Speaking as someone who has been around and in the bike trade errrr.... a while ( :blush: ) I can give very specific reasons for stupidly high insurance costs.
1)
WE are greedy and always try to get everything we can outa a bad situation. ( such as an off )
For instance, instead of having a scratch polished out of a swing arm people insist on having it replaced.
2) The Insurance companys are greedy... But no greedier than any other commercial enterprise. they will charge as much as they think the market can stand.
3) the insurance companys employ people to assess the damage to bikes/cars who are, quite frankly weak willed and easily led.
Time and again I have watched while one has caved in, writing a bike off for a very small amount of repairable damage, purely because the dealer knows he will sell the customer a new bike.
Numbers one and two might seem great when you are the one receiving the big pay out, the new bike whatever.. but then come renewal time will you be quite so happy ?
The cost of insurance did not go from reasonable to feckin hell over night.
It was driven up by folk making big claims..
How many times have you seen it.. oh bugger, bike fell over in the drive.. broke the plastics.. new plastics 1500 quid.. insurance company wrote me bike off..
In reality the bike COULD have probably been repaired for a fraction of the cost.. but the average customer looks at the short term picture and sees a shiny new bike.. not the long term and a world where only the mega rich or fookin old fart can afford to insure anything other than a 250 wet dream !
Waffle over.. soap box tucked away