I got back into town last night to find out that the house I was in the process of moving into had burned down overnight. The house had most of our furniture and all my bikes in it. I the bikes have a little damage, but it mostly looks like they are just really dirty with ash on them. There is stuff that we would like to look for and recover if possible. Does anyone know what the process for making a claim is? Is it worth it to make a claim for the motorcycles to get them checked out and fixed if necessary? I've never been through anything like this before and just trying to see how the process works and any advice to get through this as fast as possible.
YES YES YES! File claims on anything and everything that was damaged. Protect yourself! Sorry to hear about your loss, hope everything works out.
Are you the owner? My only advice is to take your time in making a list of lost items. Our building burned down a couple years ago, and months afterwards we would remember things that were lost. Yes, claim the bikes. Maybe not as a loss, but for any damage. Don't just take your insurance reps word for your coverages, talk to your attorney about them also. Anything you claim, don't short yourself on the value, within reason. It doesn't take long to reach your max amount per claim. Sorry for your losses, good luck.
No, not the owner, it was supposed to be a long term lease (we are in Detroit for another two years, we didn't see the housing market coming back in that time). I think we are a little under-insured for our belongings. Lesson learned. I think I have a $1000 deductible on my bike, so I'm not sure how much over that it will be. Crappy part is that I was supposed to leave this morning for a MC trip with my dad to GA and up the Appalachian mountains to Gettysburg. Looks like it will be a long week.
Yeah, not being the owner, I'd talk to my attorney for sure. I think it will help you in the long run with the collection and claims processes. I know it helped us, a ton.
Renters insurance?? Sorry about the loss of your stuff.... take a LOT of photos, if the FD has turned the scene back over to you, or home owner try to salvage what you can. But document things, fires are brutal, just about everything in a house will be lost between smoke and water damage.
Had a garden shed burn with my 2 RZ350's inside. Renters insurance took care of the household stuff, lawnmowers, weed eater, chemicals etc. The vehicle policy (only 1 bike was insured) took care of the bike. The insurance adjuster did a Google / Ebay recon on the bike and paid what I asked. The household stuff was depreciated for age and they pay me the differance on new stuff as I replace it ("replacement cost" policy.) Good Luck, I know it sucks.
I think you just get cool points... unless they start the fire and gross negligence is ruled by the fire investigator.
I did fire restoration for a few years. The insurance companies will look for any way to not pay. My job was to inventory contents as soon as the property was deemed safe. That meant all contents right down to socks and underwear. As a human I didnt report everything I found and would usually have a heavy black gear bag with me to place "personal" items in and then slip that to the homeowner. After that job I learned do not keep anything in your house you dont want a stranger to see one day. You wouldnt believe the amount of pics and videos people take of their wives nude and then stick in a drawer. I always went to the lady of the house and asked her if there was anything she needed out of the house that she didnt want to have layed out on a table for the insurance guy to see. Some people have amazing toy collections... Back on topic... anytime we found any type of fuel stored in the structure it threw a red flag. If the bikes were in the house and they determine the fire started at an ignition source like the water heater they can easily lay blame on fuel vapors from the bikes. Just really depends on who investigates and how bad they dont want to pay.
Bikes were in the garage, and were not heavily damaged. I is clear that the fire didn't start near the bikes. They are in the part of the house that was least damaged. I think the bikes really just need to be detailed. I really didn't see any serious damage. I guess they are suspecting arson though. I guess the neighborhood has been having trouble with kids and mailboxes, and a neighbor saw a small fire on the porch, tried to put it out but failed, and them called the fire department. Trackstar - How long do these investigations usually take? Is this going to be a couple week battle or a couple year battle?
If the bikes were in the garage your fine. Thats normal practice. You get problems when people decide to stick their pride and joy in the living room. I keep my bikes in the house in the winter but pull the tanks and they stay in the garage. If there is an investigation as to the cause it depends. Usually we were working on the restoration of the home within 4-5 days so it's a quick process. It gets a little sketchy if it's suspected arson and they have to deal with evidence but if there was a witness and a porch fire it shouldnt be a big deal. Evidence is in a known area, small confined space so it shouldnt be a big deal to collect it and determine thats where it started.
In my experience, when a friend had a house fire, the bikes were not covered by the home owner policy. That is up to your auto/motorcycle policy to take care of. So if you've got a uninsured racebike, as he did, you're shit out of luck.
^ +1 I always insure my racebikes. I dont file a claim if I crash but it's nice to have that coverage for theft, fire or if it fell of the trailer on the way to the track. I have an insurance job in the shop right now for a CBR1K that fell off a trailer on the freeway.
