My Bikes Got Stolen

Over MLK weekend, my garage was broken into and my 2 bikes were stolen.

Here's an homage to 'Little Red' - my 2010 Fuji XS SL Comp 1. 

My second bike was a 2009 Trek WSD FX 7.5 - that wasn't ridden very much, so all I have is stock photo. 

I'm writing this post to let other's know how the whole process goes in case this happens to someone else and they need some solace. 

Once we got home and realized the bikes were stolen (along with other stuff in the garage) we called the "non-emergency" police line. 

About 30 mins an officer arrived and gave us some forms to fill out to file a police report. He said there's pretty much nothing they can do, and usually the stolen stuff never turns up. 

I went to bed feeling very sad, thinking why did this happen.

The next day, I called my homeowners insurance to get an idea of what can be covered. My Statefarm agent said they wouldn't be able to provide much details. I would need to file an "inquiry claim" to see if its worth filing a claim. 

After talking to a claims agent, who was very helpful, he said, that State Farm would cover the amount to replace the objects minus the depreciation. So for example, to replace and purchase my Fuji SL Comp today, the retail price is $2300. State Farm believes a lifespan of a bike is 10 years, since I had the bike for 2 years, they took off 20% for depreciation. So $2300 - 20% ($460) = $1840 + tax back to me.

Not bad since I bought the bike on sale for $1800. So I got the full value that I paid for it. 

State Farm knows you don't keep receipts for everything, but for the larger priced items, if you did have a receipt it would be helpful. Luckily I did have my receipts for my bikes, but they were ok if I didn't have receipts for other things, like my pedals, bike computer, etc. 

The insurance process was very fast. After I submitted the paper work, I got a check within days. The process was over in a week. 

I also notified local bike stores and scoured craigslist and ebay to see if my bike was posted. I even made flyers to post, but after I got my $ back, the flame to search for my bikes died down. 

It would be nice to find my road bike so I don't have to go through the process of getting another one which is a PAIN.

If you rent, you can get renters insurance. It covers the same things as home owners insurance (in case your bikes or possessions gets stolen) 

Get insurance! better safe than sorry :)

and here's a note for the thief: