Just had my motorcycle stolen...

pacific4130

Never had to deal with this before, and can't get hold of my insurers until tomorrow.

Any idea of what generally happens in theft cases? How long do I have to wait before an insurance payout? I use my motorcycle everyday and I really want to get back on the road asap...

Thanks.

vikingaero

I take it you've made a report to the Police?.....

pogofish

It took around nine months to reach final payment when I had my bike stolen and trashed to the point of write-off a couple of years back, although they did make an interim/first stage payment of about a third of the final sum after 3/4 months. Which I suppose would have got me back on the road on a cheap rat if I wanted to. However I was by then starting to get the first signs of what turned out to be a condition that eventually left me disabled and unable to ride FTM - Hoping on surgery that might change this in the new year.

That was TPFT insurance but if you are fully comp, things might go a bit quicker.

Another thing is that if you drive as well, you need to inform your car insurer too and do it in writing and get confirmation - I informed mine by phone and was told that "Bikes didn't matter." Which caused me no-end of trouble and extra expense two years later when they came back to say - "You didn't report your bike theft" :mad: :mad: :mad:

pogofish

pacific4130 wrote: »

I don't own a car. I do drive as a named driver on my fianc!'s car though. Would I need to inform them that I'm claiming for my motorcycle? I've always assumed bikes/cars were separate as far claims/NCB is concern.

Probably a good idea to have her report it - if only to keep her straight - and don't take the word of the call centre, either get them to issue written confirmation or handle the whole thing on paper.

One of the excuses my former insurer used to try and wiggle out of my complaint was that they had changed call centres in the interim and couldn't confirm the incompetent advice with the old one.

Yes, its my understanding that it used to be the case that bike and car insurances existed in different orbits but not any more - they all end-up on the same database now which is used by all insurers.

dacouch

Check your policy excess as they can be quite high for theft claims.

Sgt_Pepper_2

It used to be 6 weeks before they considered it a total loss and made a first offer.

Wongsky

What sort of NCB do you have, and is it protected?

Unless the thieves are caught, and recovery can be made, this will go down as a fault claim, which may have significant bearing on your NCB.

Plus, depending on the sort of money we're talking about, may well be a sizable claim affecting future premiums, too.

skivenov

Beware of the Police "arranging recovery". Fine if you're insurers are going to pay it without a shadow of a doubt, but the Police's contractors charge big time for storage and recovery.

If the Police insist on recoverring it, ask why and insist that they are coverring any recovery charges. Record the call, or at least the name and number of whoever contacts you.

Wongsky

pacific4130 wrote: »

Wongsky... I didn't have any NCB, I would've had a years NCB in two months though. Why would it go down as a 'fault' claim? I'm not sure how I'm at fault?

Because if your insurance company cannot recover the money they pay out, it will be deemed a "fault" claim.

What sort of money are we talking about in terms of a payout - just roughly - hundreds? Thousands?

Either way, you will have a claim of a certain value, which goes against you at renewal (whether they're "fault" claims, or otherwise). No claims discount, just has some bearing in being a discount applied after they've applied everything that adds to your premium. Heads they win, tails you lose.

pogofish

pacific4130 wrote: »

Regarding the police recovery, the woman on the phone (I reported it via 101) told me it was £150 then £10 per day thereafter. Does that sound right? Hopefully my insurers will sort it out. I'm hoping that the bike never turns up again... I don't want to have to pay £150 to get a trash shell of a bike back. It's hardly going to come back in A1 condition!

When they found the wreckage of my bike, the officers involved advised me to arrange my own recovery - it was a one-off fifty quid. Which the insurers did cover in the final settlement. Just include the recipt (but keep a copy).

They had not written it off at that point but I took plenty of photos showing the severity of the damage and sent a disc of them along with the recipt and that along with the police report was ample for the insurer to declare a write-off. I just got the recovery guy to scrap it, rather than pay to get the wreck home, have it sit there for however long, then pay again to have it taken to the scrappie. however if it is found in a repairable condition, you might be better to have it recovered to a dealer or your home if you intend to do the work.

mattyprice4004

pacific4130 wrote: »

Wongsky... I didn't have any NCB, I would've had a years NCB in two months though. Why would it go down as a 'fault' claim? I'm not sure how I'm at fault?

Regarding the police recovery, the woman on the phone (I reported it via 101) told me it was £150 then £10 per day thereafter. Does that sound right? Hopefully my insurers will sort it out. I'm hoping that the bike never turns up again... I don't want to have to pay £150 to get a trash shell of a bike back. It's hardly going to come back in A1 condition!

You're automatically at fault because the insurers have no 3rd party to claim from.

Will probably mean a nice hike on your next policy.

Also, if you're not happy with the excess you pay, make sure you read everything on your new policy before signing up to avoid the same situation.