Newbie of the year

I must be in the running for the newbie of the year award. The ZX6R gets in
an accident with the mechanic and a 3rd party. The mechanic makes a logical
sounding argument that from his experience it would be quicker and easier if
I put in a claim against my insurance, and they recover the cost from the
3rd party driver. I'd get my agreed value, wouldn't lose no claim, or
increase my excess or anything like that.

All that is true of course. Its easy to do, Swan handles everything and all
I have to do is fill in a form and the mechanic loses one of his loaner
BR250s for a few weeks.

Almost by accident I find out the down side. My insurance is a contract with
Swan, insuring me against the worst case, which is a total loss. If they pay
out a total loss that contract is ended. And my premium goes with it. Pay
for a year, lose 10 months. Plus the rego. No wonder the mechanic was happy
for me to claim against my insurance and not his.

So. Decision time. The claim is still being processed, and Swan said today
that I can withdraw my claim anytime before I accept their offer. Do I
cancel the claim and push for the mechanic to claim through his? I can
cancel my Swan policy and get a refund for it. I imagine I'd get market
value from RACQ, the 3rd party's insurer, but whats market value? How do
they calculate it? What are my options?

Anyone been in this situation? Who can I talk to other than Swan?

--
Cheers
Dave (Mojo67)
FZR600 >> ZX6R >> ??? Brisbane
http://users.bigpond.net.au/mojo67/mojo67.htm
I used to never be able to finish anything but now I

 

he broke it...he pays for it!

dont stop untill you get the bike fix or replaced with *no* cost to you

mh

 

Before you consider funding the repairs from your own insurance you need to
find out ALL the consequences.

Who pays the excess?
What are the terms of your agreement as far as 'other rider' goes? Generally
a higher excess.
Your premium may remain the same but what if you change insurers within the
next five years (quite likely as I've always found Swann to be a ripoff).
The standard question is "any claims within the last 5 years" This is bound
to effect the new quote.
Can you prove the 3rd party was responsible?
Does the 3rd party have insurance and licence?
Do you have the details of the 3rd party? Don't necessarily trust the
mechanics word.

Ultimately you may find you have no choice but to claim as you'll probably
find the mechanic/shop is under no obligation if they decide not to help.
Often they'll get you to sign a waiver when dropping the bike off. (Car
dealers do this all the time)

Regardless of how friendly or helpful the mechanic is I would be dealing
with the manager of the business and put it to him to resolve.

It's a shame to damage such a good bike, if only it was a VFR800 then you
could thank him and get on with your life!

NA
Still got a perfectly good GSX-750F
(and yes it's damn ugly as well)

 

make the claim through his insurance that's what its for

imagine if you didn't have insurance then what would you have done ??

for $5500 you shouldn't have a great deal of trouble finding another bike

whats market value , check things like
www.autotrader.com.au
www.bikepoint.com.au

and all the bike traders mags , do some cut and paste of bikes on the market
and compare them
to what yours is and you will have the market value

remember they have to pay for the damage done to your bike , they have not
bought your bike
same thing applies if you did $5K to someone's $6K car , you would pay them
$5K and say that's it
my damage has been paid for

 

Do I cancel the claim and push for the mechanic to claim through his?

Yes.. **** him up instead... dont lose any coin yourself..

 

No, you don't lose your premium and your rego. You should have included your
rego in the purchase price. Your insurance premium expires with your bike.
You gamble your premium against the value of the bike, once they've paid you
for the bike, there's nothing left to gamble against. That's why you pay
insurance. Your premium is not just for the bike, it also pays for all the
bullshit and waiting around that you DON'T have to put up with when your bike
gets damaged.

Absolutely you claim through the mechanics insurance. If the bike was in his
care, then he is responsible for it until he returns it to you. Get quotes
for the cost of repairs and send them to him. Find out what his insurance
company is willing to offer you... they'll probably pick values close to those
you might find in Redbook. You already know what your own insurance company
is offering, so compare the two and take the best deal, but keep in mind that
your insurance company will act swiftly and you will have your money in a
matter of days/weeks... you might have to wait several months for a cheque to
arrive from his insurance company.

Why talk to anyone else?

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

You would've claimed against the idiot who drove into your bike (same as I
did when it happened to me!).
I agree; it's his fault, let HIM worry about how he's gonna' pay it.
Your insurance is to cover YOUR fuckups!
Clem

 

yeh but my mum wouldnt pay

yep but also so that you dont have to worry about getting paid

one thing i just remembered is that the person that needs to be chased is
the guy that was driving the car because IIRC the mechanic wasnt at fault
either , so that is where your problem is going to be

so in light of that it might be in your best interest to get paid out now
rather than fight and wait

 

Why bother paying for insurance if you're not going to use it?

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

Umm... he broke it; he fixes it, replaces it or comes up with some other
compensation that's acceptable to you.

I'd cancel the claim with your insurance company (ask them if you can
suspend it, or cancel it without prejudice (i.e. allowing you to resubmit
the claim in future should you get completely screwed around), but to be
honest, I'd be making a written demand to the mechanic, followed up by
letters from your solicitors and a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading.

Why should you be penalised *at* *all* for someone else's screw up? You
weren't in charge of either vehicle. Claim against the mechanic's insurance,
let them claim against the 3rd party's insurance, and if either tries to
stuff you around, take them both to the cleaners.


- andrewh

 

He was riding it, tough for him. Make him claim against his insurance.
It's not your problem.

 

X-No-archive: yes

Exactly!
Uninsured Clem

 

Don't most mechanic workshops have one of those 'You leave your machine here
at your risk' signs? What's the story with those anyway? Worth the plastic
they're printed on?

MrBonk (who has always been paranoid about a bike mechanic writing off one
of his bikes)
www.mrbonk.com

 

His duty of care, his insurance.

If YOU claim on YOUR insurance, as you have found out... it COSTS YOU.

AND ...

you may NOT be able to obtain a new insurance policy or retain a no claim bonus.. on any other vehicle for up to 5 years....
required to disclose all claims when obtaining/renewing insurance.


Therefore ....His/shops insurance...

 

Of all the replies about this I think yours is closest to what I want to do.
Its not just a matter of writing letters and waiting for cheques to arrive,
it requires a bit more thought and investigation. I plan to look into
cancelling or suspending the claim, and discuss the options with the
mechanic. Note I use the generic term "mechanic" to describe this guy's
business, which was not at fault and up to now has treated me pretty well so
I won't prejudice them here. Yet.

The mechanic may find it more expedient to reimburse me for my premium loss
and we just let the Swann claim go through as is. That would be ideal for me
because I'll get a cheque next week, not in a few months time. I've already
checked with Swann and in the circumstances this claim won't hurt me for
future insurance with them, which is consistent with what happened when the
Fizzer was totalled back in March.

Anyway we'll see how it plays out.
--
Cheers
Dave (Mojo67)
FZR600 >> ZX6R >> ??? Brisbane
http://users.bigpond.net.au/mojo67/mojo67.htm
I used to never be able to finish anything but now I

 

I'd rather just gt the claim through

 

and there we were thinking you wanted advice, but all you really wanted was
reassurance for your pre planned angle of attack?

no wonder sardo didn't bother helping you...

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

Ummm hang on a minute - you have an identified third party who is at
fault - there should be no financial detriment to you. If swan is
doing what you say then they are processing it as being YOUR fault.
Get that killed at once. Do not under any circumstances process it as
that.

Go and have stern words to Swann about how this is a no fault claim
and it's their job to recover the money from the mechanic /at fault
driver. Your insurance policy as such should NOT be cancelled because
Swann should not be out of pocket for anything (except for financing
the legal action until they recover costs).

You DO however want them to manage the process for you, that's why
you're paying them a premium, make them earn their money.

JL

 

The policy will not be cancelled. The bike is a write off. The policy
expires with the bike. Some people have this strange idea that insurance
premiums are calculated on a per/minute basis.

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

The policy will stay in force until he cancels it or it's paid out.
(and if he cancels it he should receive a refund.)
Or, I know with Suncorp you can add or remove bikes from "the policy" and
the fees are pro-rata'd.
So, seeing as this policy hasn't been paid out, he would be able to put his
new bike on to it and just pay the difference (if any).
I don't know if Swann do this though....
Clem