What’s the best procedure to appraise your bike in order to maximize it’s value? I am going to get a personal article policy on my bike but unfortunately I do not have all the receipts. Missing the frame and wheels receipt. While I have a decent relationship with my LBS, it’s not where I want it to be… meaning I am not sure they will maximize the value of my bike for insurance purposes. Any thoughts?
I would look at the replacement cost. Go and price out the frame wheels bars stem group etc. Ultimately if it was stolen or destroyed that is what you would need to do. Some parts may be out of production and for those I would use what replaced it in the manufacturers line or something similar.
Get details from your insurance company about what they need and what they will accept. Some (very few) will accept pictures and an original receipt. Our insurance co. requested an evaluation from a Felt dealer, a copy of the original receipt, information regarding the usage and storage of the bikes. They had pre-printed forms that we had to use.
Well I’ll give you 18 yrs of homeowner claims experience… Unless you have original receipts, or an appraisal from a reliable, knowledgeable source ( and that’s one the carrier deems reliable, not you) You are facing an uphill battle if you think you are going to get the value you think the bike is worth.
Also take into account the following: Bikes are subject to deprecation… Meaning for every year you own it, the value drops… So you would almost have to get an appraisal every year… 2) If you use a “stated value” coverage, chances are the cost to insure it would eventually surpass the replacement cost. 3) What’s your deductible?? Its nice to say I have coverage on the bike, but if its apprased at say 3500, its stolen a yr later and after deprecation its 2500 and you have a 500 deductable… you end up with 2000 MAYBE…
Your best bet is to get a reliable shop YOU DO NOT KNOW… have them apprase the bike… perhaps bicker on the value if you feel its low, get the value in writing, on their letterhead and then take photo’s of all aspects of the bike with close ups to show the current condition… Store in a safe place if needed… Again… this should be done annually to establish the current condition.
Most carriers won’t bicker with low cost bikes, but when you get up over 3K attitude changes quickly…
Good luck…
I’m not sure maximizing the value is in your best interest. As NYCTri said, insurance companies want to know *replacement cost. *I work in insurance and just checked with my fire underwriter. He said receipts from purchase and detailed descriptions (manufacturer, model #, serial #s…) are needed. Pictures and comparable prices would not be sufficient. I would make sure you fully understand the policy you are buying. My company will not cover bikes under the Personal Article Policy that are used for racing. The underwriter said doing recreational triathlons (i.e. not pro) still counts as racing.
Ditto what cmtri stated…it’s very important to understand the policy you’re buying. While I haven’t purchased a personal articles policy yet, I did get the
following info from my agent (State Farm) just to get an idea of out of pocket cost:
For 10K in approx policy value for REPLACEMENT value of bikes, she quoted the following annual cost based on varying deductibles. Cha-ching, not cheap!
$723 - 250 deductible
$638 – 500 deductible
$595 – 1000 deductible
Also- in regards to the point cmtri brings up regarding covering bikes used for racing, make sure you address that issue with your agent. I asked about it specifically and my agent put me on hold before coming back to ask several specific questions regarding racing: Do you race as a pro for cash prizes, how often do you race etc. Once i established that i was an AG’er and only raced several times a year with the bike primarily used for training purposes, she stated that insuring the bikes wasn’t an issue. She did dig into how many races, etc though so maybe an important distinction there if you are doing a ton of racing…not sure.
Also- regarding proof of value in lieu of receipts, I verified that a detailed description, including photos, with $ estimate validated or calc’d by a local bike will suffice.
I’d be curious to hear what other Ins companies are quoting for a personal articles policy. No need to hear back regarding how your bike is covered under you homeowners policy - tip, it probably isn’t. My agent kept stating my bikes were covered under homeowners but I chose to probe this issue further since she didn’t seem to be 100% confident in her answer. She checked into it and got back to me stating that "there shouldn’t be any issue since the homeowner’s policy would cover 1.5K or 2.5K in bike replacement (i cant remember the specific amount). Obviously, not enough to replace most race rigs with race wheels, power meter, etc etc. She seemed genuinely surprised at the actual value of the bikes. So definitely get the value issue hammered out if you are working under the assumption that your Speed Concept with SRM, Di2, and Zipps is covered under your home policy!!
When I placed my claim for mine I just created a document, with links, pricing each component, etc. + build price, shipping, and taxes…they paid every penny, less deductible.
Most of the time, if you are taking your bike and adding an endorsement for it, you are foregoing Replacement cost coverage and changing it to ACV (actual cash value). The benefit of this is you “may” gain accidental breakage coverage. But that is if your insurance company will even do it.
We have paid out a few claims for bike in the last couple years and all that we do is cut a check to buy a new one. No questions asked. In one case, a KQ insured of ours was hit by a car, bike was minorly damaged (scratches and scuffs), and the company bought her a new bike, and let her keep the other bike too.
Service and customer satisfaction. You should call your agent and find out what your companies deal is.
Whatever you do, make sure you have a good talk about what you are gaining and giving up by adding a personal Article Policy for your bike. Most companies consider them personal property at replacement cost anyways.
x2 on creating a document and also looking at your homeowners to see if it is covered. With the help of mother ST’er who’s name will go untold unless he wants recognition. I was able to recoup everything damaged on my bike less deductible and 10% deflation. They wanted 15% relation but I bargained for 10%. they did not blink when I asked, makes me think there was room to go to 5%.
I just did a google search for each damaged part got three comps and took the one in the middle copied and pasted the site. Took about a half hour.
Quote —
Ditto what cmtri stated…it’s very important to understand the policy you’re buying. While I haven’t purchased a personal articles policy yet, I did get the
following info from my agent (State Farm) just to get an idea of out of pocket cost:
For 10K in approx policy value for REPLACEMENT value of bikes, she quoted the following annual cost based on varying deductibles. Cha-ching, not cheap!
$723 - 250 deductible
$638 – 500 deductible
$595 – 1000 deductible
I was quoted $56 for my personal article policy for the entire year with no deductible via state farm. This is for a value up to $6,500 which is right at that value. The policy is added on to my wife’s wedding ring policy etc. I have a family member who is in insurance but I doubt I’m getting this great of a deal. Sounds like you are getting hammered.
And what are you getting for that extra money that you weren’t getting before?
Rosshole - I am waiting for the contract so I can read through it. But I have been told the following:
Replacement costs coverage which covers stolen as well as accidental break coverage.
Ok, just be sure to find that it says replacement cost, and not ACV.
What’s the best procedure to appraise your bike in order to maximize it’s value? I am going to get a personal article policy on my bike but unfortunately I do not have all the receipts. Missing the frame and wheels receipt. While I have a decent relationship with my LBS, it’s not where I want it to be… meaning I am not sure they will maximize the value of my bike for insurance purposes. Any thoughts?
I’ve had 2 bikes stolen that were enough to warrant claiming against insurance; both times for veification I had to take it to a shop to validate the replacement cost. I both cases, I was in a new town from where I got the bikes so I had no prior relationship with the local shop. Both cases, they itemized the full cost of each piece on the bike based on my pictures/description so that I ended up getting enough back from the insurance claim to get a nicer bike than I had before (minus my $500 deductible).
It’s not exactly a racket, but I think they understand without either of us saying anything that it’s potentially in their interest to help you get the most back that you reasonably/legally can.
i looked into this, and basically they assumed that within a 9-10 year period, i would total the bike.
“. . . With the help of mother ST’er who’s name will go untold unless he wants recognition . . .”
Ah, go ahead…he may help others too;-)!
After my accident I had a few pm and one guy stood out with some great advice ST’er “David”.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?username=david;
He helped me out with wording , emails and what to say and do in general. Like time frames when to write and email or when to let them respond.
i just talked to my insurance company yesterday…
Safeco is the name and they said that i can get Bike Scheduled Coverage for $24.00/ year to cover the bike from EVERYTHING even “misterous disapearance”…
they would need all the receipts i have and for what i dont - detailed pictures. too good to be true? anyone have any experience with this? i mean $24 is not much for a piece of mind if is true…
Are they a legit insurance co? Ask them to send you the policy and read it over.