Beware BMW (Devitt) Insurance

[Pughy]

Cancellation Charges too

To cap it all they tried to charge me to cancel, although I already had! After a snotty letter to them I get an "apologetic" email.......saying I don't owe them anything......2 days later a nasty letter asking me to pay up!!!!, bloody hopeless and very very rude on the phone as well.

They were also really unhelpful when I asked for cover for Morrocco last year.

I can't believe BMW want to be associated with such cowboys

 

[Fanum]

Stop fucking whining

Like a bunch of bloody five year olds moaning about having to put their coats on to go out and play..........

Still, if it gets some of your angst out so you don't all go to bed and whip your wife, I guess it's productive

 

[Northern pie eater]

Have whipped the wife
Bennetts multi bike for a KTM 1190 and my trusty 1100 GS , renewal £490 £200 more than last year. went on compare the meerkat...£89 fully comp with wicked quotes ( full no claims ) and £82 for the GS claiming no no claims ( Swinton )
You can guess who got my money. I've been continuously insured on a motorcycle for 34 years and so far I've never claimed so I'm not too bothered if they're any good The Bm has always been cheap to insure wherever I've lived, currently 20 miles north of Aberdeen ,surprised how cheap it is for the KTM considering it's value.

 

[Engineer]

Renewed my LC in March with BMW (Equity Red Star), fully comp, commuting, travelling between different business addresses, insured for riding other bikes not hired to me etc, garaged 4 nights per week, un-garaged 3 nights per week - same price as last year give or take a tenner. I have no complaints.

 

[Alan R]

Bmw insurance

I too have insured my bikes with BMW for the last ten years. In that time I have some times two, three or only one Bike - always BMWs, on the policy. The insurance underwriters have been NiG, Allianz and now Equity Red Star.
With the former underwriters I have simply contacted Motorrad insurance and told them of additional bikes I wanted to add to the policy. The criteria applied has been that the policy is priced at the insurance grouping of the higher rated bike and all other, lesser rated bikes included at no cost. In the early days this no cost element even waived administration fees.
I contacted Motorrad insurance in February this year to ask about cover in the Balkans, specifically Bosnia. The nice lady on the telephone assured me that cover was included: all I needed to do was advise Motorrad of the dates of travel nearer the time.
I renewed the policy for my sole bike - r1200gs in April at a cost of £131.24 (£0.01 more than last year). The renewal documents boasted of 'new significant cover benefits' and 'high quality cover to policy holders' now that the underwriters were Equity Red Star. Excellent, I thought. Rang up, as advised, to notify Motorrad of the trip dates to the Balkans, only to be told that only EU countries are covered and Bosnia was specifically declined by Equity Red Star. Ah well should have asked a more detailed direct question at the time. Write it down to experience and move on.
Forward to today. A test ride on a BMW f800gs at a BMW dealership which was added by Motorrad to my policy for 24 hours at no cost. Great bike, I think I will have this. I contacted Motorrad to add the bike to the policy only to be asked for an additional £132. I was told by another nice lady that they have to carry out a quotation for each additional bike now. I was expecting a £30 or so admin fee but not a complete unannounced change to the additional bike policy. I can't find any where in this year's or the previous 5 years renewal documents any mention of a change of policy in regard to multiple bike ownership. In fact the colourful, flashy policy booklets for each year are unaltered apart from the change of name of the underwriter.
I post this tale only to raise awareness of subtle yet unheralded changes to what I thought was a continuation of benefits from the BMW Motorrad policy.
The lesson? Assume nothing, be specific in your questions and look elsewhere next year.
Alan R

 

[er-minio]

Dealer test rides, aren't you covered by the dealer's insurance?

was expecting a £30 or so admin fee but not a complete unannounced change to the additional bike policy.

They alway re-quote, whatever change you do. And the "most expensive" bike sets the price. Seems logic to me.
The new policy documents I received (Red Star) at the end of may are for insuring my HP2 Sport. There is an addendum, that basically says that a GSA is included in the same policy.

While in the process of buying the HP, since the insurance price was extremely high, I rang other places to try and insure it on its own. It was always the same price that BMW Insurance quoted me for the HP+GS.

 

[Alan R]

They alway re-quote, whatever change you do. And the "most expensive" bike sets the price. Seems logic to me.
The new policy documents I received (Red Star) at the end of may are for insuring my HP2 Sport. There is an addendum, that basically says that a GSA is included in the same policy.

All very true and understandable, however the point I am making is that the addition of a second, less expensive, lower rated bike has doubled the policy price. Your statement therefore does not hold true in this case and is different to my earlier experience of adding bikes to the policy.
Alan R

 

[Andy_E]

All very true and understandable, however the point I am making is that the addition of a second, less expensive, lower rated bike has doubled the policy price. Your statement therefore does not hold true in this case and is different to my earlier experience of adding bikes to the policy.
Alan R

I've been using BMW Insurance since 2008, and the policy on additional bikes has changed (at least) twice over this time. When I took out the policy it was underwritten by NIG and additional bikes were charged at a fixed fee of (IIRC) £10 per annum, when Allianz became the underwriter additional bikes were charged based on their value (so much per £1000 of value, can't remember the figure). I've a renewal coming up at the end of this month so it'll be interesting to see how much Equity Red Star want and how their policy coverage differs from Allianz.

The point I am trying to make is that the policy on additional bikes has changed over the years and depends on the underwriters. As much as it would be nice to have consistency over the years it's just not going to happen and it's unrealistic to expect this. I think it's quite telling that the BMW insurance website now just says that additional bikes can be insured for a 'preferential' rate so it would be interesting to see how additional premiums compare to quotes from other insurers.

Not aimed at Alan R but it is important to keep in mind the distinction between Devitts, who are the brokers and the underwriters themselves. Devitts are just acting as middle men and whilst I've got no complaints about them in terms of arranging cover they were sorely lacking when I unfortunately had to make a claim earlier this year - after a few frustrating phone calls I just contacted Allianz who were extremely efficient in dealing with the claim. When my renewal comes up I'll be looking more at how Equity Red Star perform as an insurer than at the price of the cover.

 

[islandbob]

My renewal with BMW was shockingly high, it was significantly more than last year when I had a K1600 gtle which cost lots more than the current R1200gsa. No surprise I challenged them on the rise and was told there had been no mistake and that was the cost. Needless to say, I immediately re insured elsewhere with Carol Nash. Hours later I recieved a call from BMW admitting that they had screwed up and the premium quoted had not had any discounts added,,, doh. Too late Im staying with carol Nash for now and may review next year. Someone else stated here that Insurance companies are crooks, I fully agree. Cant live with them, cant live without them!!!

 

[Alan R]

I've been using BMW Insurance since 2008, and the policy on additional bikes has changed (at least) twice over this time. When I took out the policy it was underwritten by NIG and additional bikes were charged at a fixed fee of (IIRC) £10 per annum, when Allianz became the underwriter additional bikes were charged based on their value (so much per £1000 of value, can't remember the figure). I've a renewal coming up at the end of this month so it'll be interesting to see how much Equity Red Star want and how their policy coverage differs from Allianz.

The point I am trying to make is that the policy on additional bikes has changed over the years and depends on the underwriters. As much as it would be nice to have consistency over the years it's just not going to happen and it's unrealistic to expect this. I think it's quite telling that the BMW insurance website now just says that additional bikes can be insured for a 'preferential' rate so it would be interesting to see how additional premiums compare to quotes from other insurers.

Not aimed at Alan R but it is important to keep in mind the distinction between Devitts, who are the brokers and the underwriters themselves. Devitts are just acting as middle men and whilst I've got no complaints about them in terms of arranging cover they were sorely lacking when I unfortunately had to make a claim earlier this year - after a few frustrating phone calls I just contacted Allianz who were extremely efficient in dealing with the claim. When my renewal comes up I'll be looking more at how Equity Red Star perform as an insurer than at the price of the cover.

Thank you for your reply Andy - things are becoming a little clearer now. You are right about the NiG way of adding bikes to the policy - that is what I was referring to when I said that bikes could be added at little cost. The point about the policy booklet still stands: no change in the wording other than the name of the underwriter. I had no way of knowing that the policy had changed and didn't think to ask at renewal time as all 'looked' the same.
I think I recall that the nice lady at Bmw Motorrad insurance broke down the increase for adding an F800GS, as £32 for Motorrad admin (so probably not repeatable on renewal), a flat £50 additional bike charge from ERS and £50 calculated on the value of the additional bike.
I guess you pay yer money and make yer choice. Still, the point remains, the Motorrad scheme is not quite as friendly to BMW owners as once it was.
Alan R

 

[er-minio]

Your statement therefore does not hold true in this case and is different to my earlier experience of adding bikes to the policy.
Alan R

Yep, I got confused with your bikes (GS1200/F800). Unless the F800 value is higher than your GS?

When I had only the Boxercup on the policy, I quoted a couple of times for additional bikes: R80 and, I think the other one I quoted was an F series. In both cases they asked me only for 25 quid admin charges, but the policy would have been the same. Never bought and insured those bikes though. That was a couple of years ago.
I think my premium (third party and fire & theft) was around £700 at the time.

 

[Streetbike]

I am insured through Carole Nash and have been for some years using their six wheel policy. Fully comp with full European and UK breakdown including homestart, driving other cars and bikes, protected bonus etc £400 plus a few pence for both my X-Trail and GS1200. The part allocated to my GS is £98.80. I have sadly needed to try out the recovery on the bike when the fuel pump sender broke and Carole Nash's service was first class. Their recovery service is provided by the AA and I was taken to the dealer of my choice who was 30 miles away. I don't have Helmet and leathers covered, perhaps I should which is only and additional £39.99. Renewing next week.

 

[Majesty]

My understanding of the above thread confirms what I have always thought - which is that all insurance companies are crooks

 

[SamK]

My renewal this week was quoted at £427 by BMW insurance. Somehow changing address (to a cheaper postcode) and changing bike last month made a difference.
Ended up taking a policy with Hastings for £207 + a free cuddly toy. This wasn't the cheapest quote but gave comparable cover. That's with only 2 years NCD.

 

[Titto]

Renewal £328.54.
They wont budge. Thats with £450 excess compulsory. Jokers.

Carole Nash = £200.02p and £20 cashback via quidco. £350 compulsory excess.

Guess where my business is going. Been with BMW for years, but absolutely no customer loyalty....

 

[Fanum]

This whole insurance renewal thing is just a test.....it sorts out the hard of thinking, the idiots and the lazy from those with half an ounce of common fekking sense
Hey, guess what, if you renew with the AA or the RAC, year after year, you will pay more than you will if you join as a new person.......

And wow, when your insurance renewal comes through, you can get the price down if you phone around.....fekk me, who'd have thought huh? !