RE: [CR]Insuring My Collection?

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PX-10LE)

content-class: urn:content-classes:message
Subject: RE: [CR]Insuring My Collection?
Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 10:56:16 -0400
Thread-Topic: [CR]Insuring My Collection?
Thread-Index: AcH3yXK7yDbydheyQ0ycYv9img1N8AAZCIyg
From: "Bingham, Wayne R." <WBINGHAM@imf.org>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>


Tony Z wrote:>>>Considering how ignorant many people are today concerning bikes and their values (or replacement value), I want to seek your collective thoughts on insuring my collection properly.<<<<

Since my wife is an insurance broker, and we've had several conversations on this subject in the past, I thought I'd add a little industry perspective.

Most home owner's (and renter's) insurance will cover collectables as part of the contents, contents generally valued at about 70% of the value of the home. Most policies also offer "replacement cost", but in the case of a claim, you might want to evaluate how to interpret the value. For example, my 1984 Trek 770R was Trek's top bike in '84. A case could be made that it should be replaced by Trek's top bike in 2002. If I believed that the value of the '84 Trek was MORE than their current top model, I would have to establish that in some fashion. The thing to remember is that the burden of proof is on you, and documentation is the key! Photos (lots) and full, detailed descriptions (including all the parts) help, as does any and all other supporting material. Records of prior sales, advertised prices, etc., etc. If you have a '75 Masi, you might want to be printing all the EBay auction results of similar bikes (or $308 Gran Sport shifters, if you have some of those). Anything that you can gather and file away that helps establish the value of whatever it is you wish to make a claim on, the better chance you have of winning the settlement negotiations. And there will be negotiations! The insurance company is not going to take your list of bikes and what you think they're worth and write you a check. They are going to make YOU prove WHAT you had and HOW MUCH it was worth.

All of you straddling the fence about buying that digital camera may want to add up the value of all your bikes, see what percentage of that total the camera's value is, and chalk that cost up to "insurance".

Wayne "covered" Bingham
Falls Church, VA