[chairdr]

Finally, I’m back on the road! The following is my experience with GEICO and a tip-over. I wanted to wait until everything was settled to share my experience.

On Friday, June 6th, a friend (he is still a friend) parked his 2012 BMW 1200GS to the left of my 07 Red Exec, which was on the center-stand. Somehow, when he was getting off he let it fall against mine, causing it to slam on the concrete on it’s right side. I called GEICO and they asked where I wanted the bike repaired. City Cycle Sales in Junction City, KS is the nearest Suzuki dealer in this area (about 14 miles from Manhattan, KS, where I live). While I was still on the phone, GEICO called them and set up the contact info, gave me the phone number & name of my local agent who would be handling my claim.

City Cycle Sales picked my bike up that Friday night around 7 PM and my agent called me and introduced himself and let me know he would look at the bike on Monday if the dealer had time to run a quote. As it turned out, the dealer didn’t get to my bike until Tuesday (my GEICO agent called and kept me informed). The total damage was just a few dollars shy of $2,400. I was also told this is going on my record as a no-fault accident, so my insurance shouldn’t go up. Time will tell.

My agent personally carried the check to City Cycle so they could get the parts on order. I checked with them and they had mine scheduled for work to begin on 6/24, after finally receiving all the parts. My friend who had difficulty getting off his BMW has already given me a check for my deductible.

I researched insurance rates before selecting GEICO. I have a good driving record and credit rating which helped score a decent rate of about $100 a year, including liability, collision, comprehensive & towing (about 6 weeks ago I upped my coverage to $100K/300K to compensate for under-insured and non-insured drivers, so next year it should run another $31 or so. **** glad I chose GEICO, they have always treated me with respect and these guys are fast! Just wish City Cycle Sales were as fast, but to be fair they are a very large Harley dealership too, and they always have lots of work to do, (no slam against Harley). I would rather have to wait for a day or two and have the job done right, than to choose a dealership with the mechanics sitting on their asses waiting for something to screw up!

I got a call Thursday morning (6/26) letting me know the work was complete and the bike was ready to go. Sure is good to be on the road again!!

Different folks have varied experiences with insurance companies. I check rates on everything I own every 2 or 3 years, just to make sure I am getting a good deal. GEICO has had the best rates, for motorcycles only, since 2007. If you are near renewal or just curious, you can get a quote online without having to talk to anyone! If you do, check out the under-insured & uninsured motorist. If someone takes you out and they don’t have insurance, chances are they are not going to have enough bucks under the mattress to pay for any of your medical care, let alone rehab/therapy. That could be the most important coverage you have. Stay safe!

 

[Noth]

YOur friend paid you your deductible.. That's nice.. but his insurance will end up re-imbursing Geico for the entire amount including the deductible . Geico will re-imburse you that deductible when they are paid

 

[westnash]

Is there more to this story, as was said, your friend's insurance should have been the party to cover all this.

 

[qaz]

Good luck, I had a no fault accident and progressive upped my insurance until they made their money back.

 

[speedandstyle]

I know a gal who GEICO refused to pay to repair her scooter when it fell off the back of her RV. She had both the scooter and the RV insured by GEICO by the way. She would have been up a creek without a paddle if it hadn't been for other members who supplied the parts and one member in her city who did the repairs. So there are both good and bad stories for all insurance companies.

 

[Noth]

Every insurance co.. does a great job on some and a piss poor job on others.. every claim is different.. my only issue with Geico (and for that matter, Nationwide, liberty mutual, allstate, state farm, etc...) is that they are all direct writers.. the person that handles your account is an employee of the company.. they don't work for you.. you hire an independent agent.. they work for you.. and usually they represent a lot of different insurance companies.. the same company for every body makes no sense.. everybody isn't the same..

 

[azccj]

I've had Geico for several years now and I have no complaints. When my BMW fell over in the Garage and caused over $3000.00 in damage, the Geico claims guy came to my house and printed me up a check that covered everything including a little for me to install the parts myself.

As for the OP's story, I'm not understanding why your friends insurance didn't take care of the damage.

 

[westnash]

Is there more to this story, as was said, your friend's insurance should have been the party to cover all this.

Was it your decision or your insurance company not to lay the responsibility for the accident on your friend's insurance? Is Kansas a no fault state?

 

[lipster]

No fault only applies to the medical portion. Nothing to do with crumpled sheet metal and plastic. People use their own collision coverage from their own policy to save time. It can and often does take the other ins. co. a week or more to finally admit that their driver was indeed at fault. In that amount of time, you can have your vehicle fixed and back burning gas, while the two carriers are sorting it out.

 

[westnash]

OK, but it is not clear here from OP if he even filed against other party as he accepted payment from "friend" for his deductible, which would have not been required if he had filed.

My experience is that an insurance company would have said, after being told the circumstances, go ahead and get it fixed, since you have collision and we will determine the legal fault and charge you your deductible only if the other party is not held legally responsible. If you did not have collision, the entire repair would be on you if it was not determined the other party was legally responsible. If the friend said "please don't file on me because my insurance rates will go up and I will pay your deductible," would you not guilty of insurance fraud if you filed against your own policy (and hopefully would not have posted a contrary story on an internet message board)?

 

[lipster]

OK, but it is not clear here from OP if he even filed against other party as he accepted payment from "friend" for his deductible, which would have not been required if he had filed.

My experience is that an insurance company would have said, after being told the circumstances, go ahead and get it fixed, since you have collision and we will determine the legal fault and charge you your deductible only if the other party is not held legally responsible. If you did not have collision, the entire repair would be on you if it was not determined the other party was legally responsible. If the friend said "please don't file on me because my insurance rates will go up and I will pay your deductible," would you not guilty of insurance fraud if you filed against your own policy (and hopefully would not have posted a contrary story on an internet message board)?

If your own company gets reimbursed in full, they give you your deductible back and do not charge you for an at fault accident. You cannot, by the way, tell your own company to pay and not go after the other company. They have the right to subrogate, and will. That right is spelled out clearly in your policy. I think in this case, the OP's friend gave him his deductible so OP would not be out the money until it all got sorted out.
I've gone through this twice, with 2 different companies, and they each held the deductible, until the other carrier paid them the money. In one case I got the deductible back two years later, when my company finally got paid. Your ins company may do it differently, but most don't.
Fraud is not in play here at all.

 

[Noth]

agree.. His carrier will go against his friends company under the liability insurance.. no fraud here.. but his friend shoiuld know that he should notify his carrier on this as the OP's carrrier will do so anyway..

 

[lipster]

Absolutely. Ins companies don't like hearing about accidents from the other carrier. Also part of the policy, that the insured agrees to notify the company if he/she is involved in an accident. Legally, it is not an option, but an obligation. They really have all the good cards. Chips too.

 

[westnash]

Unless, as I asked previously, the OP did not tell his insurance company the damage was caused by another party knocking it over but implied he did it himself. That was not clear in the original post.

 

[osbornk]

Unless, as I asked previously, the OP did not tell his insurance company the damage was caused by another party knocking it over but implied he did it himself. That was not clear in the original post.

If he implied he did it himself, he would get a surcharge for the accident and have an at fault accident on his policy which could impact his insurability.

Regarding delays using the at fault's insurance, there is no delay if the liability is clear and admitted. When I was an adjuster, we tried to get to liability claims as quickly as possible to hold down rental and other expenses. At one time, my company had a program where they solicited new business from innocent claimants by trying to do an outstanding job and then asking about their interest in becoming a policyholder.

When my 400 was hit last year, Allstate went out of their way to handle my claim promptly (and I'm not a big Allstate fan but they seem to be the only people that hit me).

 

[Noth]

Unless, as I asked previously, the OP did not tell his insurance company the damage was caused by another party knocking it over but implied he did it himself. That was not clear in the original post.

THat would be fraud.. If it came out.. could impact his insurability in the furture.. I was an adjsuter as well and am a commercial broker now.. correctly reporting what happened is not optional

 

[chairdr]

OK! Some of you seem to be looking for a reason to find something that is not here. I called GEICO and told them exactly what happened. NO FRAUD HERE!!!!!! I asked them what were the options. They said it was a collision with the ground (parked incident) and would be treated as such. If my buddy's bike was damaged, he would have to go thru his insurance company.

I did not imply anything, just told the truth. Just like I said in the original post.

GEICO never even asked for my friend's insurance company, name or anything about him except if he was hurt or not.

I always try to tell to tell the truth because you don't have to remember what you said.

I really don't care if they raise my rates because of this unfortunate experience. I still have a good friend and a great looking bike!

As for as I am concerned, GEICO has my business for years to come. I am really sorry I posted this after reading the "slant" some of you put on this. My original intention was to praise GEICO with the speed they handled this claim.

 

[westnash]

Thanks and now it is clear and very interesting, and luckily your friend was willing and able to pony up the deductible. If he had not, according to your insurance company, you would have been out the $$$. If you had not had collision, which I hardly ever do, would his insurance been in play?

Your premiums probably wont go up, at least immediately...they might wait a renewal or two for that.

 

[Noth]

OK! Some of you seem to be looking for a reason to find something that is not here. I called GEICO and told them exactly what happened. NO FRAUD HERE!!!!!! I asked them what were the options. They said it was a collision with the ground (parked incident) and would be treated as such. If my buddy's bike was damaged, he would have to go thru his insurance company.

I did not imply anything, just told the truth. Just like I said in the original post.

GEICO never even asked for my friend's insurance company, name or anything about him except if he was hurt or not.

I always try to tell to tell the truth because you don't have to remember what you said.

I really don't care if they raise my rates because of this unfortunate experience. I still have a good friend and a great looking bike!

As for as I am concerned, GEICO has my business for years to come. I am really sorry I posted this after reading the "slant" some of you put on this. My original intention was to praise GEICO with the speed they handled this claim.

THat's fine.. you told them exctly what happened and that's all anyone has to do.. My bike fell over and the damage was paid as well.. it's a simple claim.. the Geico folks are simply missing an opportunity for subrogation, but that's their problem.. hopefully not yours eventually..glad that they did a great job for you.. that's what all insurance carriers are should do..there are two sections of physical damage coverage.. collision and comprehensive.. also known as "other than collision".. that section will pay for damage from things.. "other than collision".. like wind knocking it over.. theft... flood.. that sort of thing.. your friend 's bike hitting yours and knocking it over is a collision.. it certainly wasn't your fault.. so if they missed it.. their issue.. I suspect that it will come into play eventually..

 

[westnash]

OK! Some of you seem to be looking for a reason to find something that is not here. I am really sorry I posted this after reading the "slant" some of you put on this.

Not at all, it was educational and something that could happen to any of us.

I am in the process of paying my next years insurance premium (no collision) to Progressive right now.

My only difference is that I call the other party's insurance company first, if they are at fault, so they will be a record and (unless he insisted) why have the friend fork over cash for the deductible (maybe $1,000) when the insurance he pays for should do it.