Insurance claim after accident

A

ajanthan

Member
Hello;

This is my first post and maybe a post about my last ride.

Last Friday, I was involved in a hit and run while riding my bike on the 401 to visit my parents in Toronto (my first ever accident). I don't spend a great deal of time on the 401 but had my M2 exit at the end of the month and thought I could use the practice. The only reason I even saw the car was, I was checking my blind spots and turning my head like I was doing the M2 exit. Needless to say, it didn't help when I saw the car cut across from the left most lane into mine or that I didn't get the plate.

Anyways, I'm just starting to deal with my insurance company, work etc, after recovering from surgery.

One of the first things I was told by friends was get my bike out of the impound because of the storage fees.

The problems I'm facing with my insurance company are as follows:
1) I didn't know if my bike was a wreck or not (as defined by the insurance appraiser) until just this Friday (ambulance straight to the hospital) but am now being told I need to make a decision by Monday where I want my bike fixed so they can get it out of the impound. This seems ridiculously short notice especially when they won't provide me a preferred shop and I don't have time to sit around calling shops (seeing a nurse every day or being doped for pain). How soon after the appraisal do I have (bike is in Milton, I'd like it fixed in Toronto since I have Yamaha dealer there that did my servicing)

2) After a lot of though, I'm pretty sure I won't be riding again. I'd rather just get cash value for my bike. But my insurer doesn't consider it a wreck. Instead they're offering to just give me whatever they appraised the repair to be minus my deductible (since no one got the plate of the other car), which works out to jut $1400.
Is this legal or can I request the bluebook value of my motorcycle (I bought it last year and ended up finding out it was $5600 then)

3) Is it reasonible for me to expect the insurance company to pay for my repaired bike to be towed to my current address (living with my parents since I can't take care of myself right now). I don't have very many friends that ride and I can't ride it for a few months. Also, I wouldn't be able to let anyone drop my bike off at my apartment (not living there and I'd have to open the security gate)

4) My gear was damaged and cut up by the paramedics so I need it replaced. I have what's left of my gear but probably won't be able to find receipts. No one from the insurance company sees interested in helping me with this process or telling me what they need, I've offered to provide them the product names and what the cost on the web (cdn websites) is. What is typically required?

5) Finally, I had a laptop backpack on. So I told them that it was wrecked but my laptop worked. They were quick to note they didn't need to reimburse me for a laptop and then told me that they couldn't my bag since it isn't "required to operate the motorcycle" and that since no one can identify the other vehicle involved, they can't reimburse me for it.

I'm left feeling tricked and pressured by my insurance company. Any help / answers are greatly appreciated.
 
Get a lawyer.
Your gear is covered by accident benefits. Everything from your jacket to your underwear. Your backpack and laptop is covered, but under your home owners insurance / content insurance. Your helmet is covered under the property damage / auto portion of the claim.

Sucks what happened to you, but don't let one bad experience destroy what could be a pleasure lifetime experience.

As for the lawyer go with a decent lawyer. There's a lot of scumbag ones out there who just want to bilk your insurance money. Neinstien & assoc are good ones, as is Thompson & Rogers.

Good luck to you. Again, sorry about your luck
 
Sorry to hear about your accident. GET A LAWYER.
I'm not an expert, but a couple of things I noticed:

1) If you don't plan on riding again at all - keep in mind the resale value on an accident vehicle is going to drop significantly. I would consider settling with the insurance company and taking a payout. If you choose to have the bike repaired, I would suggest having them take it to a dealership as all costs should be covered. I wouldn't think they have any preferred shops for motorcycles.

2) You have not mentioned what kind of bike it is. How much did you buy the bike for? How much are they valuing the bike? If you search some threads here, you will see that other people had to FIGHT the insurance company to get more.. and often they did. this includes searching kijiji, autotrader and other sites for the same bike and making the insurance company aware of the market value. The key word here is, fight.

3) I'm not sure. I believe the insurance company will cover the charge to the accident centre and to the shop doing the work. I could be wrong. If it's not going to a shop to be repaired, I don't see why they would pay to drop it off anywhere else as that is not in line with their interests (i.e. fix it or write it off).

4) I've never heard of gear being covered - but i'd be interested in knowing the outcome of this. If you don't have receipts, it will be another uphill battle. I think it would also need to be in the police report documenting which gear exactly etc.

5) Again, don't think they will reimburse you based on the answer given - "required to operate the motorcycle". Usually these things are covered under your home owners insurance policy. You technically could have been wearing a Rolex which broke, but that's not covered under your motorcycle policy as it is not "required to operate the motorcycle". In the event of a crash however, you could claim it through your home-owners insurance policy with covers personal items.

Good luck & speedy recovery - let us know how it goes.

If you don't plan on riding again... push for a higher settlement... fixing the bike will not give you a good return (imo)
 
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Dresden said:
Sorry to hear about your accident. GET A LAWYER.
I'm not an expert, but a couple of things I noticed:

1) If you don't plan on riding again at all - keep in mind the resale value on an accident vehicle is going to drop significantly. I would consider settling with the insurance company and taking a payout. If you choose to have the bike repaired, I would suggest having them take it to a dealership as all costs should be covered. I wouldn't think they have any preferred shops for motorcycles.

2) You have not mentioned what kind of bike it is. How much did you buy the bike for? How much are they valuing the bike? If you search some threads here, you will see that other people had to FIGHT the insurance company to get more.. and often they did. this includes searching kijiji, autotrader and other sites for the same bike and making the insurance company aware of the market value. The key word here is, fight.

3) I'm not sure. I believe the insurance company will cover the charge to the accident centre and to the shop doing the work. I could be wrong. If it's not going to a shop to be repaired, I don't see why they would pay to drop it off anywhere else as that is not in line with their interests (i.e. fix it or write it off).

4) I've never heard of gear being covered - but i'd be interested in knowing the outcome of this. If you don't have receipts, it will be another uphill battle. I think it would also need to be in the police report documenting which gear exactly etc.

5) Again, don't think they will reimburse you based on the answer given - "required to operate the motorcycle". Usually these things are covered under your home owners insurance policy. You technically could have been wearing a Rolex which broke, but that's not covered under your motorcycle policy as it is not "required to operate the motorcycle". In the event of a crash however, you could claim it through your home-owners insurance policy with covers personal items.

Good luck & speedy recovery - let us know how it goes.

If you don't plan on riding again... push for a higher settlement... fixing the bike will not give you a good return (imo)
Click to expand...


When I totalled my bike after hitting a deer they replaced all my gear except my jeans because they weren't motorcycle specific. They also paid for the towing fees if I remember correctly.
 
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Dresden said:
Sorry to hear about your accident. GET A LAWYER.
I'm not an expert, but a couple of things I noticed:

1) If you don't plan on riding again at all - keep in mind the resale value on an accident vehicle is going to drop significantly. I would consider settling with the insurance company and taking a payout. If you choose to have the bike repaired, I would suggest having them take it to a dealership as all costs should be covered. I wouldn't think they have any preferred shops for motorcycles.

2) You have not mentioned what kind of bike it is. How much did you buy the bike for? How much are they valuing the bike? If you search some threads here, you will see that other people had to FIGHT the insurance company to get more.. and often they did. this includes searching kijiji, autotrader and other sites for the same bike and making the insurance company aware of the market value. The key word here is, fight.

Its a 2010 Yamaha FZ6R that I paid $6500 for at the start of last season. Since I'm only being offered $1400, I don't think I have much to lose if I get it repaired. Considering getting it dealer repaired should let me safety it easily, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to get at least half what I paid or at least more than what Statefarm offered when all said and done.

3) I'm not sure. I believe the insurance company will cover the charge to the accident centre and to the shop doing the work. I could be wrong. If it's not going to a shop to be repaired, I don't see why they would pay to drop it off anywhere else as that is not in line with their interests (i.e. fix it or write it off).

4) I've never heard of gear being covered - but i'd be interested in knowing the outcome of this. If you don't have receipts, it will be another uphill battle. I think it would also need to be in the police report documenting which gear exactly etc.

I've had a coworker have all his gear reimbursed when he fell...

5) Again, don't think they will reimburse you based on the answer given - "required to operate the motorcycle". Usually these things are covered under your home owners insurance policy. You technically could have been wearing a Rolex which broke, but that's not covered under your motorcycle policy as it is not "required to operate the motorcycle". In the event of a crash however, you could claim it through your home-owners insurance policy with covers personal items.

Good luck & speedy recovery - let us know how it goes.

If you don't plan on riding again... push for a higher settlement... fixing the bike will not give you a good return (imo)
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'd ruled out a lawyer sine I have decent STD coverage through work and I thought statefarm was reasonable to work with. But so far they've made everything difficult.
 
ajanthan said:
Thanks, I'd ruled out a lawyer sine I have decent STD coverage through work and I thought statefarm was reasonable to work with. But so far they've made everything difficult.
Click to expand...

I don't see how they are offering you only $1400 for a 2010 FZ6R. Something is amiss. That's beyond lowball.

I would forward them a few that are currently for sale and fight for market value.


Learned something new. gear is covered.
 
I crashed my 2003 Katana in 2008 while insured with Kingsway, Sand was spread over 3 of the 4 lanes in a corner and I went down sliding across the road into a ditch. So it was a single vehicle accident and I was declared at fault.

Insurance priced the damage out to around $4400 IIRC. For my gear they replaced everything BUT required me to mail everything in to them except the helmet. I didn't have any receipts either, the shop I bought the helmet from closed, jacket and pants were from kijiji & ebay, boots from Sturgess. Sturgess Cycle hooked me up with with a estimate for the replacement of all my gear. Funnily enough the one thing I remember is they asked me if I actually had all the gear I was getting a quote for, apparently some guy claimed he crashed in a nice spyke suit when he sent in his claimed and got screwed when they asked for it.

Anyway your numbers seem low, at the time my katana had 86,000kms on it and was 5 years old, I got $3300 IIRC for everything. I ended up paying the deductable, buying the bike back for $1300, paying off the rest of the loan on it and riding it for 2 more years and another 30-35,000 kms after replacing an $120 engine cover.
 
Yup, like the guy above mentioned make sure you have all the gear you crashed with if you intend on getting it covered because they will ask you to send it in.
 
Dresden said:
I don't see how they are offering you only $1400 for a 2010 FZ6R. Something is amiss. That's beyond lowball.

I would forward them a few that are currently for sale and fight for market value.


Learned something new. gear is covered.
Click to expand...

The Bike isn't a total loss. They're not offering $1400 to replace the bike. The way I'm reading this is that the repairs are $1900 - $500 deductible = $1400 (Or $2400 - $1000 ded = $1400)
You can't abandon the vehicle.
 
Slono said:
Yup, like the guy above mentioned make sure you have all the gear you crashed with if you intend on getting it covered because they will ask you to send it in.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I have all the gear I was wearing and was only seeking compensation for what I was wearing. I made no mention of my other pair of gloves etc, I figure I could always put those articles on kijiji.
 
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