance. I'm on a multibike policy and both bikes were over 10years old. When THEY quoted me for the CT I thought they may have clicked "Hayabusa" instead! Nope.

All we can do is drop that particular insurer come renewal time.

[Doc]

The vast majority of bikers here only go for third-party insurance because fully comp is simply too expensive. Anyone under 35 can forget it.
I have a car and bike - both are fully comp, with max no claims possible - €700 / year for the car (2010 Volvo V70) and €500 / year for the bike.
Third-party isn't an option, as I can't simply write-off the €15K the CT costs to replace, so the €500 is well spent.

The good thing is we can shop around for the best deal - but always read the fine print; they're all ready to screw us if we make a claim!

[Telbert]

Just before i took the plunge and bought the CT i had to renew my insurance. I knew i was swapping my 1050 Tiger but i hadn't decided what to replace it with. Some brokers will charge you £100 administration fee just to change from from bike to another so i was looking around for the best deal but not necessarily the cheapest as they are invariably the ones who don't like paying out when it comes to making a claim. The three bikes i had narrowed by choice down to were the CT, Triumph Explorer and Super Tenere so i was looking for an insurer with competitive quotes for all three bikes yet everyone would have reasonable quotes for 2 of them and a barmy quote for the third. So for example Bennets quoted £500 for the Yamaha and Triumph but £1000 for the CT, Carole Nash £500 for the Yamaha and CT but £1000 for the Triumph and Zurich quoted £500 for the Triumph and CT but £1000 for the Yamaha. As all three bikes are pretty similar in performance and cost how was it that they all rated a different bike as being a substantially higher risk? I'm sure most folks on here will have heard that some insurers refuse to insure the CT if carrying a pillion as they classed it as being the same engine as the VFR 1200 even though it is 30 bhp less. My theory is that insurers don't actually calculate  the figures for their quotes, they draw them from a lottery machine. It's the only explanation that makes any sense as their quotes certainly don't     

[Doc]

It is much easier in Germany. Bikes are insured according to their Kilowatt rating.

Up to 7KW
Up to 13KW
Up to 20KW
Up to 37KW
Up to 57KW
Up to 72KW
Over 72KW

So as the CT has 95KW (129PS) it's always the highest insurance. But all bikes over 72KW (98PS) cost the same for the same individual with each specific insurance company. So any bike I buy over 98PS will cost me the same premium, whether CT or 1199 Panigale.

That's why in Germany you can buy most big bikes restricted to 98PS - to save on insurance costs - even a 1199 - and there are many people that do it!

[MC55]

You should all know by now what is the business of an insurance company.
They take Your money and keep it!

[slomogadgie]

I feel your pain with these people and the law regarding insurance.

Take for example. I have a car and several bikes. I can only ride/drive one of these at a time. So I pay insurance and road tax for bikes I'm not driving. Then take into consideration the following......I work away from home for 6 months per year. Living in Scotland the weather for biking can be very limited unless I go out in rain etc.
Yes we have some great biking roads to make up for it though.

[SunAndSea]

Originally Posted by slomogadgie

I feel your pain with these people and the law regarding insurance.

Take for example. I have a car and several bikes. I can only ride/drive one of these at a time. So I pay insurance and road tax for bikes I'm not driving. Then take into consideration the following......I work away from home for 6 months per year. Living in Scotland the weather for biking can be very limited unless I go out in rain etc.
Yes we have some great biking roads to make up for it though.

Your other bikes/vehicles can still be stolen/damaged whilst you're not using them, that's why you need to pay to insure them whilst they aren't in your use.