What insurance??

[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.