Help please from UK members re Insurance claim

Hi all

I was having a pleasant ride out on my Commando last Wednesday with wife on back until some lunatic woman ran into the back of us & sent us flying. Luckily we got away with bruising thanks to the gear we were wearing. (Please wear good protective gear everyone). The bike slid down the road on it's leftside. the back is flattened & plenty of things on left side are scraped or bent. I'm insured through Carol Nash & also have legal cover with them. I have the bike at home at the moment. They have suggested using one of their approved repairers but I don't like this idea as they are unlikely to be experts at fixing a 40 year old bike! Ideally, I would like to repair it myself & have them, or idiot that hit us, pay for it. I have had my Commando from new so am pretty attached to it. A friend suggested paying someone to provide an estimate who would be recognised by the insurance company, but i don't know who that might be. Any suggestions or experiences welcomed.

Ian

Not a UK member. Just a regular member with a little experience in this regard.
I would work with your adjuster. Get quotes from their repair person and a couple more. This may require an out of pocket expense. Once you have your quotes, determine the cost of fixing it yourself which is basically parts, paint and maybe some misc. service work (straightening, welding etc.). You may have enough left over for a major upgrade of your choosing. This is not unethical but simply being prudent with your resources. I believe in the end it is your choice as to who does your repair. The entire repair encompasses a value of which your are entitled. Labor expense is huge and of course is the source of your savings, along with your connections for parts.
Not knowing the rules, law and regulations where you are, I can only speculate.

Hope this gives some ideas.
Peter
P.S.
I am very curious, was the person who hit you "texting"?

Nortoniggy said:

A friend suggested paying someone to provide an estimate who would be recognised by the insurance company, but i don't know who that might be.

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If you live in Kidderminster then you are only a few miles from Norvil.

pvisseriii said:

I am very curious, was the person who hit you "texting"?

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I don't know is the simple answer. She was 9 months pregnant & due to give birth today, was on her way home from hospital appointment so her mind could have been anywhere. Maybe she couldn't even reach the pedals properly. Who knows? The police attended & took details but no idea if they will tell me anything. They start bleating about the "data protection act" if you ask them anything. I do have solicitors who are going to persue uninsured losses, clothing etc.

If you live in Kidderminster then you are only a few miles from Norvil.

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I did think of Les Emery but given that he wants a donor bike & £9K to build a Commando, I think his prices might turn it into a write off!

Thanks for suggestions though.

Ian

I think that you should approach Carol Nash with your thoughts. You may be able to get their approved repairers to give an estimate for the repair without giving them the go ahead to do the work and then come to some arrangement with the insurers. The easiest route is to have it written off and buy the salvage and rebuild it if the write off catagory allows it to be put back on the road.
However you need to bear in mind that the insurance co. will be chasing the other driver to cover the repair costs so it might be worth talking to the other drivers insurance co. yourself and see what they are prepared to do because they will want the cheapest outcome.
Its difficult to estimate the actual damage and rebuilding yourself rarely involves just fixing the damage - beware it can quickly empty your pockets!
Anyway just be grateful you and your passenger live to ride another day - bikes can always be repaired!

Hi Nortoniggy,
Have you spoken to Carole Nash as to who is on there approved list of repairers? As CN are experts in the field of insuring "classics" I would assume their repairers are as well and you may well see one of the norton specialists on the list. Give them a ring and find out. Glad you are both okay though that is all that matters in the long run!

Nortoniggy said:

pvisseriii said:

I am very curious, was the person who hit you "texting"?

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I don't know is the simple answer. She was 9 months pregnant & due to give birth today, was on her way home from hospital appointment so her mind could have been anywhere. Maybe she couldn't even reach the pedals properly. Who knows? The police attended & took details but no idea if they will tell me anything. They start bleating about the "data protection act" if you ask them anything. I do have solicitors who are going to persue uninsured losses, clothing etc.

If you live in Kidderminster then you are only a few miles from Norvil.

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I did think of Les Emery but given that he wants a donor bike & £9K to build a Commando, I think his prices might turn it into a write off!

Thanks for suggestions though.

Ian

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Been there, get the best quote and tell the insurance you will do it for 20 quid less...worked for me.

Nortoniggy,

They start bleating about the "data protection act" if you ask them anything.

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They cannot say that, don't forget it's a requirement you exchange at the very least insurance details after any accident. I've just been rammed off the road by a drunk getting chased by the police and the first thing they told me was they'd get me his details in less than 24 hours. And they did name address the lot.

I'm sure Carol Nash at one time and indeed might still, let you self repair. However, don't forget her insurance has to make good or better as you were not to blame. Stick to your guns, and if they write it off take the money with a buy it back deal.

Best of luck mate.

Cash

Please keep us posted re how you get on. I'm also insured with Carole Nash. Did you have agreed value insurance?
I would also suggest you see if Les Emery will co-operate, especially if you then buy the replacement parts from him, it's in his interest to work with you.

Best of luck.

I'm sorry, but all or operators are busy! :lol:

An update.

Spoke to Carole Nash & they say prepare a quote for me to fix it myself. Am in the process at moment but need to get carrier & rear mudguard off to see if wheel is straight. I think the wheel itself is ok as it spins true but may be canted over as if swinging arm twisted. Am up to about £1200 in parts so far. I've been comparing prices at Andover Norton, RGM & Norvil. The first 2 are similar for most things but the last one is more expensive. e.g. Rear Brake Pedal : Andover £65, RGM £64, Norvil £75. I doubt that RGM or Norvil are getting them made so they probably come from Andover, so it's hard to justify the mark up.

I was gripping right bar so tight that I twisted the throttle grip backwards around the bar, which is why I can't grip a spanner very well at the moment. It's getting better each day though. Bruise on my hip is huge & colourful. Had it checked at hospital minor injuries unit & they said it's just slow job, maybe 6 weeks. Thankfully my other half is better. Landed on her elbow but armour in her coat saved her. She just has big bruise on backside. We can recommend Rev-it clothing for protection.

Ian

Hi Ian,
Firstly, glad your'e both ok, it can shake you up a bit when something like that happens & as others have said, at least the bike can be repaired/replaced. I had a similar experiance last year when a foreign lory driver decided to turn across in front of me & take me & my beloved Dominator out. Fortunately I too only suffered minor injuries & managed to hang on to the bike & drop it in the soft grass verge so damage was restricted to bent pegs, exhaust, front mudgaurd/stays, headlight & brackets, handlebars into tank & lots of cosmetic damage to the front end, the usual sort of things. I wanted to do the repairs myself but despite being a panel beater/ painter with my own business, they said yes, I could repair it myself but they wouldn't pay any of my labour costs, just the cost of parts & paint & materials ! They expect you to do it for nothing ! So, I just quoted to replace anything & everything that was at all damaged in any way. Some of the tinware that is unavailable new I used autojumblers & ebay to guestimate a second hand replacemennt cost, (they seemed quite happy with that) & once we had agreed a price, they sent me a cheque. I then repaired just about everything, only replacing what I absolutely had to. I didn't make anything out of it, but at least I got the bike repaired quickly & with the knowledge it was done properly. I never did get anything for my crash hat though, or the £100 excess on my policy, too much trouble chasing foreign insurance co's for uninsured losses I expect, hopefuly that won't be a problem in your case.
Hope you get sorted soon
Regards, Tim

Nortoniggy said:

An update.

Spoke to Carole Nash & they say prepare a quote for me to fix it myself. Am in the process at moment but need to get carrier & rear mudguard off to see if wheel is straight. I think the wheel itself is ok as it spins true but may be canted over as if swinging arm twisted. Am up to about £1200 in parts so far. I've been comparing prices at Andover Norton, RGM & Norvil. The first 2 are similar for most things but the last one is more expensive. e.g. Rear Brake Pedal : Andover £65, RGM £64, Norvil £75. I doubt that RGM or Norvil are getting them made so they probably come from Andover, so it's hard to justify the mark up.

I was gripping right bar so tight that I twisted the throttle grip backwards around the bar, which is why I can't grip a spanner very well at the moment. It's getting better each day though. Bruise on my hip is huge & colourful. Had it checked at hospital minor injuries unit & they said it's just slow job, maybe 6 weeks. Thankfully my other half is better. Landed on her elbow but armour in her coat saved her. She just has big bruise on backside. We can recommend Rev-it clothing for protection.

Ian

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As Andover is the "factory parts" only get quotes from them. Don't bother shopping. And unless you are an experienced adjuster, don't second guess any part. Get quotes on ANYTHING that may have even got touched. For a rear end hit this is everything from the cradle on back. EVERYTHING. Ever little part, including the cradle! Until you take it apart you don't know what is going to be damaged, but assume it all is.

As sad as it would be perhaps post pictures and we'll help too. Nothing like consulting at 5000 miles away.

Latest Update

Insurance company (Groupama) sent an engineer round to check/assess the state of my bike last week. He was a biker himself, a big sporty Suzuki, & agreed that he would want to repair the bike himself if he was in my position. He was relieved when I gave him a detailed breakdown of parts needed as he thought he might have to itemise everything. He went through the list & said it looked ok. I'd put £300 labour charge on the estimate & he didn't object. A dealer would probably charge a lot more.
I have now received authority to repair the bike so have spent today ordering some stuff online & am going to Norvil tomorrow to get some more. I'm spending my labour money on one of John's Lansdowne fork upgrade kits.

I had legal cover with my insurance & Carole Nash have put some ambulance chasing solicitors in touch with me & my wife. They've sent us both forms to fill in with details of damaged clothing & costs. They've also sent us both to see physio's a few times. We then have to be medically assessed in September & I presume after that they will go after the insurance of the woman that hit us to get some compensation.

It's not surprising that insurance is so expensive as there are so many people involved when you make a claim who all want their buck.

I've got a BMW R100 airhead & had my first decent ride out since the accident on that last week. Spent more time looking in the mirror than I would normally, especially when slowing down.

Ian

Nortoniggy said:

Latest Update

Insurance company (Groupama) sent an engineer round to check/assess the state of my bike last week. He was a biker himself, a big sporty Suzuki, & agreed that he would want to repair the bike himself if he was in my position. He was relieved when I gave him a detailed breakdown of parts needed as he thought he might have to itemise everything. He went through the list & said it looked ok. I'd put £300 labour charge on the estimate & he didn't object. A dealer would probably charge a lot more.
I have now received authority to repair the bike so have spent today ordering some stuff online & am going to Norvil tomorrow to get some more. I'm spending my labour money on one of John's Lansdowne fork upgrade kits.

I had legal cover with my insurance & Carole Nash have put some ambulance chasing solicitors in touch with me & my wife. They've sent us both forms to fill in with details of damaged clothing & costs. They've also sent us both to see physio's a few times. We then have to be medically assessed in September & I presume after that they will go after the insurance of the woman that hit us to get some compensation.

It's not surprising that insurance is so expensive as there are so many people involved when you make a claim who all want their buck.

I've got a BMW R100 airhead & had my first decent ride out since the accident on that last week. Spent more time looking in the mirror than I would normally, especially when slowing down.

Ian

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Do you mind posting the list of parts you think you will need? I hope the £300 is going to be enough to cover any parts you may have missed.

It's a long list. The £300 is just for labour, the total of the parts is around £2K ! It soon mounts up.

Headlamp Brackets Rubbers
Clock Holder
Inner O ring
Outer O ring
Handlebar Slight Rise
Speedo Bezel
Silencer 2
Exhaust Sealing Washer 2
Front Mudguard
Footrest Peg
Throttle Cable
Clutch Lever
Rear Light Fairing
Headlamp Shell
Rear Light (pattern)
Rear Mudguard
Brake Pedal
Handlebar Grips Genuine (pr)
Indicator 2
Headlamp Brackets (pr)
Exhaust Pipes (pr)
Footrest Hanger
Footrest Rubber Front (pr)
Footrest Rubber Rear (pr)
Rear Light Fairing Reflector
Rear Light Support Bracket
Chain Guard
Bush (pr)
Centre Stand
Rear Number Plate
Rear Tyre
Misc Paint & Bolts etc


Ian

Rear wheel?
Swingarm?
Cradle?

A strike on the rear wheel could have pushed the whole cradle forward and bent the frame. You won't know until the bike has been torn down.

I hope it's not that bad.

The rear wheel is definitely straight & true. I did have suspicions about the swinging arm but have taken it off & checked it on a flat surface & it seemed ok. I put it back in & fitted wheel, then checked that the wheel was vertical in relation to other vertical parts, eg Z plates are vertical, using a spirit level. It all checked out ok. I think she hit us hard enough to destroy/bend rear numberplate mudguard & knock us off but not hard enough to bend major parts. I think if she'd hit us that hard we would have more than bruising to worry about. Grateful for small mercies. Most of the damage was done by the bike sliding along lying on its side. It spun round and ended up pointing in opposite direction.

Ian

Nortoniggy said:

The rear wheel is definitely straight & true. I did have suspicions about the swinging arm but have taken it off & checked it on a flat surface & it seemed ok. I put it back in & fitted wheel, then checked that the wheel was vertical in relation to other vertical parts, eg Z plates are vertical, using a spirit level. It all checked out ok. I think she hit us hard enough to destroy/bend rear numberplate mudguard & knock us off but not hard enough to bend major parts. I think if she'd hit us that hard we would have more than bruising to worry about. Grateful for small mercies. Most of the damage was done by the bike sliding along lying on its side. It spun round and ended up pointing in opposite direction.

Ian

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I'm glad to hear that it wasn't as bad as I had feared. Better that the fender takes the damage and not more of the bike.

Latest news

It's fixed! First shakedown run today. A joy to be riding it again.




Ian