Insurance coverage on a totalled trike?

[Ken45]

For any of you who have had a trike wrecked and "totaled", what kind of settlement did you get? (You can PM me if you would prefer.)

As mentioned in another message, we were involved in a wreck (other party cited). The trike (bought new two years ago) was totaled. After dragging their feet, Safeco/Liberty Mutual/Ohio Casualty is telling us they will only give us 2/3rds of what we have in the trike.

I feel that we have been victimized by the reckless driver and now getting the double screw from the insurance company.

Is this typical to lose out this bad?

(We have a lawyer for the medical issues but he is not handling the vehicle damage part.)

Thanks,

Ken

[Gorilla]

Ken I suggest you might get the lawyer involved in the trike part. If the trike is 2 years old it has depreciated. They are going to try and give you the least they can get away with. 2/3's is a little low. Here's where you have leverage is your injuries. You can recover some of the trike from your pain and suffering. Discuss the issue with your lawyer you are all ready have him involved just add the trike to it.

[Ken45]

Ken I suggest you might get the lawyer involved in the trike part. If the trike is 2 years old it has depreciated. They are going to try and give you the least they can get away with. 2/3's is a little low. Here's where you have leverage is your injuries. You can recover some of the trike from your pain and suffering. Discuss the issue with your lawyer you are all ready have him involved just add the trike to it.

The problem with getting a lawyer involved is that they want 1/3rd of the settlement. That's already what the insurance company is offering. I assume that's why the lawyer doesn't want to be involved in the property damage part.

I'm just curious how bad we get ripped off in an accident.

Ken

[pmar6004]

You shouldn't have to get a lawyer involved in the settlement of your trike. All you need is one, possibly two estimates as to your trikes fair market value, plus any accessories that were damaged beyond repair. Your trikes replacement cost - depreciation = fair market value. Your dealer who performed the conversion, or where you ordered your kit from (if you performed the conversion), should be able to give you an appraisal as to its fair market value, based on its condition (mileage/appearance, etc.). Good Luck!!!

Daydreamer

[saab9k]

They are supposed to replace yours in $ value retail, and furnish you a rent unit until you have settled.

[TouringOn2]

Something for others to think about. All insurance co. seem to try and beat you down for what is best for them. I insured my trike with Markel. I had my trike appraised and sent them pictures and the value of my after market items. Then Markel and I came to an Agreed upon value. If stolen, totaled, I get the agreed upon value less the $250 deductable. The agreed upon value is good for 3 years then we set another value for the next 3 years. I felt this was the best way to go for me. The price only went up about $20 over what I was paying before I triked it in August. Be safe and enjoy the ride. Markel phone # 800-236-2453 Larry

[Ozarkryder]

When Her Purpleness was totaled last year the insurance company insured the motorcycle part as it came from the factory, and everything else was under the accessory coverage. The trike kit, chrome stuff, custom seat, pin striping, etc. if it didn't come from the factory it was under accessory coverage which paid 100%. The adjuster went over the pictures with me about what the add on stuff cost and it came to just over a hundred dollars more than the amount of accessory coverage we bought.

Then there was bike part of it, got paid with a separate check. I contended that the stock motorcycle part of the trike, as researched on KBB, Cycle Trader, Ebay, and such was worth around $7000. The company contended the value was much less, as it was without a rear wheel, saddlebags, drivetrain, brake and lines, etc. When all the haggling ws done we got $1500 less than we paid for it plus another $1000 off for our deductible.

As it came out we basically rented the trike for $2500 over the 8 years we owned it.

Unsolicited advice from someone who has gone through this:

I shopped around to get insurance on the new trike that works the same- If you insure the trike as a unit make sure you get replacement coverage with an agreed value. We have a value on the original bike, then everything not from the factory is under a "customization" rider. Save the receipts for all I have added, and went through and documented all the stuff that came with it when we bought it and documented the the cost in Add On, Show Chrome and Kuryakyn catalogues, and keeping the catalogs as proof of cost. Was surprised when the total of the accessories was over $4600, and that doesn't include the Champion kit! Got an estimate from my favorite local shop for cost and labor to install a new kit on a bike, added the accessory prices I came up with, plus added a few thousand of customization coverage for good measure. After all that the insurance on the trike and my HD went down $60 per year with a company that carries our car and home insurance. The important part as I see it is the accessory coverage - get more than you think you need to be sure to cover all the extras and the trike kit.

[Gorilla]

Ken is dealing with the other persons insurance company not his own.

[Ken45]

They are supposed to replace yours in $ value retail, and furnish you a rent unit until you have settled.

What they are "supposed" to do and what they try to get away with are two different things. Then the issue becomes "how does one force them to be fair and honest?"

I kept asking about a "rental" unit (although neither my wife or I are in shape to ride) and they kept dodging the issue ("not until we accept liability", "we don't have a damage report", "the report was misfiled"...) then after five weeks they finally said they only provide a rental car, not a trike and gave me two days to sign their offer.

So much for Safeco/Liberty Mutual/Ohio Casualty.

It turns out that we have our farm insurance with Ohio Casualty, over $3200/year and I will be looking for a more decent company.

Ozarkryder and TouringOn2, those sound like a good ideas for your own insurance. But when the other driver is responsible (as in our case) and their insurance wants to rip you off..... I guess you can try to get your insurance to pay and then let them sue the other company. As of this point, it looks like I am going that route and will see how State Farm (my insurance) treats me.

Thanks for the comments.

Ken