Insurance bill stings biker
By Paul Jackson
February 07, 2005
From:
NORTHERN Territory pensioner Frank O'Brien was pleased with himself when he
bought a motorbike at the ripe old age of 68.
But he almost fell off his 1300cc Yamaha XJR when he
had to pay $627 for third party insurance.
Mr O'Brien, of Darwin River, 60km south of Darwin, discovered the premium
was only $165 in Western Australia.
"How can they justify a cost like that?" he asked.
He said the cost for bikes over 600cc in Queensland
was only $325, South Australia $327, Victoria $400 and Tasmania $421.
"I would have been better off registering it in WA and
then riding it back to the Territory and become a permanent visitor," Mr
O'Brien said.
"That way I would save myself a lot of money and
wouldn't have to change to NT rego under the present law.
"I only bought the bike for recreation purposes. It's
not like I'm going to ride it around all day. It's just very unfair.
"I only pay $213 third party for my Mitsubishi Magna
and $402 for my V6 Holden Commodore.
"How can a motorbike cost so much?"
Doug Webb of TIO said it was impossible to compare
interstate schemes.
"Some premiums are low because they don't carry full
benefits of an accident, which can result in lawsuits," he said.
"In the Territory our benefit is 100 per cent
covered."
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