My expensive bike was stolen! But its covered under my condo warranty...

[bringsmewomen]

At least it seems they are processing my claim. It was a $4K mountain bike. If they cover it, I actually think the fact that its stolen was a good thing.

So here are my questions. It's an expensive bike, but it's a few years old and the newer models are much better. Will they give me the value of it as if it was new?

I had a ton of components on the bike. Will they give me the money for that?

What if they write a check, I cash it then the bike is found again? Do I have to write a check back to them?

[addy85]

How bout you ask the condo people

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by addy85

How bout you ask the condo people

they are slow to respond

[dth656]

do a couple of searches on www.mtbr.com. i've seen that some folks have had to tabulate in a spreadsheet the different components, and MSRP for those. not sure how they would handle any sort of depreciation

in the 3k range today, i would probably get a santa cruz nomad or equivalent (spec enduro, titus el guapo, transition covert, giant reign, etc), although currently i have an SC blur LT2

[Red Bread]

This is when it helps to have friends in the industry, or at least bike shop employees. Hopefully you have recent pictures too. If it was a shelf bike, you should have very little trouble getting the retail price of that model when it was new (no fair if they now cost more) and provided that you have clear pictures showing upgrades, or of course even better, detailed receipts, you should be okay on the upgrade front too. If you bought locally, see if the sales or service guys will help you (factually) recreate what you had.

Just a semi-related note, but you should also look into a rider for your renter's policy to cover the bike when not in your house. If it had been nicked while at a trail, or on a car rack, or at a friend's, it would not have been covered. In a sense, you're lucky it got nicked from your residence. Riders are pretty cheap, I have enough to cover my bikes, watches or the lady's ring, and a little extra in case a combination came up missing when not at home, and for a year's coverage, it's about $50.

[FStop7]

Guys, I got the sweetest new bike today. For cheap.

[Feyd]

Good luck... I'd imagine you are going to have a fight on your hands to get the real value reimbursed. Hate to be a pessimist, but my experience with insurance companies hasn't been awesome up to this point. That being said, I've been supprised before (just never by an ins. company. )

Not sure if a bike constitutes replaceable goods, or a depreciating item.. so therein lies the problem.

Either way that really sucks, but you should be keeping something that expensive in your unit.

I just got my CR1 today... and there is no_friggin_way i'm putting it in the "bike room". My wife is pissed... but I don't care.

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

This is when it helps to have friends in the industry, or at least bike shop employees. Hopefully you have recent pictures too. If it was a shelf bike, you should have very little trouble getting the retail price of that model when it was new (no fair if they now cost more) and provided that you have clear pictures showing upgrades, or of course even better, detailed receipts, you should be okay on the upgrade front too. If you bought locally, see if the sales or service guys will help you (factually) recreate what you had.

Just a semi-related note, but you should also look into a rider for your renter's policy to cover the bike when not in your house. If it had been nicked while at a trail, or on a car rack, or at a friend's, it would not have been covered. In a sense, you're lucky it got nicked from your residence. Riders are pretty cheap, I have enough to cover my bikes, watches or the lady's ring, and a little extra in case a combination came up missing when not at home, and for a year's coverage, it's about $50.

This is a condo unit insurance policy. They seem to cover it, at least according to the agent. I submitted the police report, the pics, and the list of parts. Now I have to wait a few days to see their proposal of how much they cover.

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by Feyd

Good luck... I'd imagine you are going to have a fight on your hands to get the real value reimbursed. Hate to be a pessimist, but my experience with insurance companies hasn't been awesome up to this point. That being said, I've been supprised before (just never by an ins. company. )

Not sure if a bike constitutes replaceable goods, or a depreciating item.. so therein lies the problem.

Either way that really sucks, but you should be keeping something that expensive in your unit.

I just got my CR1 today... and there is no_friggin_way i'm putting it in the "bike room". My wife is pissed... but I don't care.

Do you or anyone here have first hand experience with this type of insurance coverage?

BTW, yeah, I had my bike in my place for a year before I put it in the bike room. I double locked it, and it still got stolen. WTF

[firstkill]

I had stuff stolen out of my garage before.

Not sure on what they did, but they just asked for proof of purchase, and reimbursed me for the value I stated.

But it was a small claim of less than 2000 bux. They will also remove the deductable from the amount you should recieve.

I have no idea what happens if you find the bike. Id rather just not look for it. I dont think the police will bother to contact you if they find the bike anyways.

fk

[kyleb350]

Would they give you the value minus depreciation? hmm.... How would they even calculate that?

[ejazbmw]

they'll probably give you the depreciation value. its like when you hit someones car and its totaled the insurance company isn't going to give you the market value but instead the deprecated value. and unless you can prove the add on ie receipts or bank statements i don't see them giving you that money.

[Feyd]

Originally Posted by ejazbmw

they'll probably give you the depreciation value. its like when you hit someones car and its totaled the insurance company isn't going to give you the market value but instead the deprecated value. and unless you can prove the add on ie receipts or bank statements i don't see them giving you that money.

This is where I'm at with it too... it really will depend if they try to pay you the depreciated value.

That being said, it will be supremely hard to do such a thing because there really won't be any "comps" that the insurance company can pull like they would on a car... there is no KBB for bicycles.

So, the ball is defiantly in your court as far as value goes, but your condo's insurance company will most certainly try to screw you. DO your homework and go to your bike shop and find out how much it would cost to replace (including the components). Have them write up a formal quote (on their letterhead, etc.) and do this at least 1-2 more times at other shops so that you've got some ammunition when they low-ball you. That way you can throw it back in their face.

Good luck.

[dth656]

what type of bike was it? typically, even high-end mfrs offer standard build kits for a given bike. then its as simple as looking up that model today, selecting the buildkit thats closest to what you had, and that should be the current value of the bike. other than the frame, the largest price item will be the suspension fork, then the shock--you can always goto the rockshox or fox website and look those items up as well..

another thing you may want to try is trolling the craigslist bike sale ads in your area--i know here in nor cal that has resulted in at least a few busts of crooks selling stolen bikes...

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by dth656

what type of bike was it?

Santa Cruz Superlight

[Crimson92]

Originally Posted by bringsmewomen

At least it seems they are processing my claim. It was a $4K mountain bike. If they cover it, I actually think the fact that its stolen was a good thing.

So here are my questions. It's an expensive bike, but it's a few years old and the newer models are much better. Will they give me the value of it as if it was new?

I had a ton of components on the bike. Will they give me the money for that?

What if they write a check, I cash it then the bike is found again? Do I have to write a check back to them?

curious, where in cali do you live. something of mine was stolen 2 weeks ago.

[E92-Lighting]

win for condo warranty