‘My insurer voided my policy due to undeclared mods. Am I in difficulty?’
with Andrew Dalton, White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors
Q I WAS INVOLVED in a T-bone collision with a car last June.
I was riding at the speed limit, which I can prove – my bike has a data capture device that records any number of things, including speed. In a 50mph zone I was doing exactly 50mph. I also have the collision sequence on video.
A car pulled out, and the driver was a mix of aggressive and hysterical. He demanded that police were called – just as well really, as it turns out I had a hairline fracture across my wrist, which, had the guy not gone ballistic at the scene, would have gone without medical examination. The officers insisted I got an ambulance, and they were pretty blunt with the guy in the car. One asked: “If you could see the bike was speeding, why did you pull out?” This left him floundering. But they did note I had a black visor, an illegal pipe and a tiny number plate, and one officer said he could tell by listening to my bike that I had had ‘work’ done on it – indeed, it has been dyno’d and has a Power Commander.
The officer wasn’t bothered, but this bloke has got himself into a hire car and has told my insurer he is after them for a ridiculous amount of hire – it’s already into five figures. This clown pulled into my path, spanked my bike, broke my wrist but now he is suing me. My insurer says it will pay out for him but will come after me for not declaring the changes to my bike and it is voiding my policy. Am I in difficulty?
A WELL, YOU HAVE a few problems. Let’s start with your insurance. When you applied for it, one question you were asked is had you carried out any changes to the stock machine – and you said no. While a dyno might not be regarded as a change, a Power Commander and a fire ‐breathing pipe – which your bike has been dyno’d to maximise – are. When you answer a question on insurance, you must answer the question put to you truthfully. You know you were not telling the truth so your insurer can easily demonstrate you were dishonest. It was not a possible answer to a vague question.
So, what are you to do? Your insurer will have to meet any third-party claim and will try to negotiate as low a payout as it can commercially get away with, but it will take a commercial view. And then your insurer will come after you for the payout it has made. Your circumstances are that you have a house and your bike means you are clearly not short of a few quid, so it would be worth your insurer’s while to come after you. It has already caused you a massive problem by voiding your policy. Insurers often void policies wrongly – but this t
