Kevin

That's not an RV, it's a mobile CX support unit, and a darn fine one at that, or so we've been told. ;-)

Chris Cortez

I had a bike stolen from my garage last week. I spoke with my agent,
who explained the claims process to me. My bike will presumably be
covered. A few things:

1. I have a $1000 deductible. The bike is worth quite a bit more than
that, but clearly I won't recover enough post-deductible $$ from the
claim to replace it. My agent said that $1000 is the "normal"
deductible she sets people up with. I don't know how much additional
it costs annually to buy a policy with a lower deductible, but you
might consider it, especially because homeowners insurance is fairly
inexpensive to start with, and...

2. Making a claim adds a little bit of cost to your policy annually
for a period of a few years. (I'm sure this is a "fee" of some sort.)
I am told this will be $50-75 a year for a period of three years; that
the amount depends at least in part on the size of the claim; and that
all companies basically do the same thing (I.e. I shouldn't be mad at
SAFECO b/c their insurance products work the same as everyone else's).

3. Making a claim also exposes you to the "multiple claims" situation.
Apparently, if you make two claims in a period of 3 years, your cost
gets jacked way up and finding coverage from other companies is more
difficult. With 3 claims, nearly uninsurable. Something like that
anyway.

I am currently considering whether or not to make a claim on my bike
due to all that stuff. It is pretty lame to pay for a product that you
are so heavily disincentivized to use; and I've paid for decades for
car insurance without ever making a claim... so I'm inclined to make
the claim on principle. (And hey, at least my deductible will already
be paid when I make that next claim, which may raise my costs higher
than what I recovered from the first claim...) But principle turns out
to be a terrible mechanism for choosing a path in a financial/legal
matter, so I remain undecided. ;)

Anyway, that's what I've learned in the last week. I'm not a lawyer,
but Mark is, and he has a sweet RV for sale for $1000. (He didn't
mention it, so I thought I would.)

Good luck!
Chris

On Oct 31, 2011, at 10:20 AM, Mark J. Ginsberg wrote:

> well . . . .
>
> The person who sells insurance is an Agent,
> The person who would deal with a claim is an Adjuster.
>
> The contract between you and an insurance company is the Policy.
>
> You need to read the policy to see what is and what is not covered,
> but (hang on here) most companies won't let you see the policy until
> AFTER you have signed up!!
>
> I would ask the Agent WHY they would not be covered.
> They ask if you can purchase a rider (no pun intended), which is an
> add-on to the policy for a specific item or group of items.
>
> For example, my wife's engagement ring has it's own special rider on
> our homeowners insurance.
> Sometimes big specific things have their own riders, it used to be
> fur coats, and jewelery, but it could be anything.
>
> M
>
> Mark J. Ginsberg
> Berkshire Ginsberg, LLC
> Attorneys At Law
> 1216 SE Belmont St.
> Portland, OR 97214
> (503) 542-3000
> Fax (503) 233-6874
> markjginsberg@yahoo.com
> www.bikesafetylaw.com
> From: Hazel
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2011 11:45 PM
> Subject: [OBRA Chat] OT: homeowner's insurance
>
> I'm in the process of buying a house and shopping around for
> homeowner's insurance. When I asked the person that was recommended
> to me about bikes being covered, I was told they could not be
> covered. Any advice on this or recommendations of companies that can
> offer insurance on bikes?
> Please respond off list,
> Hazel
>
> Sent from the lab
>
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Mark J. Ginsberg

well . . . .

Hazel

I'm in the process of buying a house and shopping around for homeowner's insurance. When I asked the person that was recommended to me about bikes being covered, I was told they could not be covered. Any advice on this or recommendations of companies that can offer insurance on bikes?
Please respond off list,
Hazel

Sent from the lab