Auto Insurance Claims: motorcycle accident, 2005 suzuki gsxr1000, new bikes

Question
i was hit by someone making a left turn in front of me on my 2005 suzuki gsxr1000  and my bike was totaled.I bought the biuke on june14th 2005 and was hit on it dec 2nd 2006 i payed 13900.00 cash for the bike it only had 8200 miles and i had put 7000+ thousand dollars in extras on it.they lady who hit me has full coverage but they say that they will give me 11,700,00  total for my loss.i went and priced new bikes and they are about 13900.00 the same as i apyed but i will not have enough to replace my loss or the extras i put into it. I do not think its fair that they do not give me back what i lost because of her negligence i understand that there is deprecation on the bike but how much could that be it was just as if i had bought it that day she hit me .There was not a scatch on it and it was better than new with all the extras .i want to know are they taking advabntage of me or is thatjust the way it is ? i gave the my reciepts for over $21,000.00 that i had into my bike but i guess it does not matter  or does it?? thank you so much for ny help you can give me before i take there offer jeff

Answer
Hi Jeff,

Insurance companies will often try to low ball you. It is up to you to research the value of your bike. You myst keep in mind that although to you the bike seemed new, it is technically a used motorcycle. You should request that the insurance company provide you with a copy of what ever they used to determine the value.  You can then review it to see if it seems accurate. You should also go to www.nada.com to check the value of your bike. Although it will not be dollar for dollar, the insurance company does need to give you credit for the extras you added to the bike.  If after all this you still fee the offer is unfair, you would need to fila a lawsuit against the atfault person. The you present your information and let a judge decide the value based on the evidence.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh