30-05-14, 08:14 PM
If your Insurer has disposed of the motorbike before they have paid you then they've been to quote Monty Python "Very Naughty Boys".
The following is from the Insurance Ombudsman and will apply to you and them.
"16. salvage of the "written-off" vehicle and contents
Once the policyholder accepts payment of the full market value, the insurer becomes the owner of the salvage. If the policyholder asks to keep the salvage, the insurer is entitled to deduct what it would have been able to sell the salvage for. This is usually not very much.
But what if the policyholder complains that the insurer (or its agent) disposed of the salvage before paying the full market-value? At this stage, the vehicle still belongs to the policyholder, and we take the view that the insurer should not have disposed of it without first obtaining the policyholder’s consent to the settlement of the claim – even if the insurer said it was only acting in the public interest by keeping a badly-damaged vehicle off the roads. In such circumstances, and unless the insurer returns the salvage, we usually award the policyholder compensation for inconvenience.
If the policyholder had personal belongings in the vehicle when the insurer disposed of it without consent, we are likely to award the cost of replacing these – usually on a like-for-like (rather than a new-for-old) basis."
I can't post links but add www to the following to land on the correct page from the Ombudsman which also has other useful information about valuing your bike.
financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html
The following is from the Insurance Ombudsman and will apply to you and them.
"16. salvage of the "written-off" vehicle and contents
Once the policyholder accepts payment of the full market value, the insurer becomes the owner of the salvage. If the policyholder asks to keep the salvage, the insurer is entitled to deduct what it would have been able to sell the salvage for. This is usually not very much.
But what if the policyholder complains that the insurer (or its agent) disposed of the salvage before paying the full market-value? At this stage, the vehicle still belongs to the policyholder, and we take the view that the insurer should not have disposed of it without first obtaining the policyholder’s consent to the settlement of the claim – even if the insurer said it was only acting in the public interest by keeping a badly-damaged vehicle off the roads. In such circumstances, and unless the insurer returns the salvage, we usually award the policyholder compensation for inconvenience.
If the policyholder had personal belongings in the vehicle when the insurer disposed of it without consent, we are likely to award the cost of replacing these – usually on a like-for-like (rather than a new-for-old) basis."
I can't post links but add www to the following to land on the correct page from the Ombudsman which also has other useful information about valuing your bike.
financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html
Just flapping about on this stagnant little pond on the outer rim of the internet.....yup.... :-))