To claim or not claim?

So on Sunday a guy pushed my bike (according to cops he's crazy) it fell and got some scratches. My first thought was small claims court to get a lean in case he'll get money. I don't want to raise my own rate for something I didn't do. Though folks keep telling me to call insurance first. I'm with TD, anyone has experience with such thing?
My deductible is 500 I believe, and the scratches are fairly minor but on the fairing, mirror, signal, end bar, and plastic vent cover.

nyx said:

So on Sunday a guy pushed my bike (according to cops he's crazy) it fell and got some scratches. My first thought was small claims court to get a lean in case he'll get money. I don't want to raise my own rate for something I didn't do. Though folks keep telling me to call insurance first. I'm with TD, anyone has experience with such thing?
My deductible is 500 I believe, and the scratches are fairly minor but on the fairing, mirror, signal, end bar, and plastic vent cover.

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I suggest you do not claim.
An experienced retired insurance agent told me do not claim under $1k and if you can afford it do not claim under $2k.
It counts against you. Just shine the bike up and continue on.
Your small claims court idea is good. If he is crazy he might have someone with power of attorney over him and you can maybe get some money from them or his 'estate'.

Depends. I'd call your insurance and ask questions, but do not give them your name or policy number. If the bike was parked and he knocked it over, then that can't be considered an at fault claim...if anything it would fall under vandalism or some other form of comprehensive (assuming you have comp coverage).

That said, if you feel the damage is under your deductible, then don't report it. If it is significantly over, then you might want to. I've also heard that too many comprehensive claims in a short period can count against you, but I have no clue if that one is true or not.

As for small claims...depends on if this was a one-off, or you live/work near the guy. If you will run into him again and again, then it might be best not to throw the book at him...otherwise watch you win, and then he sets your bike on fire or something.

conundrum said:

Depends. I'd call your insurance and ask questions, but do not give them your name or policy number. If the bike was parked and he knocked it over, then that can't be considered an at fault claim...if anything it would fall under vandalism or some other form of comprehensive (assuming you have comp coverage).

That said, if you feel the damage is under your deductible, then don't report it. If it is significantly over, then you might want to. I've also heard that too many comprehensive claims in a short period can count against you, but I have no clue if that one is true or not.

As for small claims...depends on if this was a one-off, or you live/work near the guy. If you will run into him again and again, then it might be best not to throw the book at him...otherwise watch you win, and then he sets your bike on fire or something.

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I don't live but work 15 min away, never seen him before, I made one off stop and bike was parked. I was informed going court route will provide him my address though. And I don't have intentions of moving soon atm.

Get a police report and call TD. It's not at fault. Doesn't impact your rates or premiums.

-D- said:

It counts against you. Just shine the bike up and continue on..

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If it was someone else's fault as is the case with our OP, or it was a hit and run, so long as there is a police report to validate either situation (and the police report is key), that statement is wrong. We have made several insurance claims for hit and run damage over the years, police reports filed, and none of them ever made one iota of difference to our insurance rates since they are considered not at fault.

In the end it depends on if the potential payout is enough beyond the deductible amount to be bothered, however. If the damage is $600 it's probably not worth the time to bother with a claim for a $100 cheque, but if the damage is $1000...that $500 cheque will help out with the repairs.

And OP, don't bother taking the guy to court or anything, you may win a judgement against him in small claims or something but the courts have no teeth making the guy actually pay a dime of it so he'll probably tell you to get stuffed anyways. Unless you're wiling to hire a company to pursue him beyond that (which will cost you even more money) it's a waste of time for such a small claim.

I'm with TD as well and back in 2013, two weeks after I picked up my new FZ6R, a lady backed into it and knocked it down (I was parked legally in a nursing home parking lot and she was one of the nurses there)...didn't look too bad but had her towed (CAA) to Oakville Yamaha and damages were $2500...TD paid for the repairs AND they even paid for a rental from the dealership (they gave me a ninja 250 to use while I waited and charged it back to TD)...it's considered no fault and has not increased my premiums at all...just my $0.02

nyx said:

So on Sunday a guy pushed my bike (according to cops he's crazy) it fell and got some scratches. My first thought was small claims court to get a lean in case he'll get money. I don't want to raise my own rate for something I didn't do. Though folks keep telling me to call insurance first. I'm with TD, anyone has experience with such thing?
My deductible is 500 I believe, and the scratches are fairly minor but on the fairing, mirror, signal, end bar, and plastic vent cover.

Click to expand...

Hi Nyx, I would get an estimate first. See how much it would cost to repair or replace the fairings if need be. Call the insurance company to find out what your deductible is. If it is significantly lower than than the cost to replace or repair then put in a claim. Even though comp claims do not raise your rate, they do take them into consideration when writing a risk.