SUPERCHEF WITH SUPERBIKE GETS SUPER INSURANCE DEAL
07 February 2005 - Bikesure

Nine points and no no-claims – but Bikesure still comes up with a great quote.

There are many urban myths about how bikers can fool speed cameras, with alleged tricks like disappearing number-plates or reflective veneers that dazzle the camera. The truth is there isn’t much fooling them. But what happens when your licence is loaded with points, you’re one flash away from a ban and you come to reinsure?

Lee Scott was faced with this problem recently when he collected nine penalty points on his licence in short order, while driving a grungy 1,000cc Honda Fireblade. He’s a relief chef working in smart restaurants that often push the button for emergency staff. And a superbike is almost a tool of his trade; it’s the quickest way to get through the traffic and into the kitchen.

Common sense says that with a biking ban one camera flash away and feeling like a change of bike, then it’s time you should gear down to something gentler. But Lee is a superbike nut and the thought of a moped made him shudder.

You’d think a Honda Fireblade has enough horsepower, but Lee wanted to move up a gear. He set his heart on a Yamaha R1. If ever the devil did ride like a bat out of hell, he’d probably choose the R1, with its top speed of 185. “Not that I would ever ride over 70”, confirms Lee.

With a price around £6,000, most bikers would examine their proposed Yam R1 with a magnifying glass before parting with the cash. But Lee knew exactly what he wanted, and even did the deal with Blackpool Superbikes on the phone while on holiday in Spain. Was it a San Miguel impulse? “Definitely not. I knew exactly what I was getting.”

Back home in Northampton, the next job was getting insurance. Tough job, too, as it turned out. If insurance companies are wary of bikers in general, they are über-scared of bikers with nine penalty points.

It didn’t help that Lee had lost his no claims discount, as a result of a previous bike being nicked. Three hours on the telephone for third party, fire and theft insurance was delivering potty quotes – even the best was way over £1,000.

Lee was never tempted to drive uninsured. There was too much riding on that, so to speak. But he was starting to think it might have been a San Miguel moment after all, to buy a Yam R1 without first checking out the insurance quotes.

After combing the insurance classifieds in the bike mags, Lee finally rang Bikesure, a division of Adrian Flux Insurance that claims to take a kinder look at bikers. “The whole conversation was different”, he says. “I didn’t get loads of negatives about the bike and penalty points. I just got positives.”

This included Bikesure saying that since Lee now had a £6k machine and was only a camera flash away from an outright ban, he was actually a good risk, since he now had more to lose and would be more likely to drive safely.

Furthermore, Bikesure looked carefully at Lee’s loss of no-claims bonus, and asked questions. They uncovered the fact that although it was due to his previous bike being stolen while being parked up, it had actually been away from home at the time. If the bike had been heisted from home instead, then the chances would have been greater that the same thief might return for a second bike.

The result was that, by asking a few intelligent questions, Bikesure did the deal for just £750. Yeah, we know – that’s still one helluva lump, but it’s barely half as frightening. And Lee’s legal and safe. And now he’s getting to the kitchen on time.

Bikesure has a huge range of specialist policies for the motorcycle enthusiast, including schemes for trikes and quads. For details freephone the Bikesure quote line on 0800 089 2000, email the company at bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or visit www.bikesure.co.uk

www.bikesure.co.uk

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