Post crash questions - BLD and Insurance

[Tecumseh]

Riding home from work on Tuesday a DAF truck decided to change lanes on a roundabout and slammed into the side of my R1150GSA hitting the petrol tank and my helmet (I recommend Shuberth after this experience). I was thrown about 10 feet across the road, the bike flipped over and landed about 10 feet the other way. Large football sized dent in the petrol tank, totalled pannier, front brake not working and very scuffed cylinder heads. In typical GS style the bike started first time post crash! Three ambulances and four squad cars turned up and closed the road for 30 minutes while I was sorted out. No broken bones just very sore; the Schberth, full leathers and a rather ample arse saved me. Have had three days off work and am feeling fine again.

My insurers passed me onto BLD who took the bike away yesterday. They wanted me to take a rental but I held back because I'm on holiday on Wednesday, should I take it? Are BLD good? I'm fully comp and assume I'll not be out of pocket beyond the excess of £350.

Next, the bike was my only form of transport so I'll have to buy a car until I can convince my wife that it's safe again. I've been on confused.com but don't know what to put in for "Previous claims". The accident has just happened and I'm sure it will take an eon for them to attribute fault. What should I do? I don't want to pay extra now only to be given "no fault" later but I still need to get around.


Finally, the policeman on the case said there were no witnesses (rush hour at Wall roundabout on the A5 next to the M6 toll between Walsall and Birmingham!) so it was likely that the insurers would attribute dual fault despite the fact that the guy drove directly into me and there was nothing I could do. A three lane roundabout with lane one to turn left, lane two to continue and turn left and lane three to continue. I was in lane two turning left and as I went to exit he drove into my lane; no indicator, no time to stop.

Cheers for any and all advice.

 

[Decompressing]

Riding home from work on Tuesday a DAF truck decided to change lanes on a roundabout and slammed into the side of my R1150GSA hitting the petrol tank and my helmet (I recommend Shuberth after this experience). I was thrown about 10 feet across the road, the bike flipped over and landed about 10 feet the other way. Large football sized dent in the petrol tank, totalled pannier, front brake not working and very scuffed cylinder heads. In typical GS style the bike started first time post crash! Three ambulances and four squad cars turned up and closed the road for 30 minutes while I was sorted out. No broken bones just very sore; the Schberth, full leathers and a rather ample arse saved me. Have had three days off work and am feeling fine again.

My insurers passed me onto BLD who took the bike away yesterday. They wanted me to take a rental but I held back because I'm on holiday on Wednesday, should I take it? Are BLD good? I'm fully comp and assume I'll not be out of pocket beyond the excess of £350.

Next, the bike was my only form of transport so I'll have to buy a car until I can convince my wife that it's safe again. I've been on confused.com but don't know what to put in for "Previous claims". The accident has just happened and I'm sure it will take an eon for them to attribute fault. What should I do? I don't want to pay extra now only to be given "no fault" later but I still need to get around.


Finally, the policeman on the case said there were no witnesses (rush hour at Wall roundabout on the A5 next to the M6 toll between Walsall and Birmingham!) so it was likely that the insurers would attribute dual fault despite the fact that the guy drove directly into me and there was nothing I could do. A three lane roundabout with lane one to turn left, lane two to continue and turn left and lane three to continue. I was in lane two turning left and as I went to exit he drove into my lane; no indicator, no time to stop.

Cheers for any and all advice.

oh dear, no witnesses mean that no matter how in the right you are, you're unlikely to get your insurance company to deal with it other than on a 50/50 basis....if you had drivers legal protection, use it and speak to a brief asap before agreeing anything....

good luck!

Marc

 

[Canuck]

Please be aware the bld are just a middle man who will charge your insurance... i had a similar problem... after two days I rang my actual underwriter who were not ever made aware that my bike was damaged. Bld will leave you open to paying for the bike rental depending on how things pan out. You may also choose to get your bike sent to any dealer you want... dont let them tell you otherwise. Seriously they will try everything. I ended up saying... ' look quit the crap. I know that you are obliged to take my to the garage of my choice so stop feeding me lines and just do it please as you are wasting our time'.

Good luck with the repair and sorting this mess out. I find it easier to skip bld and work through my underwriter for various reasons. I would expect calls from 3-4 different departments in the near future. THey tend to be disorganised and very cuning with how they word things... ask lotsof questions and you'll be okay.

 

[JayC]

If you haven't made a 'previous claim' then I would be inclined to leave as is. Your claim is current/pending , not 'previous'. If in doubt ask the IC.

The hire bike , why not? If it's part of your IC procedure then take it but make sure you fully understand any T&Cs that the hirers have , i.e will it cost 'x amount' after a given number of days/miles or is the loan bike part of your existing policy at no extra cost.

 

[geordie]

i was knocked off my bike june 3rd this year, rang my ins company (bennets ) straight away, and then bmw recovery who where there in double quick time.

bennets never got back to me BUT BLD did , they organised a hire car to get me home and solicitors to sort out my injuries etc

however as has been mentioned above they (BLD) are just a middle man who take a cut out of everyting ,

make sure you ring the insurance underwriter (mine was aviva), they had no idea i had been in an accident and they sorted everyting pretty quickly, although in my case the other driver admitted liabilty at the scene, and to his insurers and it was all on cctv

you have a choice with your insurance and i found the quickest way to sort it was to claim on your own insurance and then they claim it back which means repairs etc get sorted straight away . the down side is if they other insurers deny liability or its split 50/50 you are gonna lose no claims. ( if you have full and protected no claims you only use one of your "lives" so will not effect no claims bonus. this is what the underwriter told me )

if you buy another vehicle in the mean time YOU MUST declare you have an accident and the decision is pending as if out happens in the mean time they will refuse to pay out

its all pretty fresh in my mind so drop me a pm if you like mate

good luck

ANdy

 

[Tecumseh]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm with LV and they said I'd be getting a call from their recovery and repair specialist, BLD. Assumed they're kosher, however not long after the BLD phoned a complany called DriveAssist phoned. Are my insurers passing my number on or is it Green Flag? I called Green Flag at 6.15 to collect the bike and received a phone call from a solicitors at 6.33!

 

[geordie]

drive assist are who the BLD pass your details on to in order to get a hire car, obviously they get some sort of commision for everyone they send. as far as im aware all they do is sort out hire vehicles.

they spat their dummy out as i only kept the hire car 2 days and they claimed the minumum was 3, obviously on a day per day charge. told they to come and get it as it was parked on main road, 7.30am they took it away

keep at your insurance underwriter....

 

[Roadcaptain]

I had very good service from rider support services after an accident, they got my bike repaired, got me a hire bike, got me £1700 for clothing and £1650 for a slightly injured thumb. Give them a ring and just have a chat......always worth a shout

 

[ELIMINATOR]

Get yourself to a doctor, and get written proof that you are in pain. You will feel worse, before you get better.

Photocopy and prescriptions that you are given, photocopy the receipts from the chemist.

Keep a diary of what you can and cannot do.

Photograph your damaged kit, find all the receipts, or go to a bike shop, and ask them to give you a quote for like for like replacement.

Contact the police and tell them you want the driver charged with careless driving. If he's charged it makes your insurers claim a doddle. Don't let them fob you off. You can send a message to the officer who was at the scene, in Hampshire, I just typed in police contact, Hampshire. You may have to threaten the police, by saying that you will be making an official complaint. It's too much paperwork as far as they're concerned!

 

[DING-DONG]

I got wiped out exactly the same way driver in lane one (exit left only) me in lane two (exit left and straight on) she came straight into my path at speed the police was brill and charged her at the scene and he did say it will make my claim much easier however the rd did have lane arrows/markets to suggest what lane goes where and i went back to the scene and took pics to help my case if needed, I've too got a ongoing claim for personnel injuries.

I hope it works out ok for you.

 

[MMC]

Sod 50:50, give the guys at White Dalton a call. They did a superb job for me when a dozy driver took me out when I was filtering.

 

[Buz]

I was knocked off last October, called bennetts who put me through to BLD. They were really good for 4 days, picked my bike up, delivered a Curtesy bike for my use (have to use it a minimum of 100 miles a week) Delivered a brand new helmet (only a cheapish one). Then I found out my leg was actually broken so called BLD who collected the bike but offered me the helmet for £25 quid as they couldn't use it again. 2 days later the other driver wouldn't accept responsibility so BLD dropped it like a hot potato. I then had to involve my insurance company to deal, it is still going through but Poliz have found him guilty of driving without due care, 3 points and £200 fine!
I've also heard of others having a hire bike, due to a 50/50 claim having to pay for the bike themselves so be wary is my advice.

If it happens again to me i'm going straight to the Ins Co. and fain injury even if its just to get the Police/Ambulance involved.

Oh yeah, BLD will take your bike to possibly Sothampton, if its a write off they then take it to one of these Internet Auction Salvage yards, it is then up to you do get there and recover all your bits and pieces off the bike if they aren't covered by the insurance (only £100 of acc were covered on mine)

Bennets also involve one of these Solicitors who fight to get any uninsured claims back, injuries sustained etc. which is still ongoing with me!

 

[Buz]

Go back to the roundabout and check for any camera's, when i did this i found one was pointing directly where my off occurred and advised my insurance company and solicitors of this. They then got in touch with the local Council to see if they could see anything. I never heard if it was successful as the Poliz prosecuted but well worth a punt
Also garage forecourts have CCTV and worth looking in to, I believe they have a camera trained on entry/exits which sometimes cover the road outside (this is where my off occurred)

 

[stonehenge]

Careful of taking a hire bike - you are liable for the cost if the case doesn't go your way. +1 for White Dalton WD got all my money back and some. I got my recovery company to recover the machine to my place after my crash so you can take loads of photo's of the damage and take all your bits off. "Forget" to add your luggage when you load the bike onto the salvage yard truck and wait a bit........ then sell it for extra dosh.

 

[Tecumseh]

BLD have just phoned to say the bike is cat c. They've offered £2000 for the bike and £500 salvage. Mistakenly added this as £2500 but their phrasing is a little off, without the salvage I'll get £1,500 insurance payment (bike was insured for £2,500 and higher mileage models sell for more on auction sites). I feel I can get more than £500 either as scrap or parts. She seemed a little put out that I haven't taken the offer and said I'd have to explain it to my insurers. Have I made the right decision?

 

[ELIMINATOR]

How old and what year is your bike?

Mine is a 2004 with 70,000. Aviva paid me £4,600, I bought it back for £1,750.

 

[Tecumseh]

How old and what year is your bike?

Mine is a 2004 with 70,000. Aviva paid me £4,600, I bought it back for £1,750.

2000 with 76,000 miles.

 

[ELIMINATOR]

Argue with them, seems too little to me.

There again, the buy back price seems good compared to mine.

 

[Tecumseh]

Bike was returned to me by BLD last week, the next day a cheque arrived from LV for £1,150. I put the bike on eBay with a detailed description of the damage caused. The winning bidder collected it today and handed over £1,825 for the Cat C bike. With the insurance payout it comes to £2,975. I bought the bike in January 2010 for £2,900 so technically I've made £75! Granted, I spent a great deal of money getting the bike up to standard but still it feels like a result. It's not the first BMW I've made money on. My first big bike was a K100RS that I made £100 when I sold it.

The final bit of luck is I bought a Subaru Impreza (boxer engine) to replace the bike. I've never been a named driver on a car and the lowest quote I got was £700. Rang LV and they said that they would accept my 12 years of (100% protected) no claim motorcycling for the Subaru - price dropped to £239 and I start my life as a car driver with 12 year no claims bonus.