Insuranse rejects a claim on the basis that e-bike is a motorized vehicle.

[BikeOn]

Thanks for your input thru out the thread. With Velo insurance do they require that you first make a claim with other entities? Homeowners, or car is stolen from the car?

 

[m@Robertson]

Thanks for your input thru out the thread. With Velo insurance do they require that you first make a claim with other entities? Homeowners, or car is stolen from the car?

No its entirely standalone coverage. I only use it for physical damage coverage (which also covers theft) on my two cargo bikes, because they are often left out in front of a store while I am inside. However you can purchase Liability coverages if you feel the need.

 

[BikeOn]

Thanks - I did read the info on the web site. seems worth looking into it.

 

[California Flash]

This is why I ALWAYS tell people not to trust what their agent tells them about esoteric insurance coverage questions and to ALWAYS get the answer from an underwriter.

The agent is doing his/her best, but their opinion on coverage is not binding on the insurance company. If an agent tells you X and that turns out not to be true, its not the Company's mistake and you are left with suing the agent's Errors & Omissions (malpractice) policy to recover the damages they said you were covered from. Not an ideal situation at all. And if the argument comes forward that the agent is a representative of the carrier and thus the carrier is bound by the agent's word on the matter, this is generally not upheld in court, except when the 'agent' is actually an employee of a direct writer like GEICO. For an independent agent... your only recourse is the E&O policy and a lawsuit against your agent.

In this case it sounds as if the insurance company is making a genuine attempt to make this right and keep the agent from having to eat crow. After all, an endorsement was written and premium was paid, but I bet what happened was they were not contemplating the 'e' in ebike when the company created the endorsement that the agent used, and they want to try and actually do the customer right.

I am a licensed agent in Michigan and done quite a bit of work there on policy language and especially with their very extensive PIP reforms and MCCA changes... @California Flash I suspect you know that if this was pre-MCCA reform of like a year ago you would be charged the full MCCA fee of over $200 in addition to the actual insurance cost. You formerly did not have the option to reject medical to get out of the MCCA charge, or what is now known as the MCCA Deficit charge that is (for now) $0.

By the way, something few Michigan consumers take advantage of is dropping their PIP from Unlimited to any lower number, which can be as high as $500,000. Doing so saves you $100 per vehicle as when you take ANY of the lower limits, you become exempt from the $100 (this year) MCCA fee. Of course, look at all of your coverages carefully before selecting a lower limit... but the rest of the USA gets by just fine with lesser limits.

Writing a bicycle on an auto policy as a moped is problematic at best. I would look at your policy VERY carefully to see how 'moped' is defined and ensure your bike actually fits the definition. However... I have to say the price they are charging you is more than competitive. BUT as you noted, the policy uses either Actual Cash Value or Stated Value and both involve depreciation. The benefit of a Markel/dedicated bicycle policy from Velosurance is they don't take advantage of the escape clause in Stated Value and instead treat it as an Agreed Value. Something to consider.

The "auto" policy describes my e-bike in two ways. 1. "Trek Allant E Bike and in a footnote - 2. Moped, Motorscooter 1 - 100cc. I have told my agent and the company that my ebike is not a moped (with a 100cc engine) but they have not backed down on my objections. As to the price, I dropped the Medical coverage because that coverage was $94.25 annually and I feel my Medicare insurance allows for adequate medical coverages for any injuries that I might sustain. The cost for collision is $106.25 which seems very high to me for a bicycle with an electric motor.

 

[m@Robertson]

The "auto" policy describes my e-bike in two ways. 1. "Trek Allant E Bike and in a footnote - 2. Moped, Motorscooter 1 - 100cc. I have told my agent and the company that my ebike is not a moped (with a 100cc engine) but they have not backed down on my objections. As to the price, I dropped the Medical coverage because that coverage was $94.25 annually and I feel my Medicare insurance allows for adequate medical coverages for any injuries that I might sustain. The cost for collision is $106.25 which seems very high to me for a bicycle with an electric motor.

Well, what you are reading off is the description in the Policy Declarations. What I am referring to is the actual policy itself, where there is a Definitions section that defines all the policy terms. Those terms will be used later in the policy in quotes. Thats why usually you see "your covered auto" in quotes because in the Definitions section, those three words are expressly defined. So for example "Your Covered Auto" usually has something in there that says it must have no fewer than three wheels. Or maybe it requires four and a def of a motorcycle says no more than 3 wheels. Thats what I am getting at. You want to look and see if there are definitions that are fundamentally incompatible with your ebike (1-100cc is kind of a good indicator that they have kludged this together).

I don't think - with this level of oversight and back/forth - that an insurance carrier would attempt a bad faith claim denial specifically because your attorney would file said bad faith lawsuit against your carrier ... but the thing is, if you have a $500,000 loss and there is anything iffy about it, you do not want the claims guys to think they have an avenue out by taking a narrow view of the policy language. At the very least you could end up paying a lawyer a couple extra thousand bucks in paid time (it adds up quick) to remind them that their own people crafted this solution.

It often pays to work with a specialist who knows your product and knows how to deal with it. These guys... not so much. Think about what happens for example when an adjustor depreciates the bejesus out of your bike. Something that really does not happen with the specialty carrier. Even if the cost is the same you will still benefit from that different approach to loss control.