So I have a pickle and i’m not sure what to do.
I have a front garden so that is where I will be keeping the bike. Now and I know most would just say it is Private property… but a few years back when I spoke to my insurance they considered it a Drive. trying to get the definition though is proving a little difficult.
There is about £100 difference in the insurance so want to make sure.
Anyone and to clarify this?
You should probably ring them up and ask because they all have different opinions. I have a similar situation where I park in a gated backyard off the street. Some insurers classify as locked compound and some as road side even though it’s away from all the prying eyes.
This might be helpful to you: http://www.gocompare.com/motorbike-insurance/overnight-storage-and-parking/
“Many insurers will give a discount on premiums if you keep your bike on a driveway at your home, or just off the road on your property, such as wheeled into a front or back garden.”
I would have thought it would count as a drive if it’s out the front of your house, inside your property line - I had something similar outside my old flat, it was just a concrete hardstanding through a small gate but when I described it to the insurers, I was told it was a drive for their purposes.
Does private property not mean away from your house?
If you use a dictionary definition, and can quote from the exact book, with edition of print, you should be fine. As we’re in England, you should quote from an English dictionary that is printed in England, the purpose of which is to be used in England. Ask a lawyer/solicitor, what are acceptable dictionaries, such as The Oxford English Dictionary, and you should be safe. If you quote from an online source, I’d suggest you print it off, just in case it is not available in the future.
A front garden is something completely different and a place where thieves can possible duck down out of sight while they work away at your security. If you declare your front garden as a drive and your bike does get stolen, how easy is it for the Loss Adjuster, the person who negotiates your claim, to look at your house on Google street view to determine whether or not you have a drive. The premium is what it is because that is where the insurance company place the level of risk.
So you put some paving stones down the middle of the garden and it becomes a drive?
I have a front garden and a drive alongside each other - the only difference being that the drive is black and the garden is green, oh and I can see the garden out of my window but not the drive.
I used to live in a flat like this https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4370603,-0.1469261,3a,75y,329.65h,64.53t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sj2ppxqPTaMy8FQrC73s7Tg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 technically I suppose it’s a garden but I don’t see how it’s any different from a drive in practical risk terms.
It depends entirely on the insurer. Little about the way insurance companies calculate risk is particularly intuitive or transparent. You just have to check with the insurer.
