Bike valuation for insurance company?

[oldiron]

A few months ago I switched home owners insurance companies after the one I had for nearly 20 years tripled its rates. The new company, which I'll leave nameless for now, insisted on an inspection of the premises.
They came out, did the inspection while I was not home. (No clue how they did that accurately), but they found issue with several things and notified me of pending cancelation due to several reasons.
First and foremost was that I have two unility trailers parked in the back yard, second was because I have a commercial diesel pickup truck parked at my residence, (which they insure), and that I have a garage full of bicycles, derelict bicycles, and bicycle parts 'strewn' about the garage and all over multiple 'unsecured' shelves.

I called the agent and was told that my auto policy is not affected but they have dropped my homeowners policy and its not open for review.
The truck is a stock F250, four years old and my personal vehicle with passenger plates.
The two trailers are motorcyle trailer and a 4x8 Snowbear trailer that i bought about 10 years ago. Both registered and tagged. Neither is visible from the road, both are chained to a tree behind the garage.

In the garage, is my car on the right, and the left and rear wall are covered with 8ft tall 2x4ft P slot steel shelving from Lowes. Most of which is tools, and a few dozen blue tubs of bike parts.
I have four bike stands, two on the work bench between the two bays, and a double that stands free in near the rear bench. There are 43 complete bikes in all, some hanging from the ceiling, some parked on roller stands on the floor. There's a rack in the corner with bike frames hung by their rear dropouts, and the wall over the bench is pegboard covered in bike tools. Its been the same for about 25 years or so. A few are packed away in the attic of the house for safe keeping too. There's a pair of Snap On toolboxes between both bays as well and I have a 14x22ft shed out back for storage too, that's prettymuch an extension of the garage with both bikes, a couple of garden tractors, a snow blower and my push mower. Plus some wood working tools.

Immediately asked the agent to find a solution, and the only solution was to go back to my old insurance company at the higher rate. I was dead set against that idea. A week of searching found me a new company with reasonable prices but again they have an issue with the bicycles? My agent brought it to their attention so as not to have another issue like before. After speaking to their representative, it seems they're concern is ownership and liability for the value of each bike. They want me to make a list and state the fair market value of each bike.
I'm fine with that but how does one come up with that?

The bikes are their big concern for some reason.
How would you value the list above?
I honestly never thought much about what they were worth because I have no intention of ever selling any of them.
CL prices are all over, I see minty clean bikes for $25 that don't sell and bikes listed for $500 that don't ever seem to sell here. Its not really a bike area for the most part.
Plus, all it takes a trip to the flea market or auction and there could be a few more added to the list any time and I've got several in the works that I've been hunting parts for too.

None of my bikes are high end, most are English three speeds from the late 50's to early 70's. Plus a few prewar balloon tire bikes, (no tanks, just run of the mill complete bikes in well maintained condition, plus a couple road bikes, again, nothing special but clean old bikes I bought new myself back in the day, plus a few loaner bikes for guests or the girlfriend to use.
To me, I value the Raleigh Sports and similar bikes around $300 each, and likely the same for most of the other bikes give or take $50. Maybe a bit more for the prewar stuff but none of it is 100% original or 'restored'.

I have,

1936 Western Flyer (no tank, no cg, repainted in the 70's)
1941 Elgin curved seat tube, non original frame, bars, and repainted several times with USAF base ID all over it from a NJ air base in the 50's. (A relative brought it home after they tossed it in the dumpster back in the late 50's.
1941 Elgin curved seat tube all apart at the moment.
1949 Columbia Newsboy bike that belonged to my dad many years ago.
1955 Schwinn Hornet, all original, just maintained
1956 Schwinn Traveler Tourist three speed, in nice original shape, estate sale find during a trip to AZ in 1996)
1957 - 1977 various English three speeds, Raleigh, Robin Hood, Dunelt, Hercules, and Crown models all clean and well maintained. 11 in all
1959 Burgers ENR three speed, in nice original shape.
1962 Schwinn Traveler Deluxe 3 speed, (bought while on vacation one year, its been with me for 30 or more years)
1965 Schwinn Racer coaster brake
1968 Carlton Grand Prix, (auction find, a clean old bike in my size)
1969 Jacques Anquatil 10 speed, (similar to a Gitane Interclub that year.)
1970 Peugeot UO-8
1970 Peugeot UO-18 mixte
1971 Schwinn Speedster coaster brake
1972 Raleigh Sprite 27 three speed model
1972 Rollfast Ultralight 26" lw coaster brake
1974 Schwinn Varsity, (had this since 1976, belonged to a cousin who joined the Navy around that time).
1977 Nishiki International 10 speed, (all original, belonged a buddy's dad growing up).
1978 Raleigh Super Grand Prix (minty clean, bought it new old stock myself 18 years ago)
1978 Raleigh Super Course (well used, had it since new, but 100% functionally)
1979 Schwinn Continental II 10 speed
1980 Nishiki Custom Sport 12 speed, (bought it new in 1980 and used it alot back then but not lately)
1980 Ross Grand Tour 10 speed
1985 Raleigh Grand Mesa MTB
1985 Nishiki Pacific Cruiser.
Plus four or five in the process of going together or getting built, plus a dozen or so frames and forks hanging on the wall and a few dozen spare wheels in the rafters and garage attic.

To me, if I look at the '85 Pacific cruiser, which I just completely went through top to bottom, cost around $225 new in 1985 money but even more important, I cannot buy a bike like that brand new today, and anything close would be upwards of $400 or more for a decent shop grade bike. Even then it would likely be just another Chinese made bike.
I have no clue though how to price it today. I realize none are highly 'desireable' models, but they want 'replacement value' on each bike and for the total sum of bikes and parts. What would make 'replacment' of most even harder is that every one of them are taller frame sizes.

 

[oldiron]

I got a report back today from one insurance company on 'bike values'.
To save space here I'll only go over a two of them for now.

On the Nishiki Pacific cruiser, I came to the value of $350, the insurance company says $25.
I figured value by the sum of a bikes most sell able parts, averaged with the likely sale value on eBay for a used bike of its type. If the exact model could not be found I used a similar model of the same age as an example.
For the Nishiki which I just completed a few months ago, many of its parts are brand new old stock so I know what they sold for not counting shipping. The wheelset, although I had to relace both wheels with better hubs, sold for $125, the saddle is a new Mesinger, new left over stock, which had a sticker price from a local bike shop for $60.
Two tires and tubes were $75, new Wald cruiser bars were $24, hand grips were $9, pedals were $14, reflector kit, original equipment was $8 from the LBS, crank and sprocket, (Wald?), was $40 with the BB set, and a brand new Nishiki headset was $15. I gave $30 for the frameset with its seat post and chainguard at a swap meet 20 years ago.
All of which when totaled up is $400. All of which doesn't include any additional shipping, or any time, labor, or gas running around hunting parts.
Many of those prices are prices paid 20 years ago too. They valued the bike at $25.

Another was my 1985 Raleigh Grand Mesa MTB. It sold for $450 brand new that year at a bike shop a mile from here. Its in all original shape with the original cyclometer showing 841 miles on it.
Its got new tires, which were $99 two years ago shipped to the door, all new cables, and I tore the bike down to the bare frame, and polished and reassembled it over the winter. Its in new condition, or better. I figured it was a $300 bike, they figured it at $55 because it has 'gears'.
There was one in lesser and not all original condition listed on local CL last fall for $350, I tried to buy it for $250 but he wouldn't budge off the price. I was gone a week later.

I have a 1949 Newsboy special in all original condition, my dad paid $55 for it new at a LBS brand new. I figured the bike is worth around $250 as it sits in ridable condition, the insurance company photographed it and came back with an estimate of $75 since its not a 'notable model'.

The whole issue here wasn't what the bikes are worth it was that one insurance co. refused to write a policy due there being more than two bikes, and several wanting to know what the contents value was before writing a policy.
None valued the bikes as being worth more than scrap, but a few flat out refused to insure my property because I had them. Several refused insurance because I own a 3/4 ton pickup, a few because I park a diesel truck here. one because I have two small aluminum boats on trailers in the yard. one had problems with utility trailers, one had problems with my open porch on the house not having a locking door. Its an open 10x12 porch with a swing and a screen door, yet they cited it as an 'unlockable door' or attractive nuisance.

 

[RustyGold]

I've never had issues like that and I bet I have you out biked, out vehicled, and out trucked...you have me on trailers though . We've been USAA for many years, and they sub through Progressive for RV, and motorcycle, I believe.

Good luck, man.

 

[oldiron]

I had the same ins. co for 25 years with no problems, then all at once they got greedy, I signed with a new company, then they dropped me for a huge list of issues.
I don't have the option of USAA but I tried and got quotes from 14 others and only one didn't have issues about one thing or another.
I can't imagine what the problem is with a bunch of bikes or a few trailers. I'm a half hour from the shore, every other house here has a boat or two in the yard. (A few towns though have banned boats being stored in residential yards, a buddy got a warning about his canoe along side his garage last fall.
None of the items in question can be seen from the road, none are accessible to the public.
The thing that I really didn't understand is why a company that's insuring my truck refused to insure my home where its parked because of that very vehicle being diesel. Its got passenger tags on it and its not a business vehicle. I'm retired, its my spare vehicle and my tow vehicle for my boats and a few other toys. Back when I was pricing car insurance here the prices were all over the place, with a few refusing to insure me because I have a motorcycle endorsement on my license. That's also been a problem with health insurance, with one company refusing to insure motorcyclists.
I was told that's illegal but no one enforces it. Having a MC license forced me into the state insurance pool before I retired. MC insurance also went nuts here, from $75/yr in 1999 to over $1200 now.
A MC is now more than a car to insure. I've ridden all my life and never had a claim or accident, I can't imagine what having a bad driving record would cost someone here.

If insurance cost, taxes, and zoning wasn't such and issue here I'd have a lot more but insurance costs more than the vehicle here.
It seems sometimes that they really hate bicycles here, the bike lanes here are deadly, where they even bother to paint lines or the little pictures of bikes, and the roads have no shoulders these days. Its tough to ride anywhere around here without worrying about getting run over in traffic or harassed by the police because they see bikes as a nuisance. Two buddies with the police force keep asking me why on earth would I want to ride a bike when I have a valid driver's license?
They see all bike riders as DUI recipients and treat them as such. When I ride, its a rare occasion to pass another person on a bicycle here.
It also shows when you go to sell a bike here, there's zero interest for the most part here unless you give them away for pocket change. Its hard to tell what went wrong around here over the years because 40 years ago everyone had bikes and there wasn't a kid who didn't grow up with one.
Now kids never learn and never get that first bike. Likely because they took the fun out of it here.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

It seems sometimes that they really hate bicycles here, the bike lanes here are deadly, where they even bother to paint lines or the little pictures of bikes, and the roads have no shoulders these days. Its tough to ride anywhere around here without worrying about getting run over in traffic or harassed by the police because they see bikes as a nuisance. Two buddies with the police force keep asking me why on earth would I want to ride a bike when I have a valid driver's license? They see all bike riders as DUI recipients and treat them as such.

Anywhere USA^

 

[horsefarmer]

IDK where you live. Sounds like a tough situation.
If your bikes are not a business then it's a hobby.
I never spend lots on bikes and parts. It's for fun and exercise.
Probably have too many but, "at least they don't eat."
I would look for maybe a rider on a policy where you can declare the value of your bikes and pay a separate fee.

 

[Captain Awesome]

I would look for maybe a rider on a policy where you can declare the value of your bikes and pay a separate fee.

We have a separate rider on our home owners for "recreational equipment". It includes kayaks, paddle boards, kids vast skateboard collection and my bikes. It's not itemized but just a flat fee. Same as contents line for my homeowners policy. It doesn't list every pot, pan, piece of clothing, etc.....

They asked me what it should list as (recreational equipment) and what the value is and I told them $10k. My insurance guy shrugged and said ok by me. I'm paying the premiums so why would they care

Same with our off site storage place. They asked what I needed the contents insured for but nothing is itemized

 

[Phil Fink]

Seems like a mixed discussion on home insurance and bicycle insurance; might be nice to bundle the two together.

My neighbor wanted an insurance quote a few years back, and the inspector said that the older lady needed to paint her whole house(?)(!). Maybe that makes sense for typical house damage claims?
Perhaps similar inspector concerns with any form of clutter (from their point of view)?

Some public storage outfits (won’t mention their name), charge an insurance fee of like $11 per month but then their public storage fees might be hundreds.

Not sure at all about insuring separate individual items, such as bicycles.

 

[rickpaulos]

Bicycle Blue Book dot com is possibly where they came up the $25 for the Nishiki. IMO, BBB is a lousy site. Perhaps it is a front for the insurance industry to not have to pay real values or a front for a trade in biz. Sure lady BBB says it's worth $25 but I'll give you $30 (and flip it for $200). BBB incorrectly seems to use the age of the item for a sliding value scale. Okay that's how the car industry works with regular cars. But classics are sure different. By their logic a 65 Chevy Corvette would be worth about $10.

Another valuing source is ebay, advanced search, "sold items" search to see what stuff actually sells for. ebay only keeps that on line for a few months and many of your bikes won't show up there.

I don't mean to sound insulting but your entire list might add up to 1 new Trek carbon fibre race bike in some doctors garage that they would cover no question.

You have your list of bikes above, paste into a spreadsheet, add serial numbers for police reports, and fill in values as you can. I have a spreadsheet with much more detail. date of acquisition, cost, serial, brand, model, wheel size, source, disposition, outgoing date, etc. Because I have so many bikes I want to cover myself if someone accuses me of stealing a bike by showing where I got it. yeah, i'm a bike nut. My local pd won't even take a stolen bike report if you don't have the serial number. The PD is pretty thorough with recovered bikes. They do check recovered bikes vs reports but I learned it has to match exactly to work. I got to tour the impound buildings: the stuff building and the drugs and guns building. They must do a good job or get in trouble.

I might have 150 bikes on the premises. I'm sure my insurance won't cover much but I wouldn't miss most of them either. Most insurance coverage is for fire to the building, storm damage to buildings, etc. A total burn down should cover furnishings. Most policies don't cover hobbies like coins, stamp collecting or valuable musical instruments with out riders. To get a rider, you declare the value, they charge a fixed rate of that value like 1% or 2% per year. My homeowners has a 1% total house value deductible which is more than nearly every bike I own. So I just assume my bikes are not covered. I keep the better bikes in a more secure place, the cheap bikes are in the shed and the junk left out side as decoys or yard art.

so what do you need insurance for? Well, usually required if you have a mortgage. A good idea if you have a public sidewalk out front where someone could slip and fall. Got big trees hanging over your neighbors, yep. You would want fire on the house for sure. But alternatives are a good alarm system and some basic safety practices like no candles or smoking in the buildings. The new combination ground fault and spark detection circuit breakers for all circuits installed in the main panel. Its far better to avoid a fire and electricity is the #1 cause of fires. My parents house burned due to a badly designed lamp when I was a teen. A modern spark detecting circuit breaker would have prevented that fire.

I once tried changing to an online homeowners insurance company and they flat out refused because the house still had some fuses. Another said they don't insure houses with any electrical wiring over 7 years old. No shortage of insurance company reasons to charge more. It could be far worse, check out Florida.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Bicycle Blue Book dot com is possibly where they came up the $25 for the Nishiki. IMO, BBB is a lousy site. Perhaps it is a front for the insurance industry to not have to pay real values or a front for a trade in biz.

That would not surprise me a bit.

 

[oldiron]

The reason for insurance isn't so much for the bikes, it's to insure the building against loss and liability, such as someone getting hurt, and fire or storm damage. The bikes are what they used to say they were an "Attractive Nuisance" on the premises.

In other words, if you have something worth stealing they don't want to insure it because someone else may see it and steal it or get hurt doing so.
Another woman told me that all those bikes are an unsightly mess, and no one needs that many bikes or junk parts and we're simply not interested in insuring a place like that.
I was able to get insurance through one company who didn't care about the bikes but the policy was over triple what everyone else was at.

What I found was that these insurance companies evaluate each case in one of three ways.
They either do the inspection themselves, higher an independent investigator, or they do nothing at all and then likely deny the claim citing various excuses after the fact.

 

[horsefarmer]

And that is why we have a "farm policy". Regular insurance co. don't want to mess with horses.

 

[RustyGold]

That would not surprise me a bit.

I did a ton of research on BBB a few years back and it doesn't seem conspiratorial...just a bit lazy mixed with misplaced optimism.

Essentially a straight depreciation equation applied to the original MSRP with the hope/expectation that the equation would be adjusted over time when basically EVERYBODY jumped on the BBB marketplace to sell their bikes. Since that didn't happen, it's just a bunch of false values that are only used by the ignorant, predatory, or gullible.

There is no way a bicycle site can duplicate something like the KBB as there is no structure that collects actual purchase prices of used bicycles in any significant volume.

 

[larry99]

A few months ago I switched home owners insurance companies after the one I had for nearly 20 years tripled its rates. The new company, which I'll leave nameless for now, insisted on an inspection of the premises.
They came out, did the inspection while I was not home. (No clue how they did that accurately), but they found issue with several things and notified me of pending cancelation due to several reasons.
First and foremost was that I have two unility trailers parked in the back yard, second was because I have a commercial diesel pickup truck parked at my residence, (which they insure), and that I have a garage full of bicycles, derelict bicycles, and bicycle parts 'strewn' about the garage and all over multiple 'unsecured' shelves.

I called the agent and was told that my auto policy is not affected but they have dropped my homeowners policy and its not open for review.
The truck is a stock F250, four years old and my personal vehicle with passenger plates.
The two trailers are motorcyle trailer and a 4x8 Snowbear trailer that i bought about 10 years ago. Both registered and tagged. Neither is visible from the road, both are chained to a tree behind the garage.

In the garage, is my car on the right, and the left and rear wall are covered with 8ft tall 2x4ft P slot steel shelving from Lowes. Most of which is tools, and a few dozen blue tubs of bike parts.
I have four bike stands, two on the work bench between the two bays, and a double that stands free in near the rear bench. There are 43 complete bikes in all, some hanging from the ceiling, some parked on roller stands on the floor. There's a rack in the corner with bike frames hung by their rear dropouts, and the wall over the bench is pegboard covered in bike tools. Its been the same for about 25 years or so. A few are packed away in the attic of the house for safe keeping too. There's a pair of Snap On toolboxes between both bays as well and I have a 14x22ft shed out back for storage too, that's prettymuch an extension of the garage with both bikes, a couple of garden tractors, a snow blower and my push mower. Plus some wood working tools.

Immediately asked the agent to find a solution, and the only solution was to go back to my old insurance company at the higher rate. I was dead set against that idea. A week of searching found me a new company with reasonable prices but again they have an issue with the bicycles? My agent brought it to their attention so as not to have another issue like before. After speaking to their representative, it seems they're concern is ownership and liability for the value of each bike. They want me to make a list and state the fair market value of each bike.
I'm fine with that but how does one come up with that?

The bikes are their big concern for some reason.
How would you value the list above?
I honestly never thought much about what they were worth because I have no intention of ever selling any of them.
CL prices are all over, I see minty clean bikes for $25 that don't sell and bikes listed for $500 that don't ever seem to sell here. Its not really a bike area for the most part.
Plus, all it takes a trip to the flea market or auction and there could be a few more added to the list any time and I've got several in the works that I've been hunting parts for too.

None of my bikes are high end, most are English three speeds from the late 50's to early 70's. Plus a few prewar balloon tire bikes, (no tanks, just run of the mill complete bikes in well maintained condition, plus a couple road bikes, again, nothing special but clean old bikes I bought new myself back in the day, plus a few loaner bikes for guests or the girlfriend to use.
To me, I value the Raleigh Sports and similar bikes around $300 each, and likely the same for most of the other bikes give or take $50. Maybe a bit more for the prewar stuff but none of it is 100% original or 'restored'.

I have,

1936 Western Flyer (no tank, no cg, repainted in the 70's)
1941 Elgin curved seat tube, non original frame, bars, and repainted several times with USAF base ID all over it from a NJ air base in the 50's. (A relative brought it home after they tossed it in the dumpster back in the late 50's.
1941 Elgin curved seat tube all apart at the moment.
1949 Columbia Newsboy bike that belonged to my dad many years ago.
1955 Schwinn Hornet, all original, just maintained
1956 Schwinn Traveler Tourist three speed, in nice original shape, estate sale find during a trip to AZ in 1996)
1957 - 1977 various English three speeds, Raleigh, Robin Hood, Dunelt, Hercules, and Crown models all clean and well maintained. 11 in all
1959 Burgers ENR three speed, in nice original shape.
1962 Schwinn Traveler Deluxe 3 speed, (bought while on vacation one year, its been with me for 30 or more years)
1965 Schwinn Racer coaster brake
1968 Carlton Grand Prix, (auction find, a clean old bike in my size)
1969 Jacques Anquatil 10 speed, (similar to a Gitane Interclub that year.)
1970 Peugeot UO-8
1970 Peugeot UO-18 mixte
1971 Schwinn Speedster coaster brake
1972 Raleigh Sprite 27 three speed model
1972 Rollfast Ultralight 26" lw coaster brake
1974 Schwinn Varsity, (had this since 1976, belonged to a cousin who joined the Navy around that time).
1977 Nishiki International 10 speed, (all original, belonged a buddy's dad growing up).
1978 Raleigh Super Grand Prix (minty clean, bought it new old stock myself 18 years ago)
1978 Raleigh Super Course (well used, had it since new, but 100% functionally)
1979 Schwinn Continental II 10 speed
1980 Nishiki Custom Sport 12 speed, (bought it new in 1980 and used it alot back then but not lately)
1980 Ross Grand Tour 10 speed
1985 Raleigh Grand Mesa MTB
1985 Nishiki Pacific Cruiser.
Plus four or five in the process of going together or getting built, plus a dozen or so frames and forks hanging on the wall and a few dozen spare wheels in the rafters and garage attic.

To me, if I look at the '85 Pacific cruiser, which I just completely went through top to bottom, cost around $225 new in 1985 money but even more important, I cannot buy a bike like that brand new today, and anything close would be upwards of $400 or more for a decent shop grade bike. Even then it would likely be just another Chinese made bike.
I have no clue though how to price it today. I realize none are highly 'desireable' models, but they want 'replacement value' on each bike and for the total sum of bikes and parts. What would make 'replacment' of most even harder is that every one of them are taller frame sizes.

When the insurance company asks, unless they say something very specific about valuations, the value that you put on each bike is up to you. Period. Obviously, if you start valuing $300 bikes at $3000, it may raise some eyebrows (and claims of fraud) if you ever make a claim.

Market price is, by definition, whatever a buyer is willing to pay. Replacement value and market value are not the same, as you know.

If you make a claim, the insurance company will depreciate any asset that you have lost. So if you say the value of a bike is $300, you will get MUCH less from the insuror if you make a claim.

Ask the insuror if they want you to declare market value, or replacement value. There can be a huge difference. Then I'd start having a discussion about how they would depreciate the asset if you ever made a claim. These are important to know.

 

[oldiron]

The issue that the insurance company had was not on the value of the bikes, them insuring the bikes at any value was not what they were finding fault with, it was them being there in the first place. They saw the shop full of old bikes as either clutter or an 'attractive nuisance'.
I pretty much assumed they'd value any bike at half Walmart prices but they dropped the policy on two three main concerns.
First was that I have a utility trailer which they said "Conveys the look of a commercial presence" , second I had a "Commercial, diesel powered vehicle parked on the premise in plain view", and the third was that there were "Derelict bicycles and parts 'strewn' about the garage providing an 'Attractive Nuisance' which could lead to potential break ins or fire hazards".
They didn't ask me to remedy the situation, they didn't say to remove anything, they just sent me a letter stating they were dropping me as of of a set date. They gave me 21 days to find a replacement company.

The garage, like I suppose most garages is always a mess, but nothing is visible from the outside unless you walk up to the side door window and shine a bright light through the dark tinted glass. The overhead door windows are 1% black tinted, as are the two door windows, and all windows are backed with stainless mess within safety glass. They had to go to great extremes to see inside.
There is nothing on the floor, other than what's sitting on tires, and what's on the bench is generally parts to what ever is on on of the various bike stands or any other project.
The truck is a super clean, very low mileage F250 4x4 with a 5ft tall fiberglass cap on the back. Its clean, bone stock, and used to sit in the garage until I found the cap for it.
The two trailers they had the most issues with are a 16ft open car trailer, with two 8ft drop down ramps. Its black with black wheels and in great shape, its faded to flat black and gets used quite often. At times I have either a car or my tractor on it. It sits either in the back hard behind the garage or along side it when loaded. The second trailer is the back half of a Chevy pickup truck with an 8ft bed, with a 6ft tall utility box on top. I use it for both storage now and for the occasional swap meet. Its tall enough inside that a 6ft tall man can stand up. I also have a 6x12 black enclosed trailer that I use on occasion and it generally has my motorcycle parked inside when its not in the garage.
I also have an 8x24ft enclosed car trailer parked along the far side of the garage, its four years old and gray in color, Its parked between the tree line and the building. Only the front is visible from the road. They never mentioned the two enclosed trailers, just the 'Utility trailers' of which they sent me pictures of in the cancellation notice.
Keep in mind the same insurance company who is complaining about these vehicles is the very one that insures them on the road. They have no problem writing the policy to cover their use, but have an issue with them being parked here.

When i inquired about this I was told that their decision had been made and when I pushed the issue they read off a list of other items that contributed to the cancellation. That's when they also mentioned the boats. They referred to my 14ft and 16ft aluminum boats as 'derelict or abandoned boats' and found issue with my 17ft aluminum canoe which sits atop the wood pile rack and a small 12ft row boat on a trailer under a lean too attached to a storage shed. All three boats are on tagged trailers and all three boats are registered.
The 12ft boat is more or less for use for exercise, its set up strictly for rowing, The canoe was my uncles, Its behind the garage between a fence and the building, it cannot be seen unless someone walks through the fenced in yard and behind the building. Its under the short A roof that covers the wood pile. The canoe is a birch bark painted Radisson aluminum canoe from the 1960's. It used to go on all our camping trips when I was a kid. I've not used it in years and have no intent to ever get rid of it. its a bit faded but 100% usable.

My yard or garage is no different than any other garage in the neighborhood, the guy next door has a yard full of 71 Chevelles, and two under construction in his garage, hes got a 34ft enclosed trailer, two campers, and a 16ft motorcycle trailer with a huge orange Harley logo on the side.
The guy on the other side has a 6x12 trailer full of dirt bikes, four boats, and 28ft camper in the driveway, and nearly every last house has a pickup truck and several cars in the driveway. My yard looks barren compared to most in that I don't have a camper parked in the driveway.
The front yard is landscaped with a decent looking lawn, the house and garage both have a fairly new roof, and the place is kept well trimmed.

As it stands I'm paying three times what most around here are paying for similar properties, only the one company who I had switched to after they offered huge discounts if I combined car and home insurance but then dropped me a month later. A few companies were over $4k, without ever looking at the property, and a few flat out refused to write new policies.
I just got a renewal notice for my homeowners which renews in Aug. and the rate has gone up 80% again. As it stands now I buy my house again and again every 4 years here between insurance and taxes here.

 

[Captain Awesome]

The issue that the insurance company had was not on the value of the bikes, them insuring the bikes at any value was not what they were finding fault with, it was them being there in the first place. They saw the shop full of old bikes as either clutter or an 'attractive nuisance'.
I pretty much assumed they'd value any bike at half Walmart prices but they dropped the policy on two three main concerns.
First was that I have a utility trailer which they said "Conveys the look of a commercial presence" , second I had a "Commercial, diesel powered vehicle parked on the premise in plain view", and the third was that there were "Derelict bicycles and parts 'strewn' about the garage providing an 'Attractive Nuisance' which could lead to potential break ins or fire hazards".
They didn't ask me to remedy the situation, they didn't say to remove anything, they just sent me a letter stating they were dropping me as of of a set date. They gave me 21 days to find a replacement company.

The garage, like I suppose most garages is always a mess, but nothing is visible from the outside unless you walk up to the side door window and shine a bright light through the dark tinted glass. The overhead door windows are 1% black tinted, as are the two door windows, and all windows are backed with stainless mess within safety glass. They had to go to great extremes to see inside.
There is nothing on the floor, other than what's sitting on tires, and what's on the bench is generally parts to what ever is on on of the various bike stands or any other project.
The truck is a super clean, very low mileage F250 4x4 with a 5ft tall fiberglass cap on the back. Its clean, bone stock, and used to sit in the garage until I found the cap for it.
The two trailers they had the most issues with are a 16ft open car trailer, with two 8ft drop down ramps. Its black with black wheels and in great shape, its faded to flat black and gets used quite often. At times I have either a car or my tractor on it. It sits either in the back hard behind the garage or along side it when loaded. The second trailer is the back half of a Chevy pickup truck with an 8ft bed, with a 6ft tall utility box on top. I use it for both storage now and for the occasional swap meet. Its tall enough inside that a 6ft tall man can stand up. I also have a 6x12 black enclosed trailer that I use on occasion and it generally has my motorcycle parked inside when its not in the garage.
I also have an 8x24ft enclosed car trailer parked along the far side of the garage, its four years old and gray in color, Its parked between the tree line and the building. Only the front is visible from the road. They never mentioned the two enclosed trailers, just the 'Utility trailers' of which they sent me pictures of in the cancellation notice.
Keep in mind the same insurance company who is complaining about these vehicles is the very one that insures them on the road. They have no problem writing the policy to cover their use, but have an issue with them being parked here.

When i inquired about this I was told that their decision had been made and when I pushed the issue they read off a list of other items that contributed to the cancellation. That's when they also mentioned the boats. They referred to my 14ft and 16ft aluminum boats as 'derelict or abandoned boats' and found issue with my 17ft aluminum canoe which sits atop the wood pile rack and a small 12ft row boat on a trailer under a lean too attached to a storage shed. All three boats are on tagged trailers and all three boats are registered.
The 12ft boat is more or less for use for exercise, its set up strictly for rowing, The canoe was my uncles, Its behind the garage between a fence and the building, it cannot be seen unless someone walks through the fenced in yard and behind the building. Its under the short A roof that covers the wood pile. The canoe is a birch bark painted Radisson aluminum canoe from the 1960's. It used to go on all our camping trips when I was a kid. I've not used it in years and have no intent to ever get rid of it. its a bit faded but 100% usable.

My yard or garage is no different than any other garage in the neighborhood, the guy next door has a yard full of 71 Chevelles, and two under construction in his garage, hes got a 34ft enclosed trailer, two campers, and a 16ft motorcycle trailer with a huge orange Harley logo on the side.
The guy on the other side has a 6x12 trailer full of dirt bikes, four boats, and 28ft camper in the driveway, and nearly every last house has a pickup truck and several cars in the driveway. My yard looks barren compared to most in that I don't have a camper parked in the driveway.
The front yard is landscaped with a decent looking lawn, the house and garage both have a fairly new roof, and the place is kept well trimmed.

As it stands I'm paying three times what most around here are paying for similar properties, only the one company who I had switched to after they offered huge discounts if I combined car and home insurance but then dropped me a month later. A few companies were over $4k, without ever looking at the property, and a few flat out refused to write new policies.
I just got a renewal notice for my homeowners which renews in Aug. and the rate has gone up 80% again. As it stands now I buy my house again and again every 4 years here between insurance and taxes here.

I still find it strange to even have a visit. We've owned dozens of houses and properties and have never had an inspection. We've had adjusters out for claims but they are only there focused on what thing or things they were called for