Dented frame = automatic writeoff? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Dented frame = automatic writeoff?

plutoz

plutoz

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A friend of mine experienced a low speed drop last week. Fortunately he is OK, he was wearing full gear which he credits with avoiding worse injury, just has some bruises. At first glance the bike fared pretty well. Needs a new front brake lever, handlebar/grip and rear brake pedal.

Unfortunately the rear brake pedal left a small but noticeable dent on the lower frame, probably from the force of it hitting the pavement and bending inward.

The dealer told him that if he went through insurance because there was *any* amount of frame damage, they would deem it an automatic writeoff, regardless of the cost to repair. The bike is practically new and fairly expensive. The cost with labour to repair everything including replacing the frame is around 20% of the retail price of the bike.

They suggested to him that he could fix everything except the frame and continue to ride the bike safely, but it couldn't go through insurance. I'm not too sure about this, even if it is a minor dent. Also it would make it pretty hard (impossible?) to safety the bike if selling in the future, no?

Does anyone have any experience with frame damage where insurance paid for the repair instead of totalling the bike?
 
plutoz said:
A friend of mine experienced a low speed drop last week. Fortunately he is OK, he was wearing full gear which he credits with avoiding worse injury, just has some bruises. At first glance the bike fared pretty well. Needs a new front brake lever, handlebar/grip and rear brake pedal.

Unfortunately the rear brake pedal left a small but noticeable dent on the lower frame, probably from the force of it hitting the pavement and bending inward.

The dealer told him that if he went through insurance because there was *any* amount of frame damage, they would deem it an automatic writeoff, regardless of the cost to repair. The bike is practically new and fairly expensive. The cost with labour to repair everything including replacing the frame is around 20% of the retail price of the bike.

They suggested to him that he could fix everything except the frame and continue to ride the bike safely, but it couldn't go through insurance. I'm not too sure about this, even if it is a minor dent. Also it would make it pretty hard (impossible?) to safety the bike if selling in the future, no?

Does anyone have any experience with frame damage where insurance paid for the repair instead of totalling the bike?
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Replacing the frame can be quite pricey when factoring in the labour required. Ultimately the decision to declare something a total loss will be up to the insurance adjuster. Many adjusters that I have dealt with will respond exactly as described. Their concern is that the repair costs will increase beyond the threshold they consider acceptable for repairs vs. paying out the bike as a total loss. Depending on the damage to the frame, it may affect the ability to obtain a safety certificate. The exact wording for the safety standards are available online, you can search for them if you are interested.
 
LPakkala said:
Replacing the frame can be quite pricey when factoring in the labour required.
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Yes I realize this, the dealer quoted the cost of replacing the frame including labour and as I mentioned it (along with the other repairs) is about 20% of the retail cost of the bike. Bike is a 2015 with only a few hundred KM on it. I don't know what formula the insurance co's use to determine what the scrap value they will get for a bike is, but I can't imagine it would be >80% of the retail price at the best of times. Meaning in my mind it is cheaper to repair.

LPakkala said:
Depending on the damage to the frame, it may affect the ability to obtain a safety certificate. The exact wording for the safety standards are available online, you can search for them if you are interested.
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Thanks I will pass along that suggestion to him.
 
He is also concerned that by calling his insurance company to discuss the matter, they will raise his rates or deny him insurance (even if he doesn't make a claim) because they now know about the accident. Is this fear unfounded?
 
If he had a "low speed drop", aka crash, and it's a single vehicle, why would he go through insurance?
 
matthew said:
If he had a "low speed drop", aka crash, and it's a single vehicle, why would he go through insurance?
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Due to the cost of repair? Why do people generally have insurance?

OK I found the following...

If you are in an accident and don't make a claim, your insurance premiums won't increase.
Not true. If your insurance company finds out you were in an accident, they can raise your rates accordingly - whether you made a claim or not. You may not have told your insurance provider about the accident, but the other person in the collision may be filing a claim. His/her insurance company may tell your insurance company about the accident and they can raise both your rates.
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^^ from TD Meloche Monnex website. In this case there was no other vehicle involved but it seems pretty clear they can raise your rates just from you letting them know you were in an accident. Man, insurance is such BS.
 
If he calls his insurance company to tell them he had an accident, it is going on his file - that's their whole shtick. This will most certainly raise his rates.

Would be like calling the police to ask where the best place to hide your drugs is.
 
Bermuda said:
...because it's legally mandated.
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OK I guess I should have said 'why do people have *collision* insurance'; it's basically a waste of money if you're never going to make a claim, even if you suffer major damages to your vehicle.

Anyway, back to my original question, is it completely unforeseeable that the insurance company would just pay for repairs in this case instead of writing off the bike?

Obviously the repair bill will be significant but still a lot less than paying out the bike, even if they do manage to get something for it on the scrap market.
 
plutoz said:
OK I guess I should have said 'why do people have *collision* insurance'; it's basically a waste of money if you're never going to make a claim, even if you suffer major damages to your vehicle.

Anyway, back to my original question, is it completely unforeseeable that the insurance company would just pay for repairs in this case instead of writing off the bike?

Obviously the repair bill will be significant but still a lot less than paying out the bike, even if they do manage to get something for it on the scrap market.
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9/10 chance they will write it off. Frame damage = scrap as far as they're concerned.
 
They will write it off because they get good money for it at auction still so it is cheaper to write it off and take what they get at auction than it is to fix it. If he cares about his rate the cheapest thing would be to fix it except the frame and ride it for a few years. Chances are it will not get noticed during the next safety check.
 
Dents in the frame are not necessarily show-stopping for safety certificates, either. I'm curious as to what kind of bike this is, though, because normally that part of the frame is very strong.

Your question is also coming from a strange angle - why is your friend concerned with whether or not they write off the bike? Either way, it will be an at-fault collision, and the hit to their rates will be the same.
 
Ive seen two bikes now with quarter sized dents in the frame be wrote off from insurance companies now.

One of them got bought back from the insurance company, was a great track bike for many years afterwards.
 
plutoz said:
OK I guess I should have said 'why do people have *collision* insurance'; it's basically a waste of money if you're never going to make a claim, even if you suffer major damages to your vehicle.

Anyway, back to my original question, is it completely unforeseeable that the insurance company would just pay for repairs in this case instead of writing off the bike?

Obviously the repair bill will be significant but still a lot less than paying out the bike, even if they do manage to get something for it on the scrap market.
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Do you realize that by reporting this single vehicle collision you just got yourself an at-fault accident on your record for the next 6 years?
 
infernobuster said:
One of them got bought back from the insurance company, was a great track bike for many years afterwards.
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But that is only if you want the bike for track use right? It wouldn't be possible to get the bike street legal again?

FiReSTaRT said:
Do you realize that by reporting this single vehicle collision you just got yourself an at-fault accident on your record for the next 6 years?
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Yep, good reason not to report it. I was asking whether simply inquiring (not making a claim) would count as reporting it, which has already been answered above (answer: yes).
 
plutoz said:
But that is only if you want the bike for track use right? It wouldn't be possible to get the bike street legal again?



Yep, good reason not to report it. I was asking whether simply inquiring (not making a claim) would count as reporting it, which has already been answered above (answer: yes).
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If you claim it through insurance, it will no longer be a street bike. It will get branded. You can get a new frame for it ..
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Why is your friend concerned with whether or not they write off the bike? Either way, it will be an at-fault collision, and the hit to their rates will be the same.
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I guess he thought if the bike was repaired vs totaled it would cost the insurance co less and it wouldn't affect his rates as much. Thanks for confirming that it doesn't really matter.

Scuba Steve said:
the cheapest thing would be to fix it except the frame and ride it for a few years. Chances are it will not get noticed during the next safety check.
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I'm thinking this is his best option as well.

infernobuster said:
If you claim it through insurance, it will no longer be a street bike. It will get branded. You can get a new frame for it ..
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New frame = new VIN?
 
Fix the cosmetic damage and keep on riding. I don't think I have yet to race a bike that didn't have some kind of frame ding on it.
 
This is a good question, but I think the answer is on a on a case-by-case basis. I don't see a small ding as any issue of concern. But again, it depends on the bike.
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