Bicycle insurance

[Emazing]

Don't sweat the small stuff you'll be overcharged on the insurance and if you're going to try and insure your helmet or your shoes you're wasting your money and your time. 

South African insurance assessors go out of their way not to pay you out this is the Motis operandi and there is no real short term ombudsman anymore they're fully controlled by GAURD risk and they have no intent in dealing with your issues and trying to solve them morally and rightfully.  

A photo of your bike is more than sufficient evidence for court to show that you own the bike and it needs to have the serial number you must see that the insurance pay you out for new and it needs to be new stated current model equivalent. 

Be very very careful of insurance right now and send them as many emails and letters confirming what you are insuring as you can as any opportunity not to pay you is a win for them at a loss for you there's no morality left in the insurance industry in South Africa as there's no one to control them -so it's a free for all for these large corporations which the small independent person cannot fight or deal with because they don't have the time and resources. 

 

 

[Shebeen]

9 hours ago, Alastair_S1D said:

Oh yes yes because obviously it was careless. Nice. One. It's like. I just left. My bike on the lawn with a sign "please steal me" . 🙄 No I definitely didn't take any precautions to try lock my bikes away whatsoever. 

If you take the emotion away as you're directly involved and affected then you'll see why it makes sense. You said you moved house because the security situation was too risky. Then in the next breath you're pissed off because the insurance company came to the same conclusion. 

I'm not trying to be insensitive here, having bikes stolen and any theft is violating to your state of mind. Thing is insurance has smart people with actuarial degrees and spreadsheets to make sure they don't go under. But something as simple as three strikes and you're out works too. But you knew that already, and if it was someone else's story you'd probably be agreeing with me.

 

 

[DieselnDust]

20 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

"Santam" is a strange animal with multiple faces ....

 

With Santam, ONLY work via a good broker !!!!!  Mine keeps me posted on these ongoing items.

 

Working directly is a hit and miss mess .....

 

 

By the nature of our business I deal with a lot of different insurers on large industrial policies.  As noted by @Bub Marley ALL the insurers have sharpened their pencils along the same lines.  No surprise, as they all have the same re-assurers in Europe and America.

 

 

A colleague had a fender bender last week.  R4,8k repair, with a R5k excess.  If she was at Santam she would have zero excess, purely based on her age.  She saves a few rand a month on a call centre insurance, but now ends up paying more .....  No thank you.  Work via a good broker and a decent insurance company.

 

I have a good broker and SANTAM but still a lot of grief purely due to the assessor 

[incubit_frame_services]

On 6/7/2023 at 8:33 PM, Eugene said:

You hit the nail on the head. You refer to a BMW accredited dealer or an iPhone store. 

Who accredits carbon repairers? Is there a carbon industry body? Is there a certification for a carbon repairer issued from an accredited agency? 

I have not heard of any (maybe I am wrong). Until that happens, I would want my insurer to replace rather than repair. 

Hi Eugene,

No, there is no body that accredits carbon bicycle repairers as there is for the aviation industry.  This is a truly tiny industry with a handful of businesses in SA doing it and less than 5 who actually know what they're doing.  This makes it tricky to know who to trust but I would suggest going by a proven track record with satisfied customers and reviews etc.  This day and age it's very easy to sort the bad from the good service providers with all the online and transparent feedback vehicles.  In fact, I'd go as far as to say that peer review ratings are more reliable than an accreditation.  I know of many accredited service providers in various industries who do not provide very good service, due to diminishing quality brought on by new management, trying to maximise profits or the like.

I don't want to argue but the point I was trying to make is that carbon repairs and paint touch ups can be done in a way that restores the bike or wheel to its original integrity and aesthetic.  One just needs to somehow trust that your insurer makes use of a good provider as part of their approved panel, just the same as you trust them to send you to a good penal shop when your car goes in for body work.🤷‍♂️

[Dexter-morgan]

Just a quick word/advice, added my Garmin Edge 540 to my outsurance for R17 per month with R800 excess, not bad from them.

[Dirkitech]

Could anybody advise on a good broker for all insurance purposes, including bicycles and sport devices?