My LBS gave the ins co the 2k quote for replacement of the fork, frame and wheelset plus the labor to accomplish the repair. The ins co determined the value of my bike is 1.5k and offers that amount as compensation. I declined that offer and that's where we stand at the moment.

Consider suggesting your homeowner's pay all but the deductible, and the ladies pay the deductible or some such combination.

Likely, no matter what, you are not going to get any more than the depreciated value of your bike.

I've been through this too many times with car wrecks - the not-at-fault party (me) always comes out a loser. It stinks.

Keep track of all your time and effort, and money spent, in searching for a new bike - i.e., mileage, internet time, etc. If you go to small claims court, this can be reimbursed to you.

Have you been to a doc re: injuries?

If not, you may want to start making a medical case.

Likely, you would be best to not spend a huge amount of effort on this, take the settlement and loss, and get on with your life. That is what I end up doing. And, it still stinks.

Think about filing a "Small Claim" against the woman. If she had not run over you you would bot need a new bike.

I think this is the case. I cannot replace the damaged bike with equivalent for similar cost. And I hear the 2009 models will have a significant price increase over currently available 2008 models. So the cost factor only gets worse.

However, it appears that getting the insurance company to be responsibile to pay enough to put me back into the same position prior to the accident is going to be a battle.

This is probably the best advice. I may explore the small claims option too as my claim will be 5k or less (the limits in NC).

Guess I'll hafta get over my mad first. But this is not an expense I can afford right now either (bike or legal).

What was the cost of the original bicycle. I guess my question here would be, is the insurance company actually on the hook for the cost of a replacement equivalent including price increases or are you actually entitled to what the original bicycle cost you.

In the case of the left hooked Look in my post above, one of the prime pieces of evidence used by the laywer to obtain a refund was the itemized reciept for the custom build. The real argument there was what was an appropriate amount to set for depreciation and what if any portions of the crashed bicycle were suitable for use in a replacement/rebuild.

Even my homeowners insurance company is no longer willing to issue a guaranteed replacement policy, but rather a policy with a fixed price for the total loss of my house.

I agree that the tactics used by insurance companies are those of thieves and back alley muggers, but I also see them on the defensive in the face of rapidly increasing prices.

A few years ago, my wife was at a red light, waiting to make a right turn. There was a car in front of her who started to make a right on red, then stopped. Wife started to make her turn, was looking left and hit him. Totally her fault, no damage to either vehicle, they exchanged info and went on their way. A couple of years later, she finds out that he is suing for $750K - pain and suffering, lost time at work, etc ad nauseum. Our insurance company did an investigation and found that for the 6 weeks after the accident, he worked an average of 55 hrs a week in his job as a heavy equipment operator at a construction site. Case ended up going to trial, and the jury awarded him $1200 (he had turned down a settlement offer of $45K the day before). Just as I was thinking that the system worked, the judge made a second award not to the guy she hit, but to his lawyers, so that our insurance company would cover their costs.

The whole system is screwed up.

I agree the system is screwed up. Too many cases like the above that are frivolous. Of course, I think I am being reasonable in not trying to soak the ins co, but just want my ride restored, one way or another in a reasonable time frame. Had the accident been my fault, I could not fault the system. But when it was not my fault, I feel (whether right or wrong) that I should be minimally affected.

I am checking with my homeowner's ins right now. Otherwise, I have the time available and plan to put my research efforts into gear and will probably take this to small claims court. Hate to do it to the driver as it was an honest mistake and she 'fessed up to it. But due to her ins co playing tough, I'm inclined to do so to the best of my ability. Which means her ins co will have to defend her in small claims court, or so I understand.

As my BIL is a lawyer, I may seek some pro bono advice.

Why not just ask her to make up the difference? She might be willing to do that rather than go to SC court.
Also, have you turned it in to your homeowners yet? Their lawyers miight be able to whup the auto insurance lawyers.

Speedlever-My experience was very similar to yours but eventually I received a very fair offer. The insurance agent in my case was using information he could find over the internet. You can ask for his copies of the comparables where he gets his pricing so at least you'll know what he's working off of. You can come up with your own comparables as well. What I did was suggest instead of a cash payment they find me a suitable replacement that I would agree to...........don't know if that angle will help you.

I agree the OP should submit a detailed invoice from his lbs, but I can't approach the level of confidence you have that the insurance adjuster will immediately begin to work with you. Adjusters are paid to yank you around as long as possible before paying anything. These people are MUCH better at yanking you around than you probably are at intimidating them! My money will be on the adjuster every single time. I'm for submitting the invoice in a friendly yet firm manner by certified mail with a 30 day cutoff, at which time I would turn it over to an attorney. Otherwise they will drag it out, wearing OP down bit by bit, until he finally settles for peanuts, and the adjuster will get an "Attaboy" in December of 2010 when they finally mail the paltry payoff check.

I talked to my homeowners ins rep today. They were no help. Said all they could offer was ACV less my deductible... which leaves me worse off than before.

Right now it seems that legal costs are prohibitive unless I were to be going after some pain and suffering type approach... which would take a long time to resolve and wouldn't have a lot of truth to it... except for the pain and suffering of dealing with the ins co.

So my plan is to meet personally with the adjuster, have my facts lined up and see if we can negotiate a better deal. Otherwise, I plan to approach the driver to make up the difference. I have nothing to lose at this point. No lawyer wants to take this on for just the property damage.. at least none of the ones I've spoken too (not my BIL).

My other option is SC court. But if all the ins co does is get up and quote coverage from their policy, I'm not sure if that's worth the time, effort and cost. Never done SC before, so I dunno what to expect out of that. I'm gonna explore that option with a lawyer who's had some experience in SC court.

I plan to go to my LBS tomorrow and see if they can help me establish a list of comparables before I meet with the adjuster. Hopefully they can give me some help.

OOC, what sort of suitable replacement did you come up with?

Sadly, all to true it would appear. And thus far, no lawyer wants to tackle this deal just for property damage. So I'm not sure just how much control I have in this deal.

Find out what the small claims court limit is in your State. The woman can't use an attorney in small claims court and a judge usually hears the case. You might be able to take the settlement from the insurance company and get the woman to pay the difference. This is a good lesson in the future to make sure you get attended to by an MD and have some non-specific physical complaints to bargin with in the mix.

I could honestly come up with some non-specific physical complaints. But I am not one to fake an injury for personal gain. Not gonna do it here either. But perhaps the non-specific physical complaints I do have (for real) may help.

SC court limit in my state is $5000. My understanding is that the ins co would likely send a lawyer to defend their client. I'll have to check that out.

http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/magistrate/small_claims.htm

I will try this again. I wrote earlier that I am a Marine Surveyor, which means I inspect boats, especially for insurance companies. Get a realistic and honest cost of putting your bicycle back to the condition it was in before the accident, which is what insurance actually was designed to accomplish, and submit this in a good written report. This will most likely end the situation.

If you are wanting a new bicycle, forget it. That is not the reason for insurance.

All the adjusters I work with want to get your case off their desk. A settlement is what they want. A good written report which they can put in front of their supervisor is the secret to ending insurance settlements.

It does not happen often, but when I am inspecting a marine claim I sometimes am confronted by the insured. Often they are hostile because I will not tell them they get a new boat because their X year old boat was damaged. As soon as they threaten a law suit I shut it down. If needed, I will get a company representative to be with me to finish the job. I will not discuss anything with the insured, or anyone connnected with the insured. I have been involved with a number of lawsuits as a result of my inspections. I have won all these lawsuits in court, with the help of the very expensive and talented lawyers the insurance companies have on their payroll. As a rule, the insureds would have gotten a very fair settlement if they would have simply submitted a "true cost of repair" for their damages.

I am an indepented inspector of marine damage. I find the insurance companies I work with, which is several in count, are very willing to work a fair settlement.

If you are working with an insurance company that is not trying to work out a fair settlement, file a lawsuit. I have fired two large insurance companies that I did not find to be trying to make a fair settlement. Now, understand, that is only two companies in over ten years I have been doing this. By far, most insurance companies want to work a fair settlement.

Thanks for that perspective.

What happens when the cost of repair to the boat exceeds the insurance company's estimate of the boat's value? Do they total the boat and pay the owner the Actual Cash Value?

That is what is happening to me. My hope is that I can substantiate a higher value for my bike (than their estimate) and at least get the insurance company to pay for that.

I'm sorry that you felt ignored before. I read your post and thought I acknowledged it.

As stated earlier, I've not found any local lawyer interested in the small amount of this property damage issue. Can't blame them, it's just not worth their while.

So my options appear to be:
1) negotiate at least the cost of repairs from the ins co
2) failing that, take what they offer and approach the driver for the balance
3) failing that, take the driver to SC court and try to recover there
4) failing that (or deciding it's not worth it), take my lumps and move on.

Notes:
1) a new replacement bike is the only way I can resume riding in a timely manner unless I borrow a bike. Bikes do not seem to be available for rent in my area. I'm sure this is of no interest to the ins co, but the repair will take at least 4 weeks.
2) I have not yet found the definition of new... as in, when is something no longer new? 1 day? 1 week? 1 month? Apparently in England, anything 2 years or less gets a new replacement. Such a deal! I suspect it's a highly variable number here in the USA.

Sorry you got hit. I have had good success dealing with insurance companies on my own. As you have already found out, the adjuster probably will not know much about bicycles. The adjuster may lie, so be ready to call his BS for what it is.

Claim everything that had even a little bit of damage. Claim your helmet even if there is no visible damage to it. If the adjuster gives you BS on this, just look him straight in the eye and say “You and I both know that every helmet manufacturer tells people that helmets are no longer safe to use once they have been in an accident.”

Since your bike is less than a year old, do not accept any depreciation on the value of the bike. If it had no previous damage, you deserve a NEW bike. Demand to be made hole - full replacement cost at current market price for your bicycle. Even if you plan on assembling the bike yourself, include what the shop would charge to assemble. Include taxes.
If your bike is your primary transportation, rent a bike to use until you have your new bike in hand. Let the adjuster know that the longer it takes for them to pay off, the more it will cost them in rental charges. It gives you a ride and helps push them to settle sooner. You can also contract with a friend for a rental of the friends bike at the same rate a shop would charge.
Include all medical cost and lost work time. Do not accept payment (as in cashing a check or signing a release form for medical) until you have a settlement for property damages.

If all else fails, take the driver to small claims court.

Good luck and enjoy your new bike.

This is not an option, if you settle with the insurance company - you have settled with the driver. Right now the insurance company is representing the driver up until you take them to small claims court.

I wish it were so simple and cut and dried. The ins co is holding their line at this point on paying ACV since in their view, the bike is totaled. The bike is not my primary transportation. Neither are there bikes for rental in my area either. While I can obtain a loaner bike from a friend, they will not accept payment for liability reasons.

So while all of the above sounds proper and appropriate (at least, from my perspective), it does not appear to reflect the actuality of the experience... as others have attested here. My homeowners ins was even less helpful in this issue.

What I'm willing to accept and what I'm forced to accept may be two different things. The LBS is shocked at this ins co attitude... say they've never had this issue before. Must be my lucky day.

You may well be right about that. I'll have to verify that for my state.

Sorry for your problem. Last year a friend of mine was mirrored by a car (hit and run). Drivers in front of and behind offending driver stopped, assisted cyclist and provided police with id. Riders over 10 year old Ti bike was damaged but wheels and groupo were still good. Ti frame was cracked. Driver claimed he did not do anything and refused to pay for bike. Driver convicted of traffic violation including leaving the scene, then cyclist filed claim with drivers insurance company. Company originally offered $300 without adjuster seeing bike. This was refused. Adjuster came, saw bike, reviewed replacement estimate prepared by LBS and provided sufficient $$$ for a replacement bike within 3 weeks. They did take the old bike (everything on it) but he was made whole. They also asked him to sign a waiver stating any future pain would not be paid for by this claim. Completely different result than OP is getting. Only difference I can see is traffic violation upheld.

I have no advice for you, clearly this ins co had decided to play hardball by lowering the offer. I'll ask my friend for more details on how he handled, maybe there is something missing from your strategy. I do know he continued to ask to be made whole and that is ultimately what happened.

We should really make 100/300 mandatory. $25k can disappear in a few minutes of the ER

Yup.

In your position, that is something I would have absolutely avoided doing, for fear of having my homeowner's insurance cancelled or my premium raised. The only time I would ever use my homeowner's insurance is if the house or its contents suffered multiple 10s of thousands of dollars damage.

The incident was not your fault, and none of your insurance policies should come into play, unless your insurance company is willing to subrogate.

That option went nowhere anyway. After my deductible, I was worse off than before.

Still working to sort this out. I probably have at least 3 weeks until my bike is out of the shop to resolve it.

Have you tried talking to your insurance agent, as opposed to an adjuster for the company they represent?(Assuming, of course, that you've got a local insurance agent with whom you have some sort of ongoing business relationship.) My wife was rear ended in our van last October and our agent has been incredibly helpful, guiding us through dealing with the other driver's insurance company to get a fair settlement. He (and his staff) have also been very helpful over the years in getting us the best deal for appropriate coverage--I've shopped them against all of the competition and they always have the best coverage for the best price.