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The National Insurance Crime Bureau has released statistics on motorcycle thefts for 2016, and the results show a slight increase in the number of motorcycles that were reported stolen last year.

Accordingly, the NICB says that 46,467 motorcycles were reported stolen last year, up from the 45,555 motorcycles that were reported stolen in 2015 – an increase of 2%. This figure of course does not include motorcycles that were stolen, but not reported to police or insurance companies.

While there was an increase in motorcycle thefts last year, 2016’s figure is still well below the figure set just a decade ago in 2006, which saw 66,774 motorcycles reported as stolen – a 30% decrease.

Reading motorsports websites all over Europe recently, you would think it was Doomsday for motorcycle racing, and all forms of motorized sports.

Even in as august a publication as The Times (of London, that is), the headlines warned of impending disaster:. “EU insurance rule ‘will destroy British motor sport’“. Is the end nigh for motorsport in Britain?

The short answer is “No, but it’s complicated”. So where did these warnings that the sky is falling come from?

On Wednesday, the MCIA (the Motorcycle Industry Association, the body representing the British bike industry), the ACU, and the AMCA (both representing motorcycle racing, on road and off road) issued a joint press release, warning that motorsport in the UK could come to an end due to a ruling by the European Court in Luxembourg.

The ruling stems from a judgment in the case of Vnuk v. Triglav, case C-162/13 before the European Court of Justice, and known as the Vnuk judgment. The case involved a Slovenian farm worker, Damijan Vnuk, who was injured when he was knocked off a ladder by a tractor reversing with a trailer.

Vnuk was working on a farm at the time, and sued for compensation from the motor vehicle insurance policy of the tractor. The lower Slovenian courts rejected his claims, but the Slovenian Supreme Court referred the case to the ECJ.

Late last year Mavizen announced the TTX02 race bike with the intention of eliminating reasons for teams to pass on electric motorcycle racing. The TTX02 is a fully electric race bike based on the KTM RC8 rolling chassis and TTXGP winning Team Agni drive train. Today Mavizen and TTXGP founder Azhar Hussain rolled out supporting services for teams that still might be on the fence.

For aspiring racers with poor social skills or lack of budget for a team, Mavizen offers a factory support service of your race bike including transporting it from race to race. It sounds like all you have to do is put on your leathers and ride. The race plastic is all you really own with this package and you can put whatever sponsor stickers on it you want.

Not that insurance companies give motorcyclists a lot of love when it comes to coverage claims, but things are about to get a bit tougher when looking for a little compensation for that weekend wreak. The New York Times is reporting how insurance companies are redefining what a track event is, and lumping any sort of incident on race courses as being an automatic claim denial.

While the changes are really affecting track day goers who prefer four wheels, it gives a glimpse into where the industry is headed as far as risk management. There is a silver lining though. The crackdown has opened up a market for track oriented underwriters. These policies are still costing a premium for car owners, but should they become available for motorcyclists, it should cost a reasonable enough price to gain traction in the marketplace. 

Maybe those AIG guys aren’t so bad afterall.

Source: New York Times via Autoblog