Stolen S-Works + Insurance Nightmare

[richkm20]

Hi all I got a 2006 S-Works stolen from my garage along with 2 other bikes a month or so ago and now I'm in the process of turning in paperwork to the insurance company. I've got pictures of the Gary Fisher and a receipt for the Trek but am having a real tough time with the S-Works. Can't find any pics of it and on top of that all the receipts got thrown out with the 3+ moves I've made over that time span. The adjuster said that they need proof of my S-Works and I wanted to ask if anyone has had a problem like mine and what they did to remedy the situation. Thanks for all your feedback

[Glide the Clyde]

Maybe contact the shop you bought it from and see if they have bike purchase records archived somewhere? Did you register the bike with Speshy so they could help with verification?

[rogerfromco]

Will that take a witness statement from a neighbor or riding buddy? It's not like you are claiming a 2012 S-works!

[richkm20]

Nope "no 2nd party accounts" as they say and the biggest problem is that i got a 2006 sworks frame from a shop that was going out of business off ebay and never did register the frame with specialized, then pieced it together with the parts that i wanted. Ebay account got closed down ages ago for inactivity and the credit card i used to buy the other stuff got cancelled a long time ago so i can't go down that road. Just frustrated with the whole thing, you never think someone is going to bust into your garage and grab your stuff. They won't even accept a sworn affidavit saying i owned it, anyone mind lending me some pics?

[crimecrusher]

File a police report then file with insurance. First thing I do with every bike is photograph it including serial #.

[richkm20]

I did fill out a police report along with pictures of the section of plywood they pried loose to get into our garage from our neighbor's always open garage (i live in an apartment so all the garages are linked together) so frustrated with the whole thing maybe i should print out some pics of a similar bike from the internet, ugh

[LyNx]

So you had an S-Works and never took one photograph of it, yet had a Trek and GF and have pics of those? If I was the insurance company and had a clue about bikes I'd also be suspicious of your claim. I've got at least one photograph of EVERY bike I've even owned, from the first crappy one up to my $$ FS I currently own.

[rogerfromco]

I did fill out a police report along with pictures of the section of plywood they pried loose to get into our garage from our neighbor's always open garage (i live in an apartment so all the garages are linked together) so frustrated with the whole thing maybe i should print out some pics of a similar bike from the internet, ugh

DO NOT do that. Google now has a feature where you can "search images" and if they are questioning the claim, they can and probably will do that. My wife is a paralegal and does this on claims all the time. If caught, the whole claim will come into question and providing false photos (evidence) will raise questions of fraud.

I'd call the old credit card company, explain the situation and see if they can provide past statements. Did you ever post on Facebook or Twitter about being out riding that bike before it was stolen? That could serve as evidence of ownership.

Also, since you said they got into your garage from your neighbor's garage, are you dealing with "your insurance company" or the neighbor's / apt complex's insurance company? If you are working with one of the latter, they are going to try hard to avoid paying a claim, but your insurance company may provide advice/help on how to deal with them.

[richkm20]

So you had an S-Works and never took one photograph of it, yet had a Trek and GF and have pics of those? If I was the insurance company and had a clue about bikes I'd also be suspicious of your claim. I've got at least one photograph of EVERY bike I've even owned, from the first crappy one up to my $$ FS I currently own.

The pics of the GF are from way back in the day when i used to race, and my girlfriend had just bought her Trek over the summer so we still had the receipt. And for the s-works i bought a frame off e-bay and proceeded to build it from a few parts off of a K2 razorback i owned at the time along with upgrades i did (XTR rd + shifter pods, Rockshox SID, etc) Talked to the insurance people and they will accept owners manuals so it looks like i get to rummage through boxes of stuff and hope i can find the paperwork that came with the bike.

[richkm20]

DO NOT do that. Google now has a feature where you can "search images" and if they are questioning the claim, they can and probably will do that. My wife is a paralegal and does this on claims all the time. If caught, the whole claim will come into question and providing false photos (evidence) will raise questions of fraud.

I'd call the old credit card company, explain the situation and see if they can provide past statements. Did you ever post on Facebook or Twitter about being out riding that bike before it was stolen? That could serve as evidence of ownership.

Also, since you said they got into your garage from your neighbor's garage, are you dealing with "your insurance company" or the neighbor's / apt complex's insurance company? If you are working with one of the latter, they are going to try hard to avoid paying a claim, but your insurance company may provide advice/help on how to deal with them.

No we are dealing with our insurance company via renters insurance, the apt complex has a clause in the lease saying they are not responsible for stolen property and all that

[richkm20]

Update! Checked my old paypal account and found receipts for the frame, fork, shifter pods, f+r derailleurs and a few others, now to find the owners manuals for they other missing pieces, happy day!

[rogerfromco]

Update! Checked my old paypal account and found receipts for the frame, fork, shifter pods, f+r derailleurs and a few others, now to find the owners manuals for they other missing pieces, happy day!

That's great! The experience you've had would make me consider switching insurance carriers though. And is breakout the camera and document other valuables.

Sent from my Android - because Carrier Pigeons are slow!

[TwoTone]

That's great! The experience you've had would make me consider switching insurance carriers though. And is breakout the camera and document other valuables.

Sent from my Android - because Carrier Pigeons are slow!

And you think any other company wouldn't react the same. None of them are just going to pay out on big ticket items without proof.

[richkm20]

And you think any other company wouldn't react the same. None of them are just going to pay out on big ticket items without proof.

Yeah but it makes me wonder what they would do if it were a fire instead of theft. I guess I'd box up my melted TV and other belongings and ship them to the insurance company as my proof

[tooclosetosee]

yea, I was going to recommend going through your email account and do a search for the ebay transaction. That is if you have your transactions emailed to you. I think they would, all mine have been.

[TwoTone]

Yeah but it makes me wonder what they would do if it were a fire instead of theft. I guess I'd box up my melted TV and other belongings and ship them to the insurance company as my proof

Actually, I've been told by more than one agent to go through my home with a video camera and document what I have, especially big ticket items and give that tape to family to keep in case of a fire.

[rogerfromco]

And you think any other company wouldn't react the same. None of them are just going to pay out on big ticket items without proof.

Like I said earlier, my wife is a Paralegal and deals with settling insurance matters all the time. Policies generally have a limit on "contents" that are insured and they know you don't have a receipt for everything, heck most of it for that matter. The do "ask" for receipts, but often have to settle for a inventory of contents written down by the insured after the loss.