Insurance

Stolen

| Richard

I’ve just got in after almost a fortnight away and decided to check the garage before heading off to bed.

The Gixxer has gone: stolen. The remnants of the padlock which had been bolt-cropped are still there but the thieving bastards even took the Abus chain with them. The Met. Police have been telephoned and should be in touch within the 24-48 hours to process it. I mentioned the lock and that they might be able to do something with the bits but the operator was non-committal… I doubt they’ll even bother interviewing the neighbours, even though one is almost always there. It has been alpha-dotted and marked with SmartWater, so who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and get it back.

So if you’re offered a low-mileage, immaculate 2004 Suzuki GSX-R750K4 engine number R741-100646 VIN/frame number JS1B3111200100375 it’s mine!

H&R Insurance

| Richard

One of the adverts over on the right of this site from time to time is for H&R Insurance, peddling their bike insurance online using Google Ads.

In order to get a quote, you have to agree, amongst other things, that:

“5. The motorbike has not been modified in any way.

6. There are no accessories fitted to the bike.”

That must mean they insure very few bikes…

Insurance

| Richard

One little side-effect that was a tad unpalatable was the effect buying Wilf has had on my insurance premium. I renewed by insurance for the Kawasaki ZRX1200R fully comprehensive for £133.32 – I’m 47 and have been riding for 30 years with no accidents and just three points on my licence at the moment. That was with eBike Insurance, who I’ve found to be cheapest for the last couple of years and who aren’t overly concerned about modifications, providing you list them.

So adding Wilf to the policy and making sure that I was showing that both bikes will be staying down here in London from time to time over the summer, the additional premium was a whopping £474.12! Eek!

I’ve also spent another hundred quid or more on another Abus chain and a ground anchor in addition to the Meta alarm on Wilf who is also marked with SmartWater. Click that link for more details of what that is. Surprisingly, adding the chain and anchor would have done nothing to decrease the premium but had a theft occurred whilst they were not in use, the excess would have increased, so I have not added them to the policy on the basis that the insurers don’t want me to use them and it’s my choice if I do or don’t.

We’re all safe and legal now and ready to pick Wilf up later this morning…

Car Insurance

| Richard

I recently received my renewal documents for my car insurance through Norwich Union Direct: £404.17 (with £220 excess), so up a bit on last year.

We had also insured my wife’s car with Norwich Union Direct and after changing the car had had a horrendous time trying to obtain a quote for the new car as that policy too was due for renewal. We eventually received a quote for that of £200.00. Through the Post Office, we’d got insurance for £150-ish with a further £50 cash-back to come after 60 days. The new insurer? Norwich Union…

So I thought I’d do a reality check on my renewal through the Post Office. £304.69 (with an additional £50 cash-back to come) and only £100 excess. The insurer? Yes, you’ve guessed it … Norwich Union!

The Post Office quote had added £24 for legal protection that I don’t want, so I just rang them to take them up on the quote (without the £24) and got re-quoted at £287.64 with £50 still to come back later.

So I’ll be saving £166.53!

Oh and when I rang to cancel the direct debit for my old policy, they asked if there was a way they could look at my renewal quote to get it down. I said no. Too late: “you snooze, you lose”.