To say two wheels is quicker is an understatement. I’ve got a top box fitted on the back of my bike and to cut a long story short, it fell off on the way home last week, narrowly avoiding some people who were waiting at a bus stop (ironically).
Thankfully, apart from my ego and an uneaten egg sandwich, nothing and no-one was affected. However, it got me thinking as I haven’t told my insurer about the top box. Would I have been covered if someone had been hit?
Answer
Firstly, good choice of sandwich – it’s just a shame it got launched instead of lunched.
As for being covered, your insurer would ultimately have to pay out for any damage or injury you caused while riding your MT-125 if there was a valid certificate of insurance in place at the time of the accident. If this wasn’t enshrined in law, the whole principle of insurance would fall down.
However, the problem you may then have had is because you had a non-standard bike that you hadn’t declared (i.e. with a rack and top box etc.). Your insurer may then have looked to recoup the money they paid out from you.
My advice is always declare anything non-standard to your insurer. While it may cost you a bit more, you will protect your backside if it all goes wrong.
Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast
O2W legal column August 2018
