Tank Slap - Motorcycle Forum

This article has cropped up on a few forums so I thought I would share it just in case you've not seen it

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-new ... 25470.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The headline isn't very accurate.

Bascially someone sold his bike. The new owner crashed. Because the previous owner didn't cancel his insurance that insurance policy kicks in.

I always send my policy back and write to cancel my insurance when i sell a car or bike

im pretty stunned that this is the law in no way is the previous owner of the bike at fault except having insurance still on the bike im amazed that they can prosecute him.

I would guess its fraudulent to have insurance on a bike that you no longer own or ride.

Rocket, they won't if he's sold the bike and it's a legit sale.

If this can be allowed to happen then then insurance law really needs a long hard review, if you have proof of sale then surely you have relived yourself of responsibility of the vehicle.

Could you not argue that you had posted the certificate back along with a cancellation letter and it had obviously got lost on the post.

This is what I posted elsewhere:-

Insurance isn't just there to protect the person who owns the vehicle. The law regarding insurance can be incredibly complicated when indemnity issues comes into play but essentially it is there to ensure that innocent parties have access to the damages they are entitled to.

The MIB is known as the insurer of last resort. If there is a valid policy kicking around then that insurer has to deal. Depending on the circumstances then the insurer can seek to recover any damages it pays out from the policyholder.

So if someone steals your car then your insurance will protect anyone involved in an accident while the thief is driving it, even after you've reported the theft.

The case linked to in the OP is in Scotland, which has different laws to England and Wales. However I suspect that they are the same as all are governed by European law.

I highly doubt that MCE or any other Insurer would seek to recover from the previous owner. I don't know the policy details so I can't say for sure but where there is a bona fide sale then I doubt that they can. If the bloke had lent the bike to the other guy then they could.

One of the more common circumstances where a recovery is sought is where the policy has been obtained by deception. Fronting is the usual one - dad telling the Insurance company that the lowered x reg astra is his day to day ride and his pikey 19 yr old son very rarely uses it but he wants him on the policy. The Insurance company will deal with the claim or claims and then look to recover.

If you do cancel a policy then you should return the certificate (if you have one) to be 100% clear.

If you want to find out more inforrmation then you need to google various sections of the Road Traffic Act 1988 Sections 148, 151 and 152 deal with these points. There is also Article 75

I normally replace my bike so swap the insurance to the new one anyway.

I can understand that point totally though. Insurance is there to protect innocent party's, not the owner.