Insurance - is it worth it?

[Django]

I got an online insurance quote for my Torq - just over £90 per annum for theft and public liability. I have a serious lock and live in a reasonably low risk area; or at least my bike is only left in low risk places. I can't help thinking that putting £90 each year into my 'next bike fund' is a more sensible option.

I have always been averse to insurance, so that colours my view somewhat. It strikes me as a form of gambling: 'I bet you £90 that someone will nick my bike this year'. 'Certainly, sir, I am willing to offer odds of ten to one'.

Django

 

[electric.mike]

we insured our sakuras the first year @ £65.00 each we didn't bother after that, but i think we had more peace of mind when they where insured, we now each carry 6kg of security with us..
mike

 

[flecc]

I have always been averse to insurance.

Django

I completely agree Django. The only insurances I have are for my building structure only and the compulsory Third Party on the car.

I've acted in effect as my own insurance company for over 45 years and the financial gain has been huge, only one minor theft of a faulty TV being suffered in that time.

Obviously there's a risk, but following that policy is bound to pay, since by the law of averages no-one is going to suffer everything unless they are incredibly careless.
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[Beeping-Sleauty]

I completely agree Django. The only insurances I have are for my building structure only and the compulsory Third Party on the car.

I've acted in effect as my own insurance company for over £45 years and the financial gain has been huge, only one minor theft of a faulty TV being suffered in that time.

Obviously there's a risk, but following that policy is bound to pay, since by the law of averages no-one is going to suffer everything unless they are incredibly careless.
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Yup, i'm with you on this Flecc, 24 years ago i had a very nice new shiny MTB stolen from a locked shed at the back of my house, the thief had to climb over a six foot locked garden gate, crowbar off a study padlock shackle and carry a d-locked bike along a 30 foot brick wall to do it, the Insurance co. never paid, despite the bike being itemised on the inventory.

since that day i have put £1 per day into my own 'self-insuring' fund, and i still have all the 'premiums' which with culminative interest are a pretty tidy sum.

plus i haven't had to pay the nasty insurance companies anything except for basic buildings cover.

for sure i have mislaid and broken stuff, most of which i used as an excuse to upgrade to newer or better stuff, though i tend to do this from my pocket, and not from my insurance float.

i hope it gives me a greater incentive to look after my own stuff, knowing that if i lose it or break it, or allow someone to steal it, i have to pay.

Insurance is such a rip.

 

[flecc]

i hope it gives me a greater incentive to look after my own stuff, knowing that if i lose it or break it, or allow someone to steal it, i have to pay.

That's very true for me, not being insured prompts me to look after things. I know that I'm on my own and it can only be me to blame if I get careless.
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[Django]

Excellent - it isn't just me then

My self insurance fund now has £90 in it.

Cheers,

Django

 

[ITSPETEINIT]

Insurance or Con?

Hi to everyone who's had insurance - they get my sympathy.
I am a believer in Insurance. I've been well rewarded by Health Insurance (paid up when I retired with Angina - yeah! believe it or not).
Paid up 5 times what I paid in on a Mortgage Endowment (that's before the world went pear shaped).
My worst experience was when I insured (Travel Insurance) with Norman Insurance. We were robbed on a Train to Austria in Germany. We had two policies (one for the wife-one for me).
They counted the Round Austria Travel Ticket which would have also got us back to England as CASH (with it strict limitations) and said that you could only insure one lot of cash.
Fortunately we did not lose our passports or credit cards (just our tempers)

Then there was the amazing case (Please make time for this - it's priceless).
We opened a new bank account and the 'first' prize was a four day break in Paris. (The second prize was a two week break: sorreeee!!)
Flights and accommodation were free. One ONLY had to buy travel insurance from the agents handling the deal. I've never had trouble with travel cover despite my Angina. They wanted to load the price 100%. I objected. They said I could not go withou it. I said "then I won't go!" . They said " IF YOU DON'T GO YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE TICKETS". Eh!! say that again: if I go it's free: if I don't go I have to pay!! There's no answer to that.
So I read the policy - in fact I learned it by heart.
There had been an explosion in Paris a few days before, thought to be Algerian Terrorists. In Part 1 of the cover there was reimbursement for losses of Cost of Accommodation and Fares in the event of an Act of Terrorism.
In the General Exclusions there was a particular exclusion for losses arising out of Acts of Terrorism. A quick phone call and all my problems were over. I insured elsewhere.

I only insure for the total loss scenario. I am relieved that with my BETTER experiences with Insurance I carry NO Life Insurance now!!
Peter

 

[flecc]

If ever that was a case of them wanting it both ways, that one was it Peter.

I have three specific objections to insurance though:

1) It seems illogical to me to hand over money for a variety of covers when only a terminally careless person would suffer all of them. It's more logical to pool the money yourself and not lose ownership of it.

2) Insurance was founded on the principal of all paying in, and the unfortunate being compensated from the pool. Over the years it's been refined to death until the present point where everyones risk is assessed and they pay accordingly. That's not insurance, that's just a savings scheme where those groups with specific risks get their own money back. The problem with that is that the insurance company's costs and profit are deducted first, so it makes more sense to do it oneself.

3) The con element. An insurance company insists that a contents insurance covers the entire contents. If they find at the time of a claim that you only insured half the total contents value, they only pay half the value of items that have been stolen. That means we are forced to pay insurance on everything for every risk to get full cover, but whoever heard of a burglar stealing a mattress, dirty laundry or an old settee? It should only be necessary to have fire cover for those, not the far more expensive burglary cover which we should be able to reserve for the items that can and might be stolen.
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[Django]

My car windscreen cracked today and I only have third party insurance.

That newly established self insurance fund is now in the red to the tune of £59.45p.

Outstanding start.

 

[flecc]

There now, Murphy heard you and applied his law!

Sorry to hear of that misfortune, but I think you'll win in the end if you're patient. My one tiny loss over the years was at the beginning, it's been all gain ever since.

 

[DBCohen]

My car windscreen cracked today and I only have third party insurance.

That newly established self insurance fund is now in the red to the tune of £59.45p.

Outstanding start.

If you consider insurance premium excess, and the fact that even with no claims bonus protection your premiums go up when you claim for ANYTHING, you are probably only out of pocket £15 or so.

However, while I share many of the sentiments expressed about home insurance, I would be less sanguine about it on car insurance. Typical comprehensive cover is only a few hundred pounds a year for most, but if yor car is stolen and not recovered you could lose thousands overnight! Especially painful if the car is covered by a loan!

Agreed, though, it makes less sense for home cover.

 

[flecc]

if your car is stolen and not recovered you could lose thousands overnight! Especially painful if the car is covered by a loan!

As cyclist who's not bothered about his car image, my answer is to have a poor image car which no self respecting joyrider would be seem dead in. Much more effective than a car alarm on a desirable hot hatch!

It's a Skoda, and the smallest and cheapest, the Fabia.
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[Ian]

It's a Skoda, and the smallest and cheapest, the Fabia.
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Good for you Flecc, practicality wins over fashion every time.

 

[flecc]

Thanks Ian, too right. The silly thing is that those who wouldn't be seen dead in it are missing out because it's a great car. Ignorance is bliss, they don't realise it's a VW Polo with a different tin box on top. Or that the Skoda Octavia is the VW Golf likewise. And the Skoda Superb is the VW Passat in all but the radiator grill. (and also the Audi A6, without the tweaks)

 

[DBCohen]

Thanks Ian, too right. The silly thing is that those who wouldn't be seen dead in it are missing out because it's a great car. Ignorance is bliss, they don't realise it's a VW Polo with a different tin box on top. Or that the Skoda Octavia is the VW Golf likewise. And the Skoda Superb is the VW Passat in all but the radiator grill. (and also the Audi A6, without the tweaks)

Had Skodas in the past, always liked them.

Point taken about the theft - I agree, probably not much of a theft magnet. But then I thought my Volvo was in the same category - that did not stop organised theives from breaking down my front door to steal the keys!

The same group stole a rather elderly Honda Accord from a neighbour a few weeks later, in the same manner (with the added frisson that he was home when they broke the door in and threatened him with a knife when he came to investigate!)

My point is that sometimes, common sense and careful precautions cannot protect you from the lunacy of the criminal yobbo - nor the drunk driver, bad driver, acts of God, whatever. That is when you will bless your insurance company - though they will make you feel like the criminal when you claim from them!

I now drive a company car so that my employer has to handle that hassle - and as a Toyota Prius driver I hope that I am driving in motoring terms something that is a spiritual brother to the pedelec.

For me, my pedelec will be bought on a company CycleScheme (with associated tax savings), and insurance is compulsory..

 

[flecc]

I thought my Volvo was in the same category - that did not stop organised thieves from breaking down my front door to steal the keys!

The same group stole a rather elderly Honda Accord from a neighbour a few weeks later, in the same manner

I think I must have a better class of thief in my area!

Seriously though, obviously I take precautions, but in the same way as I'm unorthodox in choosing an unpopular car to own, my protection methods are unorthodox which thieves are disconcerted by. For example, my car has a non-standard alarm which I've wired in an unusual way. My garage door has three locks, two of them completely unorthodox, rebuilt and installed by me to make them different from standard, plus another precaution, none of which I'll explain, the first rule of security being secrecy of course. As for intruders, my garage is detached in a block, and the garage numbers aren't the same as the property numbers. Thieves might have to break into fifty garages before finding the right one. You know, I'm beginning to feel sorry for them!

Equally I've often recommended the unusual AXA SL7 bike wheel lock with cable in this forum for the simple reason that the usual bike thief who comes equipped with bolt cutters is completely stumped by these. It can't engage with one to cut it, and probably couldn't cut it's steel hoop if it could engage.

So my message is, be different and original, it's cheaper than premiums. Thieves may be enterprising, but most aren't exactly Brain of Britain material.

Regarding the on-road risks, as primarily a cyclist I do as little as 400 miles a year in my car. My last car I changed out at 11 years old with 14000 miles on the clock, more than half of that in the first two years assisting my father in his last couple of years of life. That wasn't exactly a popular car either, FIAT Tipo.

 

[Django]

. . . . plus another precaution, none of which I'll explain, the first rule of security being secrecy of course.
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Aha, the old shotgun and trip wire trick. That'll sort 'em. <joke>

Django

 

[flecc]

Bang! ................................................
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[DBCohen]

Aha, the old shotgun and trip wire trick. That'll sort 'em. <joke>

Django

Shotgun? Doesn't cover a large enough area, and is too heath robinson. You want to be absolutely sure of incapacitation.

I am voting for Claymore. It has the trip wire built in to the unit!

 

[Django]

Good plan - right up to the point where you forget you set it and stroll into the garage.

Django