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sadbiker
10-05-2006, 05:35 PM
Just sampled the delights of having fully comp cover.

Last Thursday I went to France with some friends. I took my Honda 900 Hornet with me. On Saturday we were 42 Kms from Limoges enjoying a ride out, we were in a series of bends when a vehicle in front of me suddenly braked very quick throwing loads of smoke from its rear wheel. I braked sharply which forced the bike to go upright away from the right hand bend I was set up for, I had no choice but to point it towards the grass on the other side of the road and hope.
Unfortunately there was a gully hidden by overgrowth and the bike hit this throwing me into the air, and from witnesses behind my bike somersaulted into the air. The front forks are completely buckled, the rear hit the ground smashing the tailpiece.

I myself landed in a thicket and luckily other than bruises was ok.

Ok we thought, I have fully comp which in case of accident and a unrideable bike I simply phone the 24 hour emergency number supplied with the Equity Red Star policy taken out with Ducati Insurance and they take the stress out of what has happened. The policy booklet even states how it will look after me in the event of this sort of accident.

Well first the 24 hour number ends up being directed to office hours only answer machine after stating you are in a queue.. Ok lets phone up Ducati Insurance, well none of the numbers work from abroad or the ones that did again office hours only. Luckily I tried Euro Assist and they put me in touch with Equity Red Star, to be told... we don't recognise your policy number, we have no record of your registration or your address..

After 2 hours we realised I was in deep ****, in the middle of the French countryside, with no backup.

Luckily my friends went to the nearest town, paid 800 euros deposit on a hire Van, came and fetched me so I could drive the van, pick the bike up and drive it home (UK). This I did and took my Monster back to France as I had to return the Van and needed to get back to the ferry port for a Tuesday Crossing. I covered 1500 kms in the Van in 2 days.

The point this lengthy story is what the F*** did I pay for, My wife has been in contact with Ducati Insurance to found out that they block buy their policies and have a Group Policy Number.. Great no where was this mentioned in my paperwork, I took my policy, the emergency contact numbers etc to be failed by Ducati Insurance and Equity Red Star. For those who are going abroad who have the same policies Speak to Ducati Insurance and found out what the F*** they are doing.

For those who say "Breakdown Cover", it will not cover for accident's and a vehicle being imobilised due to one. Unless you can get away with saying your brakes failed and thats why you had the accident.

A very strongly worded letter will be going out shortly with a long list of costs I have incurred due to the crap service I received..

On a side note, my monster was thrashed in France, it loved it, I also got the chance to pillion on a Benili and will never do that again.....

CK & AK
10-05-2006, 07:57 PM
sorry to hear about your troubles :(

The breakdown cover from most companies has never covered in case of accident tho.
Last time we rode the bikes over, we ensured we had 24 hr numbers to call for CN in case of accident, and updated our AA cover for the w/end - as they seem to be the best (for us) in case of breakdown probs.

Stupid thing is, it can still take a min of 8 days to get your bike repatriated if broken down or a own fault accident not involving anyone else. Mate had just over 5 months wait to get his written off 996 back when it was written off by a numpty citroen driver:mad::mad: - and then lots of the trick bits had been removed - I wont mention the ins co involved tho............

Shame you werent in Holland, Italy or Germany - the dealers there bend over backwards to help if you have probs.

C:)

Footnote: AK had 1 year with DI and we had tremendouse trouble when a claim had to be made (all easy to initially sign up of course! ;) )
We are both still with Equity RS, but via CN, who have earnt their money 3 times in the last 6 years for us:cool:

bigredduke
10-05-2006, 08:09 PM
One of the problems with insurance is that you only know how good it is if you use it, ie claim. They are remarkably efficient when accepting your premiums.

I was insured by Equity Red Star through Ducati Insurance when I had my recent accident. To quote Michael O'Leary of Ryanair "They were as much use as a condom in a convent"

It took over 2 weeks for an assessor to come and look at the bike and even longer for the insurance company to give the go-ahead for repairs. I had to make all the phone calls between the dealer and the insurance company to get them to get a move on. The broker did Jack sh*t for me.

It seems that motorcyclists get much poorer treatment once again when compared to car drivers even though we are often paying higher premiums.

I am taking my bike to France this summer, albeit on a trailer for some riding around the Pyrennees. I shall check my insurance carefully before I go!

Hope you get it sorted!

sadbiker
10-05-2006, 08:48 PM
The big problem was it was late in the day on Saturday basically in the middle of no where and a Bank Holiday in France to come, what worst timing.

Redkite2
11-05-2006, 01:51 PM
Sorry I can't help, but glad you are OK.
Did the people in the car stop to help?

sadbiker
11-05-2006, 03:41 PM
I dowt it even noticed.... Luckily I had a few friends with me who helped me out, I was so close to torching the bike with the help I was getting from the Insurance Company. Well we have had some response from Equity Red Star, lets see how long it takes to process the claim and all my out of pockets...

Bodybag
11-05-2006, 04:06 PM
Sorry to hear about your troubles. My insurance is with Carole Nash (underwirtten by Norwich Union). I'd had the policy for 1 week when I had an (off the bike) accident in Dublin which left me unable to ride. I rang CN on the Sunday morning and I was recovered back to Leicester the same day.

Sorry to hear you had such difficulties with your policy but it might be worth seeing what CN can do for you. They gave me free European wide breakdown cover which, fortunately, was exceptionally good. They kept me informed throughout the whole process as to what was going on and when recovery would be arriving etc. They even use specialist bike recovery rather than some donut with a 30 foot ramp loader!

Anyway, I hope you get all your expenses back and the bike on the road or replaced soon.

Phil

sadbiker
15-05-2006, 09:15 AM
Yer a few have mentioned CN. But when a policy states I have full cover, and in the event the bike is unrideable to contact the 24 hour emergancy number....

But to have been misinformed by the brokers, it seems they are fully aware of the different policy number, as a layman, I expect that the certificate that is in my hands and is stated in the policy all that is required should have worked.

I was badly let down by both Ducati Insurance and Equity Red Star, hopefully all my expensives should be covered otherwise I will seek legal action as they have failed to provide the service that I had entered a written contract with.

Hopefully they are big enought to admit the F*** U* on their side and resolve. I fully appreciate that Insurance is not to make you any better off which is not what I am after but to cover the losses I have made, at the moment this stands at £700 in documented costs, which I shouldn't have had to spend. Cost of Hired Van, Ferry Tickets, Diesal, Extra Hotel Accomendation etc. It all adds up.

My advice to anyone is to recheck the policy's they have and speak to there brokers before going abroad to ensure that nothing has changed. And that they have all current numbers, I would suggest asking for local numners rather than 0800 or 0845 etc as I had loads of trouble getting these to work. Even when they did I wasnt able to get any help.

Well half an hour after my wife had been in direct corrospondance with the Insurance company and had faxed a 4 page letter of complaint direct to them, an assessor had phoned to arrange to see the bike tomorrow (Tuesday). So lets hope that things get moved on quickly and this gets resolved soon.

sadbiker
07-06-2006, 11:30 AM
Just to give an insight into what has happened as I know a few people do wonder.

Equity red star have given a very good valueation to my bike.(Very Goood). They have also covered my £700 out of pocket expensives. A cheque arrived last friday for the full amount minus £250 excess. I did attempt to see if this would be waived as part of a apology but... I was informed as the policy booklet states that for the first trip abroad I "should" contact my brokers for any upto the minute info. Also they did say that my policy even through fully comp would not have covered returning the bike back to uk if so badly damaged to be a write off. But due to the problems I suffered, and maybe the fact the documentation does give me emergancy justification to make a decision they have aggreed the out of pockets..

The bright side is the amount they gave agaisnt the bike probabley covers the excess anyway. At the end of the day you are not to gain on insurance but hopefully not to be out of pocket either so I can't complain.

I even get to keep the insurance policy running as the S2R is down as the main bike (phew) so 9 months before I get hit for this claim.

Full credit has to go to Equity Red Star in how quick it has resolved this claim. Ducati Insurance have also been very helpful (Hayley) and offered any assistance required to help deal with the insurers if I was getting no where.

But it does show until you have an accident you don't know what is going to happen. As people have suggested it would be very wise to make sure you have a breakdown policy to cover return if you suffer an accident. I now realised what went wrong as I thought I had covered this and I did have euro breakdown on my original Honda policy(at the time of booking the trip) but when I had to change the insurance when buying the Monster I forget to get a seperate breakdown policy to cover the Honda abroad for this trip. I thought I had got the cover with the ferry ticket t the same time I got the travel insurance.

madhatter
08-06-2006, 06:43 PM
Hi Mate,

Thanks for the chat today at Mallory Park. Hopefully, we can all learn from your experience and avoid the same problems. I've checked my insurance, which is fully comprehensive, and is with Ducati Insurance underwritten by "NIG". The policy gives comprehensive cover in any country which is a member of the European Union and "any country which they approve as meeting the requirements of article 7 (2) of the European Community Directive on Insurance of Civil Liabilities from motor vehicles". The policy lists France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, so it doesn't look like my insurance will be a problem through all these countries. They just ask for 14 days notice so that they can check where you are going and send your green card. I note they do not mention a time restriction such as 60 days maximum, so I'll check on this.

I have "standard" breakdown cover provided by "Call Assist", so this will definately need checking with them and I fully expect it to cost me. I believe you can also get a 5 or 7 day European Breakdown cover from the AA and RAC for around £40, so I'll check with them to.

Lastly, I'll be making sure I have all the Telephone numbers (from Europe) and I'll try these before I go to make sure they work.

Nice to meet you today and thanks for the advice Mate!;) :thumbsup:

sadbiker
09-06-2006, 07:17 AM
Glad to be off help, this was my first accident abroad in 8 years of riding over to europe..

Unfortunetly it was the first time I buggered up on having a breakdown policy to cover the trip, but in the case of this accident I was covered by the insurers and what happened after the accident should never have happened. Luckily it has all been sorted out now but i wouldn't want anyone to go through this so hopefully this thread makes people more aware of what can go wrong. I was lucky there were a good bunch of lads with me who helped expand the options when all seemed to be going wrong.

Andy Lad
09-06-2006, 07:42 AM
Hi,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I had the same experience with Ducati Insurance (Equity Red Star (TPFT)) after crashing recently in the UK. The bike was unrideable so I called the Ducati Insurance numbers given to me when I bought the policy, first up Ramisis accident help line - no joy (more interested in whether I was going to make a personal injury claim), second up the 24 hour recovery service - no joy "we only do breakdowns not accidents" applying logic like the bike is broken and needs recovering failed, lastly I called the Bike Assist line - no luck they just refered me to the numbers I had already called. After wasting an hour on the side of the road I managed to get picked up by some mates and their van. So why did I pay for services that dont help??? I feel conned and vulnerable, do I continue to take the risk and hope that this does not happen again or do I cancel my insurance and with Ducati and get some real cover that does what it says on the tin?
I'm sure that we are not the only UKMOC members that have this problem and just may be we could force the insurance guys to give us a proper service if we speak with one voice.

I feel better for getting that off my chest
Andy Lad

sadbiker
09-06-2006, 08:38 AM
Didn't you have the equity red star 24 hour number, this should have given you the assistance required...(well should). The other point I did pick up was that most breakdown companys will help if they have a link to the insurers who confirm the policy will cover the cost of recovery due to accident.

Geoff Avern
09-06-2006, 10:23 AM
Hi all,

It seem an appropriate point to add our experiences of accident on the Continent and insurance.

The cover was Carole Nash 3rd party, property fire & theft.

The accident was bizarre - my wife was overtaking on narrow mountain road in Spain when the overtakee pulls out and hits her. She keeps it upright but he wonders what the noise was, opens door and sticks head out only to have his toupee taken of by a Monster which proceeds to leave a big tyre mark up the INSIDE of his door as the rotation of the tyre lifted the bike up and dropped it on its side on the road. While her head came down just millimetres from his rear tyre, the only injuries were a big purple bruise on both hip and elbow, and shredded wets.

To cut to the chase, CN were quite helpful - I won't say "very" because I had to do a lot of the phone-work myself to locate the parts, and CN and their new service provider in Europe disagreed for 24hrs about what they would do - but we did get the bike to the garage we wanted (across the border in France) and 2 days later the missus was riding it around the Pau-Arnos circuit, so CN did the job.

Finally I get to the real point, when it came to initiating legal procedings to recover our expenses we were told that there was not enough to make a case, despite the cops in attendence having made their notes (we got the cops name and station number, etc), the 2 parties having exchanged the European Accident forms, and me supplying a swag of digital photos. What was lacking was some corroborating evidence in the form of witnesses or a police charge - yes, incredibly, because my wife was not physically injured to the point of requiring an ambulance, the police only took details but did not lay charges. This bastard came millimetres within killing my wife and he walks! With no fault assignable, we had no chance of claiming. So if it happens to you, get witnesses! Or call an ambulance.

Cheers,
Geoff Avern
east Berks

ijr900
02-07-2006, 08:57 PM
try leaving a 2 second gap between you and the vehicle in front of you ,maybe 3 or 4 in the wet

sadbiker
02-07-2006, 10:24 PM
Good answer, but when someone in front is suddenly going in its side, my concerns were more about hitting the other rider.

Maybe with your mind blowing suggestion it would be better if we all drove in cars then we could think of ourselves.

The words "You Pratt" spring to mind, but hopefully I have got you wrong ?

I may not have wanted to write off my bike, but at least the knowledge that we both walked away with no injuries other than severely dented pride helps to comfort that. I still wonder if there was any other course of action, maybe I should have carried on round and crossed my fingers, or better still maybe I shouldn’t have been on the road. At the time I wasn’t what I thought was close to be silly. The first I knew was when the other rider was locking up his wheels. By then I was probably catching up without realising and as I was tucking in ready for a beautiful right hand bend I had to make a quick decision, I just didn't want to take the risk of hitting someone else. I was unlucky with the field as I felt I could run the speed down on the field but hit a hidden dip which was enough to throw me.

To have ended up with only 2 options ad neither being the best, I am annoyed that it happened. Considering the hornet was a good bike, well maintained and bloody good brakes plus 4 years of good fun, it was heart wrenching to see it taken away the other week for dismantle. But I would still do the same thing again. I suspect most people on here would never want to run someone over.

The main point of the accident was to highlight the problems I then suffered due to the insurance company, which I think was needed as a few people go abroad and its better to know about any issues before you go.

ijr900
15-07-2006, 12:00 AM
I repeat, try leaving a two second gap between yourself and the vehicle in front.Its worked for me for the past 20 years

Bunny
15-07-2006, 08:44 AM
I repeat, try leaving a two second gap between yourself and the vehicle in front.Its worked for me for the past 20 years


Can you imagine , 20 years and never overtaken anything !!!! :D

sadbiker
15-07-2006, 09:52 AM
I think your Monster needs a decoke....

sadbiker
15-07-2006, 09:52 AM
And sorry but yes you are a PRAT..

Get a life........

ijr900
27-07-2006, 09:46 PM
Theres an awful lot of tommy tailgaters out there,for the record ,I can almost always get round without moving into the safety cell.also if the vehicle you are pushing up the road is a van or truck you will be able to see sod all.
take it easy,you do it to yourself.

sadbiker
27-07-2006, 10:10 PM
Look if you have not got anything sensible to say then butt out. this thread was made to warn others of problems suffered after a serious accident nearly happened abroad.

Now as you like to quote years . in 18 years of riding i have never willingly put myself or others in harms way. I was involved in the accident not you. it is for me to study what happened. some parts of it i cant explain as i was not close to start with but by the time i saw the smoke from his brakes it was to late. i still cant remember seeing his brakes lights or any other sign of him slowing down. i do remember someone saying later his bike had suffered electrical problems on the way to the port. but i have never seen the bike or rider since to find out.


so unless you have a magic ball would it not be better to keep some of your comments to yourself and partake in this thread for the purpose it was put on this site.

madhatter
09-08-2006, 02:01 PM
Glad to be off help, this was my first accident abroad in 8 years of riding over to europe..Unfortunetly it was the first time I buggered up on having a breakdown policy to cover the trip, but in the case of this accident I was covered by the insurers...there were a good bunch of lads with me who helped expand the options when all seemed to be going wrong.

Well, I leave Blighty at Ramsgate with six other bikers tomorrow at Dawn. We plan to ride through to France and collect some of the french division, before meeting up later that night at the Belgium contingents clubhouse in Charleroi. Here there will be lots of refreshment going on for the remainder of the night. The next day we leave for Wenden in Germany for a big rally/festival, where there will be lots more refreshment opportunity. We also plan to travel the next day to Oudenberg, where we are booked into the infamous Groenedijk "Bikers Hotel".

I have the European and UK numbers for Ducati Insurance, I have the same for my AA European Breakdown Recovery (£30 for 5 days). I've got all my documentation with me, so hopefully I've covered all the bases.

Let me know mate if I've missed any critical/useful details.

MH. :biggrin:

sadbiker
09-08-2006, 02:41 PM
Beer Money.

Europe Medical Cover or at least the New Medical Card for basic cover in member countrys.

Have a good Trip....