Post by Joe King on Jan 2, 2014 17:30:54 GMT
Like most people, I was generally happy to go with the cheapest quote for their bike insurance, so I did. It's only when it comes to making a claim that there comes an acid test. After all, your insurer is there to look after you when things go bad, right?
I was knocked off my bike on 4th Oct. Put my claim in same day, recovered the bike myself back to Pioneer in Norton, who have been a great help and stored the bike for me free of charge, as I'd only purchased it from them a month before. It cost £1550 new.
The bloke who knocked me off my bike has refused to co-operate with his insurer and after waiting seven weeks for him to respond, we finally convinced his insurer to proceed without his input. Not my insurers fault but annoying, all the same. Finally got the bike inspected and written off. And this is where the problems come to the surface. Bikesure don't process customers' claims themselves - the work is farmed out to a third party 'claims handing company' called Bankstone. So, when you send all your information, photos, receipts etc., you send them to Bankstone, not Bikesure, and they process the claim from there. In October, I sent all the details of my leathers, lid and boots, the original receipts (everything was around six weeks old and immaculate) and pictures of the damage.
So, when I called Bankstone the other day to check on the progress of my claim, there were a few surprises in store for me. First, the bike had been inspected (which I knew about because I'd had to arrange the inspection with the other parties insurers inspector) and written off (Cat D). They valued my brand new bike, on the road for a calendar month, at £1300. The actual cost to me, when you add in the Datatag kit was £1630, so already £300 out of pocket. Then they calculated a scrap value for the bike of £221, and took that from the value of the bike. Now, after 90 days wait, I have a cheque for £1079 and a brand new bike that's been written off and unrideable. What's more, I wasn't asked if I was happy to accept any of this. First I knew was that Ageas, the other parties insurer (parent company of SAGA insurance) had valued the bike as stated and Bankstone had accepted the offer. Further, I asked Bankstone what was happening regarding my £250 worth of leathers and boots (bought heavily discounted online) and my £300 helmet. Bankstone hadn't yet pursued that part of my claim because they hadn't received my photos. They went on to explain that they have a 5gb email size limit so, if I'd tried to send all the pics on one email, it would probably ave been automatically deleted. Nice to be told this after the event. What really boils my pish is that nobody at Bankstone had contacted me to let me know that they were still waiting for my photos. Nobody at Bankstone has ever contacted me to give me an update, let me know that Ageas were sending out an inspector (the inspector contacted me directly) or to tell me that they were still awaiting information, I've had to do all of the running and all of the chasing. And when push came to shove, I didn't even get an opportunity to challenge the valuation of the payout for my bike. And the root of the problem is Bankstone. They are the ones dealing with your claim on behalf of Bikesure. While Bikesure, as my insurer, are meant to act in my best interests at all times, Bankstone are a different kettle of fish; because Bankstone aren't paid on the level of payout they achieve or the level of customer service / satisfaction they give. Bankstone are paid on the number of claims that they settle. The quicker they settle a claim, the more claims they can settle, the more they get paid, so it's NOT in their interest to draw out the claims process if you're not satisfied with what you are offered.
Then, just to rub salt in the wounds...
I've been told that it's unlikely that I'll get the full replacement value of my leathers, boots and lid, as they were 'used' and the value will be adjusted to reflect that I'd had six whole weeks use from them (all 795 miles of it!).
And if that wasn't enough...
Today, I rang Bikesure to get my existing policy transferred to my replacement bike. Exactly the same make and model, still a 63 plate, identical policy. First call, I gave the Customer Services Rep the new registration number for the bike. She asked me for the chassis number, which I didn't have, so I had to ring Pioneer, get the chassis number, then call back and speak to another Customer Service Rep. Gave her the reg number, confirmed all the details for the new bike, got put on hold and five minutes later, job done - without needing to give the chassis number! Then, for the pleasure of this fart on, I was told that there would be a £25 admin charge! I asked if I would be able to claim it back as an out-of-pocket expense against the other party as part of my existing claim, and I was told that I wouldn't be able to! WTF??!! But she did put me on hold again and then told me that they could reduce the fee to £15!
My overall experience of dealing with Bikesure and their Claims Settlement Company Bankstone has been a total ball-ache. I'd like to say 'from start to finish', but it ain't over yet! I've had to shell out hundreds of pounds of my own money to put the replacement bike on the road. I've spent more hundreds of pounds on replacement leathers, boots and lid, gambling on how much of it I will get back. And, if I'm to have any hope of eventually getting anywhere close to breaking even, I'll have to shell out another couple of hundred quid to buy the essential parts for the written-off bike, to make it rideable and roadworthy again, in order to sell it on.
In summary, Bikesure are pants and little help when you really need them to be there for you.
I'm now contemplating checking the level of my legal cover with them and claiming the difference between my payout and my costs directly from the other driver via the Small Claims Court. More protracted ball-ache but, if I have to report the guy for Driving Without Due Care, given that he's stone-walled my claim from Day One, I will!
I was knocked off my bike on 4th Oct. Put my claim in same day, recovered the bike myself back to Pioneer in Norton, who have been a great help and stored the bike for me free of charge, as I'd only purchased it from them a month before. It cost £1550 new.
The bloke who knocked me off my bike has refused to co-operate with his insurer and after waiting seven weeks for him to respond, we finally convinced his insurer to proceed without his input. Not my insurers fault but annoying, all the same. Finally got the bike inspected and written off. And this is where the problems come to the surface. Bikesure don't process customers' claims themselves - the work is farmed out to a third party 'claims handing company' called Bankstone. So, when you send all your information, photos, receipts etc., you send them to Bankstone, not Bikesure, and they process the claim from there. In October, I sent all the details of my leathers, lid and boots, the original receipts (everything was around six weeks old and immaculate) and pictures of the damage.
So, when I called Bankstone the other day to check on the progress of my claim, there were a few surprises in store for me. First, the bike had been inspected (which I knew about because I'd had to arrange the inspection with the other parties insurers inspector) and written off (Cat D). They valued my brand new bike, on the road for a calendar month, at £1300. The actual cost to me, when you add in the Datatag kit was £1630, so already £300 out of pocket. Then they calculated a scrap value for the bike of £221, and took that from the value of the bike. Now, after 90 days wait, I have a cheque for £1079 and a brand new bike that's been written off and unrideable. What's more, I wasn't asked if I was happy to accept any of this. First I knew was that Ageas, the other parties insurer (parent company of SAGA insurance) had valued the bike as stated and Bankstone had accepted the offer. Further, I asked Bankstone what was happening regarding my £250 worth of leathers and boots (bought heavily discounted online) and my £300 helmet. Bankstone hadn't yet pursued that part of my claim because they hadn't received my photos. They went on to explain that they have a 5gb email size limit so, if I'd tried to send all the pics on one email, it would probably ave been automatically deleted. Nice to be told this after the event. What really boils my pish is that nobody at Bankstone had contacted me to let me know that they were still waiting for my photos. Nobody at Bankstone has ever contacted me to give me an update, let me know that Ageas were sending out an inspector (the inspector contacted me directly) or to tell me that they were still awaiting information, I've had to do all of the running and all of the chasing. And when push came to shove, I didn't even get an opportunity to challenge the valuation of the payout for my bike. And the root of the problem is Bankstone. They are the ones dealing with your claim on behalf of Bikesure. While Bikesure, as my insurer, are meant to act in my best interests at all times, Bankstone are a different kettle of fish; because Bankstone aren't paid on the level of payout they achieve or the level of customer service / satisfaction they give. Bankstone are paid on the number of claims that they settle. The quicker they settle a claim, the more claims they can settle, the more they get paid, so it's NOT in their interest to draw out the claims process if you're not satisfied with what you are offered.
Then, just to rub salt in the wounds...
I've been told that it's unlikely that I'll get the full replacement value of my leathers, boots and lid, as they were 'used' and the value will be adjusted to reflect that I'd had six whole weeks use from them (all 795 miles of it!).
And if that wasn't enough...
Today, I rang Bikesure to get my existing policy transferred to my replacement bike. Exactly the same make and model, still a 63 plate, identical policy. First call, I gave the Customer Services Rep the new registration number for the bike. She asked me for the chassis number, which I didn't have, so I had to ring Pioneer, get the chassis number, then call back and speak to another Customer Service Rep. Gave her the reg number, confirmed all the details for the new bike, got put on hold and five minutes later, job done - without needing to give the chassis number! Then, for the pleasure of this fart on, I was told that there would be a £25 admin charge! I asked if I would be able to claim it back as an out-of-pocket expense against the other party as part of my existing claim, and I was told that I wouldn't be able to! WTF??!! But she did put me on hold again and then told me that they could reduce the fee to £15!
My overall experience of dealing with Bikesure and their Claims Settlement Company Bankstone has been a total ball-ache. I'd like to say 'from start to finish', but it ain't over yet! I've had to shell out hundreds of pounds of my own money to put the replacement bike on the road. I've spent more hundreds of pounds on replacement leathers, boots and lid, gambling on how much of it I will get back. And, if I'm to have any hope of eventually getting anywhere close to breaking even, I'll have to shell out another couple of hundred quid to buy the essential parts for the written-off bike, to make it rideable and roadworthy again, in order to sell it on.
In summary, Bikesure are pants and little help when you really need them to be there for you.
I'm now contemplating checking the level of my legal cover with them and claiming the difference between my payout and my costs directly from the other driver via the Small Claims Court. More protracted ball-ache but, if I have to report the guy for Driving Without Due Care, given that he's stone-walled my claim from Day One, I will!
