First accident | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

First accident

I have never had any accidents in the past, this was my first accident, and it was at-fault.
I’m paying $1,100 a year right now, I heard that it might go up to $6,000 a year upon renewal.

Someone in the post mentioned that even with minimal damage, the appraiser might write it off.


Rev ON

I highly doubt it will go up to $6000/yr off 1 claim.

At 18, the difference between having an at-fault claim and not for me (in a car - which is the type of vehicle the claim was made on) was about $1500/yr.
Take into account I was a young driver with an accident.
Not sure if it matters, but it was $14k for repairs.

The write-off bit really depends on the appraiser you get, but moderate damage on a bike tends to get them written off in an insurance claim.
 
You probably are beyond the point on no return now and will have to deal with whatever happens on renewal of your vehicles.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
You probably are beyond the point on no return now and will have to deal with whatever happens on renewal of your vehicles.

Negative, see the link I posted earlier. I don't believe you go past the point of no return until a claim is paid out to someone - be it a repair place to fix the bike, or to the owner in the case of a write off.
 
I highly doubt it will go up to $6000/yr off 1 claim.

At 18, the difference between having an at-fault claim and not for me (in a car - which is the type of vehicle the claim was made on) was about $1500/yr.
Take into account I was a young driver with an accident.
Not sure if it matters, but it was $14k for repairs.

The write-off bit really depends on the appraiser you get, but moderate damage on a bike tends to get them written off in an insurance claim.

That’s not good at all. They asked me how much the bike was in the beginning when I was getting insurance and I gave them a smaller amount, because I thought it needs to match the amount I tell at Service Ontario so I can get a break on taxes (guilty). If they write it off, are they just going to give to me the amount what I told them or are they going to look at the market value of the bike, considering that bikes don’t have a bluebook or market value?

I really don’t want them to write it off. If they present the idea of writing it off, can I cancel the claim and fix the bike myself and keep it with the same insurance company? But then I will have to pay for all of the incurring costs, which is the time it’s been at the lot for, and the cost of parts and labor at the shop and the transportation costs from the lot to the dealership.


Rev ON
 
Decided what you are doing sooner than later storage is going to be 100 per day or more plus possible 150 for each tow. You are likely over a thousand at this point.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Decided what you are doing sooner than later storage is going to be 100 per day or more plus possible 150 for each tow. You are likely over a thousand at this point.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Yeah, sadly this is running away from the OP. Insurance company has some power over the storage yard, OP has none so they can charge him whatever exhorbitant rate they have posted.
 
Legal experts please confirm if I am wrong but............

Tickets are between the driver / rider and the MOT / police with the information available to the insurers.

Claims are between the owner and the insurer and the police only care if there was dirty riding involved.

Someone in the insurance business told me that a collision related surcharge can only be applied to one vehicle, not the owners whole fleet. Obviously the insurer will, if they can, pick the most expensive rate to double up on.

I suspect the tickets are different in that they do apply to the whole fleet.

Claims and tickets have different expiry dates regarding how they affect rates but there can be a tricky question. If the insurer asks if you ever had a claim and you say "No" because it was a dozen years ago you have lied. An better answer would be "Nothing relevant" but I don't know if the insurers have a tick box for honest answers.

Re write offs:

When I wrote off a mini van ages ago I was given the option of keeping the van and taking some fix up money.

I'm not sure how this works but if a vehicle is fixed under an insurance claim it would show on a car fax report but if you fix it yourself it wouldn't.

Also the reason the insurers write off is that a shop won't spend days searching the net for odd parts while having their shop jammed with bikes waiting for deals on parts. If you have a safe work space you have the option of taking your time to save your money. Bikes are relatively easy to repair compared to cars.

Keep the above in mind if you let anyone use your vehicle, even for a test ride. If the test pilot, unfamiliar with the bike and pushing the limits, has an at fault the owner gets the rate increase.

Remember when life was simple?
 
Last edited:
That’s not good at all. They asked me how much the bike was in the beginning when I was getting insurance and I gave them a smaller amount, because I thought it needs to match the amount I tell at Service Ontario so I can get a break on taxes (guilty). If they write it off, are they just going to give to me the amount what I told them or are they going to look at the market value of the bike, considering that bikes don’t have a bluebook or market value?

I really don’t want them to write it off. If they present the idea of writing it off, can I cancel the claim and fix the bike myself and keep it with the same insurance company? But then I will have to pay for all of the incurring costs, which is the time it’s been at the lot for, and the cost of parts and labor at the shop and the transportation costs from the lot to the dealership.


Rev ON
I was 'overpaid' on my fz09 when they totaled it. They go by the market.
 
Also the reason the insurers write off is that a shop won't spend days searching the net for odd parts while having their shop jammed with bikes waiting for deals on parts. If you have a safe work space you have the option of taking your time to save your money. Bikes are relatively easy to repair compared to cars.
Is this an indirect reference to the damage/value threshold?
 
Sometimes having a bike written off for insurance purposes is a good thing. When I was hit a few years ago the repair costs exceeded the value of the bike, so it was written off by the insurance company. I opted to buy the bike back from them from salvage (for $600), which they discounted off the cheque I received for the value of the bike. This allowed me to fix things at my own pace, and keep the bike on the road. To be able to do this, they needed confirmation from a shop that the bike was still deemed safe to ride, otherwise it would get a branded title on the ownership (with the ministry) which is irreversible and never allowed back on the street.

When the insurance company paid me after I bought the bike back from them, they told me to keep any and all receipts that relate to the damage I'd fixed on my own down the road. That way, if another accident/claim happened on the same bike, they would be able to pay back what was fixed... otherwise they would not be paying out any of the damage that was documented from the previous accident, which makes sense.
 
Legal experts please confirm if I am wrong but............

Tickets are between the driver / rider and the MOT / police with the information available to the insurers.

Claims are between the owner and the insurer and the police only care if there was dirty riding involved.

Someone in the insurance business told me that a collision related surcharge can only be applied to one vehicle, not the owners whole fleet. Obviously the insurer will, if they can, pick the most expensive rate to double up on.

I suspect the tickets are different in that they do apply to the whole fleet.

Claims and tickets have different expiry dates regarding how they affect rates but there can be a tricky question. If the insurer asks if you ever had a claim and you say "No" because it was a dozen years ago you have lied. An better answer would be "Nothing relevant" but I don't know if the insurers have a tick box for honest answers.

Re write offs:

When I wrote off a mini van ages ago I was given the option of keeping the van and taking some fix up money.

I'm not sure how this works but if a vehicle is fixed under an insurance claim it would show on a car fax report but if you fix it yourself it wouldn't.

Also the reason the insurers write off is that a shop won't spend days searching the net for odd parts while having their shop jammed with bikes waiting for deals on parts. If you have a safe work space you have the option of taking your time to save your money. Bikes are relatively easy to repair compared to cars.

Keep the above in mind if you let anyone use your vehicle, even for a test ride. If the test pilot, unfamiliar with the bike and pushing the limits, has an at fault the owner gets the rate increase.

Remember when life was simple?

Thank you so much for the guidance brother!


Rev ON
 
Awesome!! Even if I told them a smaller amount??


Rev ON
Well i can't comment on your situation, all i can say is i was paid above market price for my ride which i bought under market value. I reported the real price i paid.
 
Also, if you do end up proceeding with the claim (if it's too late to cancel, which is still probably in your best interest), make sure you claim your gear you were wearing as well if it's been damaged (eg. helmet, gloves, pants, boots, etc). In my case I was wearing a backpack that got torn up so was able to claim that as well. You will have to send them the pictures of the damaged gear if so.
 
Depends on the cost to fix. OEM plastics are expensive. Once the adjuster does his thing, and the storage fees etc. you may be stuck going thru with ins. They may write it off and allow you to buy it back with less payout. It would have been best not to make any claim and fix yourself...depending on the severity of the damage. Are you knowledgeable enough to know the forks aren't bent and other damage?
 
That’s not good at all. They asked me how much the bike was in the beginning when I was getting insurance and I gave them a smaller amount, because I thought it needs to match the amount I tell at Service Ontario so I can get a break on taxes (guilty). If they write it off, are they just going to give to me the amount what I told them or are they going to look at the market value of the bike, considering that bikes don’t have a bluebook or market value?

I really don’t want them to write it off. If they present the idea of writing it off, can I cancel the claim and fix the bike myself and keep it with the same insurance company? But then I will have to pay for all of the incurring costs, which is the time it’s been at the lot for, and the cost of parts and labor at the shop and the transportation costs from the lot to the dealership.


Rev ON

OP the price you paid and what it is insured for are 2 different things . I am with coop for years with all my vehicles ( car , truck , bike , buisness ect ) ) and had 2 total loss claims on both a truck and bike they go buy ACV ( actual cash value ) does NOT matter what you paid for it . ( here on east coast anyway ) but still cooperators out of ontario . When u got insurance they ask you right away what it is worth to you and thats the Max price they will pay you . They also Dont go by book value thats a pile of BS they start there ( just for a idea ) and then look at local average pricing for your year , make , model , kms , condition in auto trader, kijiji ect .. But will NOT exceed your insurance value you told them in the beginning I been with coop for years and they were always by far the best i ever dealt with and their prices are really reasonable No hassles whatsoever , quick painless claims , i couldn't believe it especially after all the BS and stuff you here online about Book value , waiting times and lots more . Yes if you go through a claim process on your bike expect to be down for at least 3 weeks before you even get a check if it is a Total Loss , if its a repair job then you will be down longer maybe a month or so easy but thats to be expected . And it does NOT take much to write off a bike trust me been there done that all it takes is a few broken plastics and a centimeter scratch through the paint on your main frame and shes a TOTAL LOSS lol . coop needed a police report from me the next day . Its funny they didnt request one the moment you called them which you can just go in anytime and get one . Also Since you lowsided if your helmet hit the ground they have to replace it or any gear that you were wearing that got damaged due to safety .
 
If you do cancel the claim, or file the claim and then try to buy it back...make SURE that the bike didn't get branded by the insurance company before going any further.

Once branded as Salvage in Ontario, there is no way whatsoever to ever return it to road legal status - the "Rebuilt" title doesn't exist for motorcycles in Ontario.

Also make sure that the current insurer is willing to continue to insure it if you do end up in a buy back situation - they may require a structural inspection or other hoops before agreeing.
 
....- they may require a structural inspection or other hoops before agreeing.....
Jevco did(just company drones going by the script for cars), even though there is no such thing as a structural safety for bikes(this was coming from a shop owner that did them for cars and was a rider). Just went to a different company....as long as the bike isn't branded.
 
I didn't read every post in this thread but if there is anything i can offer it is this. Keep your f'n nose clean. Co-Operators are an unforgiving bunch and will cancel your insurance if they feel you are too great a risk. The one claim and a traffic ticket in one year may be enough to do it.

I did read enough to agree with another poster. Your situational awareness and braking habits need to change. A rider training course and emergency braking practice could not hurt. Sounds to me like you grabbed a whole lot of front brake and didn't use your back brake at all which may have kept you upright in turn stopping you rather than sliding.

Stay safe out there.
 

Back
Top Bottom