Question for Peeps that have gotten into motorcycle accidents.

[fast20thgti]

To make a long story short. I was cruising along on the freeway in the #1 lane @ around 40mph. (traffic was a little thick), Some lady, for whatever reason, decided she wanted to get into my lane and she took me down.

After dealing with her insurance (wawanesa) for the past few weeks, they have finally decided to take liability for the accident. On Monday they (wawanesa) came out to my house to inspect my bike and take pics of the damage. So now im being told that my bike is a "total loss" (which i dont think is true)..

Damages consist of bent bars, bent brake pedal/floorboard, a few chrome pieces need to get repalced. got an estamite of around $3,000-4,000 to get it fixed.

So my question is, How does this process work? I have a loan on my bike for $13,000 and im thinking Im going to be bike-less, and still have a balance on my loan that ill have to pay? Can someone thats gone thru this help me out. How should i go about this?

BEFORE THE ACCIDENT




DAMAGES

[Metallitubby]

Most insurance companies want motorcycles off the road, so any chance to deem them a total loss is in their best interest. The smallest scratch can sometimes "total" a motorcycle because in the grand scheme, insurance companies would rather pay $10,000 for a scratched bike than a $125,000 medical bill (or worse).

About recouping the money to pay your loan. It's no different than a car, you must settle with the insurance company and if you can't get your value (or atleast be made whole), then you'll have to go after the owner of the vehicle with legal means.

[Silly_me]

Does the insurance company know you have a lien on the bike? Because you will discover that it will suddenly not be a total loss and they will fix it (given the balance on the bike is more than the repairs, they will go with whichever course is cheaper).

Most insurance companies want motorcycles off the road, so any chance to deem them a total loss is in their best interest. The smallest scratch can sometimes "total" a motorcycle because in the grand scheme, insurance companies would rather pay $10,000 for a scratched bike than a $125,000 medical bill (or worse).

I can't comment on their reasons, but they are really eager to total a bike because, outside of a few bikes, the 'retail' value is so low and repair prices are so high it is a quick and easy turnaround for them, and when you rebuild the bike for liability only they are glad to take your premiums for a bike they'll never have to fix/buy again.

[Metallitubby]

the 'retail' value is so low and repair prices are so high it is a quick and easy turnaround for them.

Also a good point.

[Silly_me]

Also a good point.

When I had my accident the insurance company totaled the bike and gave me a 'fair' market value for it. My gear on the other hand was valued on what it would cost to buy new today

[pknopp]

Based upon that damage, I would ask what I could settle for and keep the bike.

[dmonday]

um....I just came to say that bike looks great.... Sorry no help.

[Snowhere]

I would fight them on a few fronts. First I would get some evaluations on the value of the bike and tell them you want that plus pain and suffering. You can also show that the damage is much less then the value of the bike and you want it fixed.


The one time I got hit on my GSX1100, I owned the title so I just demanded they pay to fix the bike. It worked, as they did just that.

Good luck and don't give up, insurance companies always suck to deal with.

[abawp]

So my question is, How does this process work? I have a loan on my bike for $13,000 and im thinking Im going to be bike-less, and still have a balance on my loan that ill have to pay? Can someone thats gone thru this help me out. How should i go about this?

Works exactly the same as a car. If you bought GAP insurance when you bought the bike that will take care of the difference in your higher loan amount and (presumably) the lower payout. If you don't have GAP insurance you'll be stuck with the difference, and I'll assume you can pursue legal action against the person who hit hit for that difference since it was their action that totaled the bike. The latter happened to a buddy of mine, minus the collision (he low-sided, his fault). He didn't have GAP insurance and was stuck with about a $2,000-$3,000 difference that he had to come up with out of his pocket.

[fast20thgti]

thanks for the replies brothas, I went ahead and went thru my insurance (progressive) for the repairs. They ended up cutting me a check for almost 6g's on the spot. They said they'll collect the money from the other insurance company. so looks like im back in buisness. now i gotta deal with the bodily injury adjuster now.