insurance pay out query?

andy83

Just wondered if anyone can help with regard to insurance pay outs

had bike stolen last weekend and is insured on the house insurance which i have put a claim in for

now my question is will they give me the cash towards a new bike or make me pick one from a shop

only reason is i have a new bike coming on the c2w scheme and would like to get some decent lights and a new comp for bike. also will then be able to save up for a new winter bike over the summer months

so ideally id like the cash but not sure that will happen so will prob get a bike to sell it if i have to. now the question is will the insurance company demand i keep the bike for x amount of months or not care, and if i were to sell it what would be the best option of bike to get, my insurance covers me upto £500 so anything around that

this is all in the hope they pay out as it was an old frame with all new components, however have sent the receipts for all i put on the bike, luckily bought all online apart from tyres
also will i struggle to get my new bike insured with say cyclegurad now i have made a claim

nation

They will probably have a cycle supplier, and will give them the details of what you lost and get them to make a judgement on what a reasonable replacement is.

In practice, they'll try to provide you with the cheapest bike that seems to meet the spec of of your old one, and the cash equivalent that you could get will be the amount of money that the insurance company would pay for it (note that this will almost certainly be significantly less than RRP, insurance companies get huge discounts, for bikes usually of the order of 20-30%).

Regarding what you do with the bike you get (assuming you take it), the insurance company won't care. It's your bike.

andy83

thought as much

shining light is frame prob worth nothing but had a deore xt set up apart from the chainset which was just deore so should go in my favour when they offer me an alternative

maybe the avalanche or summin

ironic thing is i did want to upgrade my bike back to mountain bike once road bike arrived but with holiday and credit crunch etc dont think i can justify two bike just right now, as much as i owuld like to lol

lost_in_thought

Put your foot down, show them the receipts, tell them you'll settle for nothing less than what you paid for it, as long as it was bought within 12 months of the claim, outside of that allow a %age depreciation.

Worked for me. I got the full value of my (not very valuable) bike back in cash. Well, a cheque...

nation

One thing to bear in mind is that they are required to offer you like-for-like, in that they have get as close as possible to what you lost (assuming you have a new-for-old policy).

If you can go out and buy the same thing again, and the best they can provide is something "similar", they should give you the full cost of replacement in cash.

andy83

well prob is im only insured upto £500 on house and definitely paid that for all the parts

sent them all recipts except for rear mech and chainset but sent them photos of all parts aswell

most parts were outside of 12 months and i aint got receipt for frame as bike originally bought in 2005

spose will just have to wait to see what they offer me

might say that i dont want a new bike until we can get somewhere more suitable to secure it and may be when we move, or will they say i can just wait til then to get the bike

andy83

nation wrote:

One thing to bear in mind is that they are required to offer you like-for-like, in that they have get as close as possible to what you lost (assuming you have a new-for-old policy).

If you can go out and buy the same thing again, and the best they can provide is something "similar", they should give you the full cost of replacement in cash.

do you work in insurance??

how would be the best way to approach them asking just for the cash and not replacement

nation

andy83 wrote:

nation wrote:

One thing to bear in mind is that they are required to offer you like-for-like, in that they have get as close as possible to what you lost (assuming you have a new-for-old policy).

If you can go out and buy the same thing again, and the best they can provide is something "similar", they should give you the full cost of replacement in cash.

do you work in insurance??

how would be the best way to approach them asking just for the cash and not replacement

Yeah, I used to handle home insurance claims.

The best way to get cash out of them is probably to wait and see what they offer you, then start picking holes. If the bike actually cost more to build than it's insured for, they might just pay out at the limit anyway.

If they do offer a replacement, find something on the spec to contest, e.g. if your's was all XT, don't accept anything that doesn't have full XT. You can usually get away with insisting on current equivalents of the stuff you lost (eg. '09 XT as a replacement for '08).

What was the actual spec of the bike? Is it the one in your sig?

beverick

This is definately a RTFM moment as the payout will depend on the cover you bought with your policy. Many insurers will give you vouchers to a specific value for a high street retailer (I'd wager Halfords or perhaps Evans in this case).

Regarding bikes, most policies I looked at when I renewed our household insurance last year offer a generic 'adjusted' value up to a maximum (typically £500) based on the current replacement value of the bike. The amount will be 'adjusted' depending on factors such as the age of the bike, what it is used primarily and the circumstances of the loss. Some policies allow bikes (and other valuable items) to be named specifically and will, again depending on the policy, be covered by new-for-old*.

If you've noted the bike as a specific item against the policy, you may well get a direct replacement under a 'new for old*' clause or the current retail value of the bike. You will almost certainly need either a recent valuation or the initial sales invoice for specific items.

*In my experience new-for-old policies only tend to cover the item up to a defined time or up to a specific value, up to one or two years old for example, after that you get an adjusted amount.

Two worked examples based on my bikes:

1) My road bike was bought for £1299 in 2003. It is used primarily for weekend runs and the occasional dry commute. It was professionally resprayed and rebuilt using Shimano 105 drive-train in 2008 at a cost of £500 +/-. I have retained all receipts, I have the initial sales recept and have photographs of the rebuild. The bike is no longer available but is named as a 'specific item on the household policy with an 'agreed value' of £1500. If it were stolen from, say outside a cafe on a cake stop and assuming I had the 'sold secure' chain fitted I would expect to receive most of the original cost of the bike. I'd be unhappy with much less than £1000.

2) The commuter 'hack' is a 1990 Dawes Discovery and cost £450. It receives occasional maintenance and is used almost exclusively for commuting 20 mioles per day across Leeds. It does get the occasional "wet weather 20" at the weekend. It is covered by the generic sporting goods "up to £500" clause on the policy. If it were stolen from outside the local supermaket on the way home I'd expect to be offered between £50 and £100.

Bob

andy83

yea its the one in my sig, with a few extra things added since then like new handlebar grips etc

when i went to bike shop i think they said the equivilant was a gt avalanche due to the state of the frame and forks it would not be equivalent to a bike with xt set

to be honest aint got the space for two bikes so even if they give me a new bike think ill have to get rid of it

andy83

beverick wrote:

This is definately a RTFM moment as the payout will depend on the cover you bought with your policy. Many insurers will give you vouchers to a specific value for a high street retailer (I'd wager Halfords or perhaps Evans in this case).

Regarding bikes, most policies I looked at when I renewed our household insurance last year offer a generic 'adjusted' value up to a maximum (typically £500) based on the current replacement value of the bike. The amount will be 'adjusted' depending on factors such as the age of the bike, what it is used primarily and the circumstances of the loss. Some policies allow bikes (and other valuable items) to be named specifically and will, again depending on the policy, be covered by new-for-old*.

If you've noted the bike as a specific item against the policy, you may well get a direct replacement under a 'new for old*' clause or the current retail value of the bike. You will almost certainly need either a recent valuation or the initial sales invoice for specific items.

*In my experience new-for-old policies only tend to cover the item up to a defined time or up to a specific value, up to one or two years old for example, after that you get an adjusted amount.

Two worked examples based on my bikes:

1) My road bike was bought for £1299 in 2003. It is used primarily for weekend runs and the occasional dry commute. It was professionally resprayed and rebuilt using Shimano 105 drive-train in 2008 at a cost of £500 +/-. I have retained all receipts, I have the initial sales recept and have photographs of the rebuild. The bike is no longer available but is named as a 'specific item on the household policy with an 'agreed value' of £1500. If it were stolen from, say outside a cafe on a cake stop and assuming I had the 'sold secure' chain fitted I would expect to receive most of the original cost of the bike. I'd be unhappy with much less than £1000.

2) The commuter 'hack' is a 1990 Dawes Discovery and cost £450. It receives occasional maintenance and is used almost exclusively for commuting 20 mioles per day across Leeds. It does get the occasional "wet weather 20" at the weekend. It is covered by the generic sporting goods "up to £500" clause on the policy. If it were stolen from outside the local supermaket on the way home I'd expect to be offered between £50 and £100.

Bob

i have that generic upto £500, was hard to get it insured with other companies due to being in a shed and house. as i say i have sent them photos of the parts before put on the bike, when they were on bike and copies of the reciepts i had from paypal

when i spoke to one of the insures regarding the claim i said i had already been spoken to and i would recieve a call later in the week, and he said "oh from wheelies" to which i replied no as they hadnt said if my claim was successful. so im guessing they will offer me summin from there

will be gutted if i get anything less than £450 for it to be honest

nation

What's your insurance company?

They usually put their policy wordings on their websites, so I could have a look for you.

CiB

I had to claim for a new bike four years ago when my old one was mashed in a meeting with a VW Polo. This was with NU; policies vary.

The claim went in and was agreed with no hassle. I asked if I could take a cash payout and use it for something higher spec of my own choice, from any dealer. Yes was the answer. Not a problem; I get a price for the new bike with the dealer's VAT number etc on it, show it to the insurer and they'll pay me the claim amount to help fund the new bike. I got this confirmed twice before going ahead to order the new machine. When I called them back to finish the whole process a different advisor told me that NU only deal with Halfords where they have a discount so would pay towards the new bike from the LBS that I'd used, but would deduct 25% to match the Halfords discount. Alternatively I could pick something from the Halfords range, as if... Upshot was a full & frank exchange of views, references to previous conversations etc and a lot of toing & froing before they eventually agreed that having told me I could use my claim to fund the new bike, they would honour it. What a performance.

andy83

nation wrote:

What's your insurance company?

They usually put their policy wordings on their websites, so I could have a look for you.

legal and general

was thinking could i say to them i have had to arrange to get another bike as its my way of getting to work so can i have the cash or cheque

cheers

andy83

ChrisInBicester wrote:

I had to claim for a new bike four years ago when my old one was mashed in a meeting with a VW Polo. This was with NU; policies vary.

The claim went in and was agreed with no hassle. I asked if I could take a cash payout and use it for something higher spec of my own choice, from any dealer. Yes was the answer. Not a problem; I get a price for the new bike with the dealer's VAT number etc on it, show it to the insurer and they'll pay me the claim amount to help fund the new bike. I got this confirmed twice before going ahead to order the new machine. When I called them back to finish the whole process a different advisor told me that NU only deal with Halfords where they have a discount so would pay towards the new bike from the LBS that I'd used, but would deduct 25% to match the Halfords discount. Alternatively I could pick something from the Halfords range, as if... Upshot was a full & frank exchange of views, references to previous conversations etc and a lot of toing & froing before they eventually agreed that having told me I could use my claim to fund the new bike, they would honour it. What a performance.

thats what im concerned about, the fact they use wheelies and would want me to get a bike from them would mean if they offer me the cash i would lose their discount.

think from your story when they ring me up to discuss i will try get the first person to agree to giving me the cash towards a new bike as they will have that documented.

to be honest i need to replace lights and computer so would rather money be put towards this

andy83

just had interesting chat and they said that i will get a call from their bike supplier wheelies offering a like for like replacement

however i said i may need to get a bike sooner as its my way of getting everywhere and fitness and could i ask for the claim to be paid out in cash towards new bike im getting and they said this was perfectly fine

also said will prob just pay out the limit of £500 if the bike is worth more than that which will do me fine as got some of the parts for bargains and ill only be losing around £100 which is prob about right for depreciation costs

also c2w vouchers been sent to my work and should be with me in a few days time to get my new bike

happy days

CiB

Result.

Bit late now (I should have added it in my tale of woe) but it was useful in my case to have made a point of getting the name of the person who sanctioned the payout. That was what swung it for me, being able to refer back to when Cecil (or whoever it was) said this and Cecil was quite specific that a full cash payout would be made etc etc.

andy83

well think when i speak to wheelies i hope they dont try fob me off as i know what my bike was worth, i will turn that down saying nothing i want from their site then go back to insurance company and ask for a cash pay out.

however didnt get the name of the bloke i spoke to today although the claims department aint looked at my photos etc yet

really pleased they said a cash payout is an option, need to replace lights and comp etc, also could pay off my holiday lol

nation

andy83 wrote:

well think when i speak to wheelies i hope they dont try fob me off as i know what my bike was worth, i will turn that down saying nothing i want from their site then go back to insurance company and ask for a cash pay out.

For what it's worth, Wheelies are actually really good as an insurance replacement service. I've dealt with them before (from the insurance side) and it's rare that we had arguments over their offered settlements.

They can source just about anything (and they mean it, unlike other companies I could mention), you're not restricted to what's available from their website.

As an example, I dealt with a claim for a stolen custom Orange 224. Wheelies built another one to the same spec and delivered it, we (as the insurance company) got a massive discount.

andy83

cheers for that

hopefully then they will give my bike a proper value then i can see what the insurance company will give me as a cash pay out. fact need to get a bike much sooner than i will prob get one sorted insurance said can put the cash to a new bike i have had to get already