Auto Insurance Claims: Insurance will not pay on, harley davidson road king, hard saddlebags

Question
QUESTION: My husband was in a motorcycle accident on 5/3.  His was the only vehicle involved, he hit a rock or something which caused his tire to veer to the left and into the curb on the median.  He & the bike slid a ways, he got away from the bike just before it flipped over.  The only physical injuries that he has (thus far) are some very deep, ragged lacerations to three of the knuckles on his left hand and bad road rash on his left arm.  He also mentioned to the emergency room physician that he had some minor pain in his back.  The damage to his motorcycle, a 2007 Harley Davidson Road King, was worse than my husband's bodily injuries.  Now the insurance guy is telling him that he did not have "full coverage" on his motorcycle, and that the "after market accessories" would not be paid for.  The windshield, crash bars, and hard saddlebags are what he's calling after market items, but that bike came with those items as a stock motorcycle from Harley.  This bike was in mint condition, he purchased in at the end of the season in 2007, and only rode it a few times last year due to his working out of town for most of last summer (we live in Minnesota - short riding season).  My husband is still making payments of the motorcycle, and full insurance coverage was required by the bank, so that was what he purchased from American Family.  He did get a couple of letters from Harley, stating that they didn't receive proof of adequate insurance, and so he called our agent at Am. Fam. and spoke with him (at least twice that I know of), the agent assured my husband that he had full coverage.  The Harley is now at the dealership; we wanted their service tech to give us an actual estimate of what the repair would cost, rather than the insurance estimator - because we want to preserve the warranty.  The amount the insurance guy came back with today will only cover about 1/2 the cost of repairs.  Should we get a lawyer?

ANSWER: Hi Sandi,

Unfortunately, full coverage is not always full coverage. Insurance companies determine the rate for insurance based on the way the bike comes off the factory floor. In most cases when you see a bike for sale at a dealer, the dealer has added some aftermarket items to make the bike look better. As far as you know the bike is the bike because that's the way you purchased it. Unfortunately, those after market parts that were added by the dealer are not covered by the standard motorcycle policy. You need to purchase additional coverage for the aftermarket items and pay an additional premium to have them covered.

In this case you should not waste any tme or money on an attorney because if you did not buy the additional coverage, there is nothing an attorney can do to make them pay.

This is an unfortunate situation. To be sure this does not happen again. You should get your agent to add coverage for any and all aftermarket additional to the bike.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sorry, I guess I'm still having a problem understanding how the insurance company can call these aftermarket parts.  My husband researched this bike prior to purchasing, and the reason he chose it is that all of those items come standard.  He spoke with four different dealerships today, and each one verified that the parts in question were not aftermarket, but do in fact come stock from the factory on this model.  My main concern is that we are being treated unfairly by the insurance agency; we received four letters (I checked) from Harley, stating that we did not have adequate insurance on the bike.  Four times my husband called the insurance agency, and was each time reassured that he had the best full-coverage policy that they could offer.  I guess it's more of a business ethics thing; twenty five years with American Family & we've never filed a claim - it just seems so wrong that we can do what we believe we are supposed to do & we're getting ripped off.

Answer
Hi Sandi,

If as you say, all of the dealers are stating that the parts in question are not aftermarket, but in fact are stock factory parts that come standard on that model, then you need to get something in writing from those dealers and present it to the insurance company.

I'm sorry if I mis-understood. If these are stock parts then you do need to fight. But, you need to assemble the ammunition to fight with. So get the dealers to put it in writing as well as providing any brochures that may show these as standard items.

You should also question the agent that sold you the policy as to why he/she did not explain all available coverages to you. Why did you receive 4 letters from the finance company stating you did not have the correct coverage. You should get all explanations of this in writing.

Once you have assembled all of this information and made your attempts to get them to cover your claim and if they still won't pay, then you should seek the advice of an attorney.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh