What insurance??

[brok]

if any do you ladies carry on your bike(s). Now that I am spending more I want to make sure they are insured against, theft (while at home or on the rack on my truck), damage from and accident, either while biking or being hit while it is on the rack. I think my homeowners would cover anything at the house. But I guess I'm most worried about it being insured away from home. I think my brother carries a seperate policy on his bikes. I don't want to spend a lot on insurance, but I want to be covered none the less. Thanks for your input.

[Irulan]

talk to you agent, usually there's a base limit under sporting goods on your homeowner's or renter policy. If your bikes are worth a lot, you may want a seperate rider. It should cover theft from anywhere. You have to watch out tho.. when you make a claim they will want to depreciate it.

irulan

[Trek420]

theft from your house is covered by your home owners insurance, theft from or when on your car is covered by your car insurance, if someone hits you (car) and the bike is hurt that's covered by their insurance or yours if they are uninsured and you have uninsured motorist coverage. Just don't do the bonehead move of the year (see thread by that name) because running your bike into the car port roof (roof rack) is NOT covered by any insurance and my agent never mentioned a rider.

I am seeking another insurance company because that's 2 (two) bikes he has not covered. When my Trek was lifted from my home he did not cover it because the insurance was in my then current-now ex's name and I found out the hard way they do not honor domestic partners. As far as our property was concerned we were legal strangers.

who do you use?

[brok]

are both insured through Auto-Owners. They were going to put the bikes on the homeowners, we have 4 totaling about $4500.00 but that will add $375 yearly to the premium. I think that is a bit high.

[Trek420]

"we have 4 totaling about $4500.00 but that will add $375 yearly to the premium. I think that is a bit high."

I think it's silly, I have a 13" tv, '97 Mac, very little furniture (ask spazz), in other words I don't have plasma tv's and expensive electronics, I have 2 bikes, one's cheap and the other is...well...uhm, er, cost a LOT. I don't see why your home and car insurance can't just cover X ammount of stuff. If I had dropped a plasma TV on my toe getting it out of the car that would have been covered.

[SadieKate]

In 1994 we were the owners of the largest home robbery record in town - we may still hold the record for all I know. Among a bunch of tother stuff, they stole a custom tandem, a very high end road bike and a folding bike (all while 2 extremely expensive mtb bikes were in their way). State Farm paid for all (after the deductible) though they went into shock when they found out the replacement cost of the tandem and the road bike. They didn't believe us on the initial call and didn't come out to help. They ended up doing a recorded question period because the agent had to explain to her superiors why she wasn't on our doorstep that night when the claim/damage was so large. No, we were not in good hands but they did cough up the cash eventually.

I was also rear-ended on the freeway Jan 04. Ford Expedition going about 20 plowed into my stationary Yakima Hitchfork. They are heck for stout racks and saved me from worse damage but the rack had to be replaced as well as the back door of my Trooper. USAA paid for everything, no questions asked.

Talk to your agent and read your policy. Keeping the records on your bikes or having an LBS that knows your bike and can write up an appraisal is absolutely critical. We did not need an additional rider on any sports equipment but every policy and company is different.

[Dogmama]

I have a custom bike & I checked with my agent (State Farm). He said to keep all receipts and to take pictures of the bike. I have replacement insurance also & I made sure he knew how much I paid for the bike. My homeowners covers it.

[Dirt Girl]

Whatever you choose to do, just made sure you have the full scoop from your insurance company. We've been with Allstate for about 18 years. A few years ago, my $1500 mountain bike was stolen from the rack on the car. (I don't use cable locks anymore--sliced right through it like butter.) It was covered under our full replacement value homeowners insurance. The part they didn't tell us was that once you have 3 claims within a certain time period (we had ice maker water line damage twice within a couple of years), no matter how large or small the claims ($1500 or $15,000) it's the NUMBER of claims that count. Reach that limit and they tack on a claim surcharge to your rates. Our rate went up 44% for a period of 3 years. So we pretty much would be paying for a large portion of the bike anyway. We ended up raising the deductible to lower the rate and have learned that homeowners insurance is strictly for catastrophic loss. When we tried to find a different company nobody wanted us unless we wanted to pay for high risk insurance.

[brok]

ladies, I will speak with my agent tomorrow and get very specific information from him. Thanks again, I knew you would come through. I so enjoy reading all the information and generally lurking around to see what is going on.

[singletrackmind]

Very important!!! Not only do you want pictures but also make darned sure you get the serial numbers off your bikes!!! Register them with your local police, too, if they have that sort of program. Talk to your insurance company about what is and isn't covered and when.

One of the guys around here had his road bike stolen out of the back of his pickup camper. His auto insurance did NOT cover the $4,000 loss. I don't know if it was because the truck was parked in front of his home?? His wife wouldn't let him claim the bike on her homeowners either (bad word here). Luckily for him someone saw the bike on Ebay and let him know. He contacted police and they did find his bike. Unfortunately all he had was pictures-no id numbers and the police were not going to let him have the bike back without it. Fortunately he had a really odd setup on his bike that wasn't stock and very unusual to see. After talking to Trek, the shop he bought it from and the local shop where he'd just had the bike repaired the day before it disappeared they did decide the bike was his after all. YAY!!

Anyway, cover your butts well, ladies!

[neuroticcyclist]

At the risk of weighing in with serious conversation, first, the answer depends on your homeowners policy. Many cover "personalty" which includes bikes, furniture, a limited amount of jewelry and that electronic stuff. You have to be able to prove it, etc. and often it does not even need to be in the home. Mine covers my bikes, but they will depreciate, as with all items. Whether they depreciate or do replacement cost depends on YOUR policy.

Second, when you are talking bikes and autos, you have an issue of conflicting policies. You need to read your auto policy and see what provisions it has for losses of personal property or whether the bike is excluded as mobile equipment. This is esoteric stuff, but needs to be done. Just like - your auto policy may not cover that CD player you install - gotta read about add-ins to the vehicle - may not be covered.

Third, I noted a bunch of folks used the word AGENT. Remember, AGENTS work for the insurance company, not for you! Brokers have a duty of care for the insured (that is YOU) not the company, so make sure you REALLY trust the AGENT you are going to or go to someone else.

Last but not least, claims typically do raise your premium. Some companies give 3 bites at the apple. Others less. Others just drop you. Of course, that is not what the insurance commissioner is told, but... is the result.