Tmax Insurance Hassle

[Pukmeister]

Bit of a weird one,
owned two bikes for years and always been insured via Carole Nash. I had an email yesterday saying my renewal is not possible for next year with an apology. I rang CN and asked why, only to be told it is because I have a modified bike and nobody will insure it. I stated the only modification I have on any bike is an Akrapovic exhaust on the Tmax, my BMW GSA is totally stock.

Due to this, nobody was willing to insure my bikes. The 134 BHP 1250 BMW Adventure bike I ride is not a risk, but the 44 BHP ish (maybe 46 with the pipe) Tmax is a risk.......WTF ?????

I got a fresh quote from CN for the Tmax without the Akra and its still £53 more than last years Multi-Bike policy with the same underwriters, no other underwriter CN deal with was willing to insure me?

58 years old, 10+ years NCD, full clean license, alarmed, garaged, tracker/immobiliser, ground anchors, safe postcode.

Now about to go trawling through the mire of comparison websites looking for a better deal.

Anybody else have any issue with insurance this year, or is it just me ??

[John A]

I was looking yesterday for quotes on a well known motorcycle news comparison site for my soon to be Tmax, and Bennets didn't get a mention, who I've previously used. Looked at their website and they have a list of ok mods, and IIRC a road legal exhaust is ok if declared.

All insurance seems to have leapt up this year

[Pukmeister]

According to CN in previous years, a declared mod like a pipe and can are fine.

Suddenly this year its an issue ?

[roadster]

I gave up on CN many years ago when they lost their independence and personal service. Unfortunately we are now in "computer says no" territory for almost all service providers, not just insurance agents. It has almost reached the point that if you are not prepared to use a mobile phone to run a myriad of connected apps and payment services you are a non-person.

[Dr Gonzo]

Something odd is definitely going on with Carol Nash. Over the past couple of years, I had two 2022 Tmax stolen (one gone, one recovered and written off). I then got a 2016 Burgman and got my policy with Carol Nash changed to reflect that and the premium dropped. At the start of this month when the policy was due for renewal I got a message from Carol Nash saying they were unable to quote for a renewal. WTF!

A quick check on MCN Compare and I got the same level of cover (full comp, no claims protection) for less money through Hastings Direct.

[Pukmeister]

Gonzo, that is exactly the issue I have through Carole Nash insurance.

I think the 'panel' of insurance underwriters they use does not give them flexibility any more.

They are going to lose my business as they aren't even competitive on price anymore, let alone service.

[MrGrumpy]

Thing is, an Akra exhaust is an offiicial accessory for recent Tmax's at least!

[Andym]

All the sewer ants are struggling with margins. No idea exactly why, but the number of people without insurance is rising and ambulance chasing lawyers are taking them to the cleaners.

No idea of solutions, driving without insurance is a cultural issue that's then a vicious circle as prices rise. The lawyers is probably similar. I'd like a Rego scheme like they have in parts of Australia, TPO included in the road tax with extremely limited liability. If the government forces me to have it they should provide it.

The sewer ants are reacting by looking for any excuse to avoid risk. Proper computer sez no stuff. This year a 27HP Forza cost me £80 more than the 60HP Guzzi it replaced. Maybe no one is stupid enough to steal a Guzzi?

I had a fight with them over "no commuting" and 2000 miles a year on the SuperCub. The profile of someone touring a 125 blew their minds, yet even after the fight the premium was still less than "with".

If you can find a million riders and drivers willing and trustworthy enough to refuse to buy and then really not buy I'll help you all collapse the system. Until then I'll pay up. I have no illusions the sewer ants will do anything useful for me if something bad happens, it's just a bribe to keep plod off my back and I'll buy the cheapest.

Andy

[knight2]

For what it's worth I insured the burgman AN 650 on 19/12/23 with Europa BIKE or the grand total of £93.54p. This is the same company I was insured with the previous year but their renewal quote was about £140, give or take a few quid, so I went on MCN's insurance comparison site and one of the quotes I got was £80 something from Europa Bike, it wasn't the cheapest but not far off. So I phoned them up and asked why the big difference and told them I would prefer to stay with them but not at that price when I had much cheaper quotes so he came back with a quote of £93.54p which was near enough for me. By the way I'm 73 with full no claims bonus.
Andy, my experience with insurance company's is good. A few years ago I had a european tour booked for a month long trip going down through France,italy, Switzerland and Germany. A few days before we were due to go I was taking the bike to be serviced and checked over and one of my neighbours reversed out of his drive with out looking and knocked me off. The firm I worked for wouldn't give me time off for the trip so I had handed my notice in and left so now I had no bike and no job happy days. I phoned the insurance ccompany up and explained the situation on a Saturday morning, no problem they said leave it with us, Monday afternoon they phoned back and asked would a ST1300 pan european be suitable I said yes, can you pick it up from Bradford, yes, it will be there on Wednesday. Wednesday night I had a nearly new ST1300 with only 4000 miles on the clock to take where I wanted for as long as I wanted, The insurance Company were brilliant and we had a very good holiday. Wish I could remember which company it was.

[Data]

That's very good knight. I too have only ever had good experiences with insurance companys. Most of them do try hard to live up to their policy wording otherwise they'd go out of business. We do hear of horror stories of course but compared to the huge number of good experiences, thankfully, the bad experiences are hugely out weighed by those.