Making a Motorcycle Insurance Claim

When we receive your claim, there are a few steps to work through, but rest assured one of our experienced claim handlers will guide you through the process. First off, we will ask you to  download a motorcycle insurance claim form, complete it, then send it in to us, which is the start of the claims process. We’ll also organise for your motorcycle to be taken to a suitable dealership to be repaired. You can choose your repairer, or if you prefer, we can organise a dealer in your area on your behalf.

Once the dealer has received your bike, they’ll send us a quote for the cost of repairing the bike. If the damage is relatively minor, repairs can normally start straight away. If there is a large amount of damage, or if there may be issues around parts supply, then sometimes things can take a little longer. There may also be more complicated cases where an independent assessor (a freelance expert who specialises in assessing required repairs) may be called in to determine the best way forward.

Where the cost of the repairs means that the bike is likely to be written off, we’ll send you a Discharge Form, which forms the settlement of your claim. When you sign the form and send it back to us, we’ll pay out the settlement figure and the wreck of the bike then becomes our property. Some riders choose to buy back their wreck, if you wish to do this then tell us as the time and we’ll advise you of the process for this.

Your motorcycle insurance policy forms a legal contract, and as with all legal contracts, there are some obligations that you must adhere to in order for the cover provided by your policy to remain in force. These include:

Maintain your motorcycle in a roadworthy condition. Make sure that it is always up to WOF standards, even in between WOF tests. This is not just to ensure cover by your policy, but also very important for your own safety (after all, crashing HURTS!).

Keep your motorcycle secure. You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that your bike is kept secure when it isn’t in use. For example, always lock your bike whenever you leave it. This can mean keeping it within a locked building, or by enabling the steering lock or fitting a grip-lock style device.

Request Track Day cover if you are going to an event. If you plan to attend a Track Day or track-based Training Day, you need to inform us prior to attending the event to obtain our authorisation. This authorisation doesn’t cost anything, however a higher excess may apply while you are on the track. Call us on 0800 776 832 or email [email protected], and we’ll send out a confirmation of cover once approved.

Keep us informed of any changes in your circumstances. For example, please notify us if you change address, lose your licence, or if you modify your bike. Under New Zealand law, all insurance policy holders have a duty of disclosure to inform their insurer of anything that (as a prudent insurer) they should be made aware of. If you are unsure whether a change in circumstances is relevant to your insurance, please contact us and we’ll be happy to advise you.

Please note that the above list is intended to be a helpful guideline. If you have any questions or would like more information please don’t hesitate to contact us and one of our friendly team will be able to answer your query.

Assurant's full cover motorcycle insurance will cover riders who aren't named on your policy, so long as they are legally allowed to ride it and they have a clean driving and riding history for the last 5 years. If you are unsure whether a rider meets these criteria, then please contact us for more information.

Riders that aren't specifically named on your motorcycle insurance policy may be required to pay a higher excess if they cause an accident. Also, if they are riding the motorcycle 10% or more of the time, then you must advise us of their details, and depending on their riding history it may have an impact on your insurance premium.

If you have any questions or would like to add another rider to your policy, then please contact us for more information.

Please note that each rider listed on your policy will have their own excess. For example, if there are two riders listed on your policy and one is a learner while another is an experienced rider, there is a good chance that the learner rider will have a higher excess than the experienced rider. Any rider who isn’t listed on the policy automatically goes onto the highest level excess for your type of motorcycle, so it’s worth calling us to add anybody who will be regularly riding your bike.

If you don’t hold the correct licence that allows you to legally ride your motorcycle (for example, if you are unlicenced or if are on your learner or restricted motorcycle licence and your bike is not a LAMS model) then we cannot cover you for accident damage while riding your bike on public roads, even if you take out Full Cover insurance with us. This applies to both Full Cover and Third Party Fire and Theft cover, and applies to any rider who does not have the correct licence to ride your bike. However, riders who do hold the correct licence (even if you don’t) would still be covered while riding your bike.

It is very important that you ride within the limits of your licence, and if you are on a learner or restricted motorcycle licence that you make sure that your motorcycle is LAMS approved. As per the rules of the LAMS scheme, this means that your motorcycle can only be modified in a way that doesn't breach the NZTA's rules. More information about the LAMS scheme and what modifications are permitted is available on the NZTA website.

If you do not hold the correct licence type for the motorcycle you are purchasing, but plan to do so in the very short term, then we may be able to provide Storage Cover (which covers fire and theft only) until such time as you are legally entitled to ride your motorcycle, and changing to Full Cover at that time. This could represent a significant cost saving for you.

If you would like any further information on this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to talk through the options available to you.

Only if the modifications don't breach NZTA's rules for LAMS motorcycles. If your LAMS motorcycle has been modified in a way that doesn't comply with the NZTA rules then we cannot offer you Full Cover or Third Party Fire and Theft insurance because you cannot legally ride your motorcycle on the road.

This modification rules do not affect riders on their full licence, as they don’t need to adhere to the LAMS rules.

Modifications vs accessories: For the purposes of insuring a LAMS motorcycle, a modification is deemed to be a change to, or removal of, any component of the motorcycle that occurs after it has left the factory.  If you have added something to the bike that has not involved the removal or modification of a part of the original motorcycle, then we deem it an accessory (rather than a modification) and therefore it doesn't breach the NZTA rules.

Yes. If you have a minor claim where the bike isn’t written off, then any damage to your accessories will also be repaired. Please note that you are required to tell us about your accessories. You can do this at the time that you take out your policy, or if you fit accessories at a later date just contact us to let us know about the modifications.

If your motorcycle is written off, then the settlement is based on the Agreed Value of your motorcycle, which includes your accessories.

Assurant’s full cover motorcycle insurance includes Transport Cover, which means we’ll cover you for any damage while your motorcycle is being transported anywhere within New Zealand territorial waters. Under New Zealand law, carriers are only liable for $2,000 worth of damage, but our motorcycle insurance automatically protects you beyond that limit.

This is an automatic benefit, you don’t need to advise us ahead of time or select any special options. If you have purchased a motorcycle from out of town and are having it shipped to you, take out your motorcycle insurance with Assurant before getting it shipped and you can relax knowing that your motorcycle is covered.

For more information on this benefit, please see Insurance for cars and motorcycles being transported, or refer to your policy wording.

Having a crash on your motorcycle is never a pleasant experience and it can be a confusing time with a lot going on. It can be hard to remember what to do at the time, but one of the most important things you can do is to remain calm. Take deep breaths, and try to remember the following steps:

1. Safety first - secure the scene. Make sure everyone is safe, the health and well-being of the people involved needs to always come first – if you or anyone else needs medical assistance, call 111 immediately. If possible, post a helper to warn oncoming traffic of the accident until you have time to clear the road. If an ambulance has been called, make sure room is cleared for the ambulance to get as close to the scene as possible, and have your helper guide it in when it arrives.
2. Do not admit liability. Don’t try to apportion blame at the side of the road, just make notes about the crash, and if possible sketch a quick diagram or take some photos of the crash scene. It’s up to the insurance companies to work out who was at fault, and rest assured as your motorcycle insurance provider, we’ll act in your best interests (as they are also our best interests).
3. Obtain the other vehicles details. Note the make model and registration number of the other vehicle, and also get the drivers name, phone number, address, and drivers licence number. Try to note exactly where the accident happened, and which direction each vehicle was travelling.
4. See if there were any witnesses. If there were, also get their name, phone number and address.
5. Secure your motorcycle. Take all reasonable steps to secure your motorcycle and prevent any further damage or loss. Our full cover motorcycle insurance policy does include recovery expenses, so if you require towing let us know and we can organise for a tow truck capable of carrying your motorcycle to a repairer. Only attempt to ride your motorcycle if the damage is very minor and you are 100% sure it is safe to do so.
6. Call us on 0800 776 832 or email [email protected] to advise us of the accident, and we'll also help you with what to do next.

Please note that the above list is just a guide, each accident scene is different. If there are any injuries, you must report the accident to the Police, and it’s important to obtain medical assistance if you suspect anyone may have been hurt. In general, the more information you can provide to us on the details of the accident, the faster we can have your claim settled, so try to make notes on everything while it is still fresh in your mind.