got to the car after a jaunt round Glentress and noticed a crack in the seat tube/top tube junction weld on my titanium frame. Now it was just a case of “just riding along” as far as i’m concerned but should i say that to my insurance company? the frame is no longer under warranty as it is a number of years old but it is (was) still a valuable frame despite its years so what should i do? little boy got in the way and i dodged him and crashed? background on the bike is that its a 100mm travel hardtail set up as a 1×9 so its not as if i was jumping of drop offs on it or anything like that. cheers for any help and advice offered

I’m sure it must have had an accident?

So you wanting to know how to commit insurance fraud, is that right?

not today but i think i see where you’re going 😉

no i’m asking if there are any words i should not be saying ie just riding along

and people wonder why the cost of insurance is constantly rising…

i have never claimed on any insurance policy before in my life and this is a new to me frame on one of its first longish jaunts so what would you like me to do? i’m not someone who’s pouring coke over a laptop or a tv every other week. The frame appeared to be in good condition and is titanium ffs its not as if i was expecting it to crack given the usage that its had, it was purely xc stuff which it was designed for.

Firstly, does your insurance cover for accidental damage?

Secondly, don’t say ‘just riding along’. I’d say, i have been riding normally, and at the end of the ride i noticed the crack, or something like that.

Thirdly, does the excess + insurance hike make the claim worthwhile?

Fourthly, claim claim claim!!! That’s what insurance is there for.

do be clear about the damage/loss
do read you policy carefully
don’t lie/exaggerate
don’t be fobbed off

and is titanium ffs its not as if i was expecting it to crack

You new to this Ti biking thing?

and people wonder why the cost of insurance is constantly rising…

Yes indeed, and many of them seem to be the ones on STW advising people to lie to their insurers and inflate claims.

cheers guys thats the info i was looking for. i suppose our perception of just riding along is different from somebody else’s, so “riding normally” it is then. i’m pretty sure i’m covered for accidental damage so i’ll have a check over my policy. As for the new to Ti biking, not really. this is my 5th ti bike but is one of those, “it’ll never happen to me” scenarios i think as i have heard of people’s frames cracking

ok so just a wee reply to that last post, if i’m covered for accidental damage which i’m 99% sure i am and i was just riding normally, which i was! then no-one is claiming fraudulently from any insurance company. ok?

If you were JRA, how can you claim accidental damage?

If you were JRA, how can you claim accidental damage?

you think it was deliberate ?

When I worked at the LBS I wrote a letter to a guy’s insurers who was claiming in similar circumstances. Insurance company rejected it as was a manufacturing defect, which is covered by the manufacturer.

We used words to the effect of ‘failure through no fault of the user’.

So unless your policy wording is very different you’re out of luck, unless you do commit fraud.

you think it was deliberate ?

So are you saying it could only be an accident or deliberate?

My car is covered for accidents, if I was just driving along and the suspension collapsed, d’you think they’d pay out?
Or, if I drove it into a lamp-post and the suspension collapsed?

I suspect they’d pay the second scenario only

Insurance company rejected it as was a manufacturing defect, which is covered by the manufacturer

I don’t see how ins co can do that – it’s not incumbent on the manufacturer to prove it wasn’t a defect if bike was “old” is it?.

I thought sale of goods etc would oblige “you” (ie insurer) to prove that the defect was present from manufacture if it as outside ???? months/yrs (*shines TJ light onto the clouds*)

I doubt you will be covered under accidental damage.
However if you happened to accidently reverse your car over the frame whilst packing it away after a days riding I’m sure you’ll be fine.

this is a new to me frame on one of its first longish jaunts

so are you saying it is a 2nd hand frame ( or pre used as the wording seems to be now ) ?

If so then I would think you have more recourse with the seller of said frame than your insurance company as I am afraid that accidental damage cover is just that … cover for damage caused by an accident and not for wear and tear and gradual failure however valuable the frame is …

SORRY but your claim should be denied ( imho, from the info to hand )

uplink – most car cover specifically excludes parts breaking or failing (in addition to “wear and tear” clauses – incidentally I wonder what that means if your suspension collapses before you hit a lamp-post)

I’d suggest – oh, I did – that OP reads his policy carefully

What’s your definition of an “accident” on a mtb ? wonder how many times the OP fell off today, or recently.

Might they have taken a shit line/dropoff inadvertently today with or without actually coming off but suffered a large impact through the frame ?

Why not be totaly honest? try calling the insurer, tell them exactly what happened and ask if it is covered. Some policies will cover this stuff…I know a guy that cracked an Intense (Okay it was a DH bike but it wasn’t a crash that caused the crack as far as he know) and got it replaced being honest like this.

Things wear & break with use. How this is covered through your insurance I dont know.

If something fell on it in your garage, that would be accidental damage, and possibly claimable, depending on your policy.

Do: be honest
Don’t: commit fraud