A couple of weekends ago, I went out on my KTM 1190 Adventure one Saturday morning doing a few local green lanes. My mate and I went our separate ways following the obligatory ‘friendly abuse’ of each other and the overpriced coffee we had consumed. I cut back through a local estate to get home. I used to live there as a child, and my parents still live on it, so I know it really well. I was just meandering along, thinking what a great day it was to be alive, when this old boy darted out in front of me off the pavement. While he was a sprightly chap, it transpired he had recently gone deaf and didn’t hear me coming (in fact, he is waiting for a cochlear implant).
I properly walloped him and tumbled off. I was worried I had seriously hurt him. Thankfully, both he and I got up and just had a few bumps and bruises. However, my KTM didn’t do as well, and I have a quote of £2750 to fix it. I am now in a quandary as to whether to claim off my fully comprehensive insurance policy or to go after the old man. I found out from my dad that he lives in a council flat after his wife died, so I’m guessing he hasn’t got too much in the way of money. Meanwhile, my insurer has tried putting me off claiming from them, saying it will affect my no-claims bonus. They then said they would put me in touch with a third-party company, at no cost to me, and I will get a ‘free’ hire bike, etc.
The hire company have been in contact (in fact, they are hounding me daily) and said I need to sign a credit storage agreement and a credit hire agreement. I have read loads of bad reviews online about this particular hire/storage company and I don’t want to get stitched up. I don’t want to stitch the old boy up, either.
What should I do?
Answer
Unfortunately, as the years have gone on, I have seen this hounding of bikers like you get worse and worse. I hear every day of ‘helpful’ insurers trying to put their customers off from claiming from them. In short, you have paid your money to insure a risk. If that risk happens, i.e., your motorcycle gets damaged, then if you want to claim, your insurer should pay out for that risk. Simple as that.
Yes, your no-claims bonus would be affected, but your bike should also be repaired and back on the road sooner rather than later. Alternatively, you could go after the old man, and you may even win 100 per cent. However, if he is a ‘man of straw’ and hasn’t got any money, you will either never get your money, or it will take him several years to pay it. Neither option is fantastic for a quick repair of your KTM.
As for the third-party company, you’re right to be worried about getting ‘stitched up’. There is no such thing as a free lunch, as they say, and they make their money by recovering and/or storing and/or hiring bikes.
If you sign paperwork such as a credit storage and/or credit hire agreement that says you’re liable for these costs, and they do not recover their outlay from the old man, guess who they will be coming after? You guessed it, you.
One of the worst cases I have seen is a £25,000 storage/hire case (yes, you read that correctly) when the bike damaged was worth about £3,500. This was out of order, in my opinion, and caused a lot of stress for the poor biker they were chasing for money after they didn’t get it from the third party.
My advice is to avoid the hire/storage company at all costs and find a solution without them. Do not believe them when they say you won’t pay a penny over the phone, as I can guarantee their paperwork says otherwise.
Even last week, we had a chap who got a bike dropped off by the hire company who had to put it in his garage for him because he was on crutches and could not walk, let alone ride the bike. However, he signed the credit hire agreement and now has problems.
Don’t be like that poor chap.
Andrew Prendergast
RiDE – December 2025