Joshua1234

I am just wondering if any of you have had experience with getting hit by a car and then dealing with an insurance company. So far I have explained myself to about ten different people and I am now talking with the person who I think will be the last. He is in charge of motorcycles so they figured he would be best for the job. He told me to go get a quote from a bike shop and they would send someone out to talk with the bike shop and look at there quote. I went to Richardson Bike Mart in Frisco Texas. They wrote it out like this

LHT Frame-450.00

Surly Nice Rack Rear hardware-60.00

Handle Bar-60.00

Labor-175

I also lost my GPS in the accident. It flew off and I could not find it. I'm not sure how the insurance company is going to like this one.

GPS-425.00

The bike shop said that my pedals and shifters are functional but a little messed up and he was not going to put them on the ticket.

So I guess I was just wondering how to take care of all of this. I have never dealt with insurance companies before. Am I forgetting anything?

bhchdh 

I met the Insurance agent at my LBS, she looked at my wrecked 2003 Trek 520, took a few pictures and stroked me a check for 90% of the list price of a new 2007 520. The good thing was that I kept the wrecked bike, as it had many upgrades; Ultegra crank, XTR RD, Thomson seat post, Brooks B-17n etc... Be sure to stand your ground and recoup your losses.

spinnaker

Tell them before this is all over they will be talking to your doctor and attorney too. That should get their attention. They are getting off cheap GPS included.

BikeArkansas

I work claims every day on boats. Similar type stuff. If it is not working after the accident, list it. The insurance company will probably have an adjuster look at the damage and try to reach an agreement with the shop and you. If it is not listed they cannot deal with it. LIST YOUR LOSSES.

Now, be prepared to prove you own the equipment you list. Bikes do not come with a GPS as a standard, so have something to prove you have this item. Also, they will pay replacement cost. On electronics it may be less than you paid at the time of purchase, but it can be replaced with a new unit at a less amount. So what, you get a new unit.

As an independent I must say that I am not shocked by threats that you will do this or that. Hear it every day. I work hard to work with people that want to replace what they lost. I fight people that try to gain by their loss. I try to guide people to get what they deserve when they do not understand the system. FAIR IS FAIR.

If an insurance company does not pay what it should I will not work with them again. Just two on my list after over ten years of working claims. Most insurance companies are pretty good.

Just my opinion.

intransition

and by the way what are the best companies to insure a bike? thanks

MNBikeguy

Cincinnati Insurance Co.
Consumer Reports consistently rates them highest in claims service.

+1 What Arkansas said.
Insurance adjusters are not the enemy. I admire the skills necessary to perform this job. It seems you need to be a little bit, psychologist, policeman, and arbitrator all rolled into one.

Joshua1234

That wreck made my tour much much more difficult. I had about 1000 miles to go and I lost my GPS. I rode many miles in the wrong direction because I was too cheap to buy a map. My fault I know. I do just want everything the way it was before the wreck. The thing that makes me want to get as much as possible is that I keep finding things wrong. When I got hit I was just happy to be alive. Even after I took it to the shop I found something they didn't and even I didn't after riding it for another 1000 miles. The front rack is bent in a way I cant bend it back.

NorCal3885

Hey good luck with all of this. I got hit back on the 2nd at this point I'm waiting for the adjuster to call me plus another doctor appt this week. I'll be checking your post so I can track you progress and maybe shed some light on what I'll be dealing with. Again good luck and hope your OK.

nubcake

I think most have it right here, just make sure to list everything you lost and I would get a second quote. Personally if my shifters/pedals were beat to hell but still worked I would want them replaced. The bike should be able to be put back to how it was before the wreck. Insurance companies replace car parts all the time for scratches and they should do the same.

I personally got hit by a car a few years ago and the company was very helpful in getting me a check out quick. I told them I had a race that weekend (i got hit on monday) and they had me a check for a new bike within a few days. My take is they were ready to get this done quick and avoid any medical expenses or lawsuits. One thing that was nice was since I had upgraded most parts on the bike I felt fine about piecing parts out individually which would turn out to be more than if I had bought a complete with a similar build. All of that was without 1 trip to a bike shop for a quote.

Good luck and let us know how it goes

rbrian

+1

Flandry

When i was hit, the driver's insurance offered me the depreciated value of my bike, not the replacement cost. I think that's pretty standard. It was fairly easy to get the full (depreciated) purchase price because the frame was cracked...

On the other hand, if they hadn't also paid for my laptop (which i still use, even though it was pretty banged up--go Thinkpad!), which covered the replacement cost for the bike, i would have made a bigger deal about it. I wasn't in a lot of condition to worry about it at the time.