retro bike stolen - insurance "replacement"

wondering if anyone has experience of claiming for a stolen retro bike and how your insurers covered the loss?

I've recently had a 91 Cindercone (upgraded with LX / XT components to make a 1x9 speed commuter) and a home assembled Single Speed MTB (using 2nd hand one-one inbred frame and new parts) nicked. Insurers have confirmed that they are covered. I've sent them photo's and details / components lists etc and i am just waiting to hear how the insurers intend to cover the loss. My policy is clear - they fund a new for old replacement or if you don't want that then they'll pay you the "market rate".

Problem is I understand that insurers these days decide upon the appropriate replacement bike/s and then provide that level of vouchers for their preferred provider. But neither of my bikes are "off the peg" and I wouldn't consider a new cindercone to be an appropriate replacement

The ideal outcome would be a fair sum of cash to fund 2 builds as close as possible to what were nicked. I'm not looking to "gain" from the situation - just replace what was lost

Anyone any experience, ideas or views about how the insurance co may try to handle this claim and how I could argue for my preferred outcome? Thanks in anticipation....

Yes had my 1998 Team Volvo Cannondale stolen in March last year, thankfully had lots of photos showing the condition & components plus provided a replacement costings schedule independantly verified by my local bike shop & insurers paid full amount without any queries.

Its an insurance company so they will try and get the lowest price they can.
1. They couldn't care less what it costs bitd so therefore to them its a 20 year old bicycle full stop.
2. They dont care what it took to build or how hard it was to find the bits so therefore its a 20 year old pain in the ass that they will want to write a cheque and hope you go away.
The best course of action and certainly this is what they do in the motor trade is take a look on ebay, autotrader, et al, and offer you the cash equivalent of the closest thing they could find to yours. What you need to do is get hard evidence of what its going to cost you (including shipping and import tax where applicable) so you have evidence to argue the price up. Its rare they will budge these days unless you can comprehensively proove you will be at a loss and subsequently they will be in breach of their contract if its new for old or equivalent value policy which it sounds like it is.
Dont forget, they really couldnt give a toss about your bike, its a simple finacial cost to them nothing more, if your lucky enough to get a claims handler thats into retrobikes you may get a bit of sympathy as a courtesy but nothing more. Hit them with facts and evidence they will be fair, give them nothing and they will try and screw you down.

...and when you do reach a settlement make sure you get an 'agreed value' in future, it'll save all the aggro

If you got a brand new Cinder Cone you could probably sell it on immediately and get a retro Explosif or even better with the money.... that's what I would do.

for those who were kind enough to respond on the forum and via pm, and for anyone else who might search and find this thread in the future - here's what happened ....

insurers accepted it was a valid claim and covered by my policy. I sent them plenty of photo's and a components list for each bike (down to the make and model of cable wire!). They outsourced it to a claims handler company who contacted me to say that they would work with their suppliers to find "new for old" "like for like" replacements for both bikes.

The single speed on-one inbred was relatively easy. Their supplier couldn't offer me an on-one (only on-one sell them) so they offered me a range of other steel single speed specific frames with the same components or same standard of components (at least) as was on my home assembled inbred. I had to challenge a number of their proposed components as not "like for like" but after a few weeks of haggling they are now doing me a custom build based on a Genesis Fortitude 29er SS frame with Halo wheels, race face crank, nobby nics and easton a50 finishing kit. Bonkers as my inbred was a second hand frame with bitsnbobs assembled from online clearances, second hand bargains and bits I had lying around the parts box. this replacement must be worth about 3 times what the inbred cost to assemble - BUT I was 100% honest throughout and this is what I'm getting. Happy days!!!

as for the 91 Kona Cindercone, again they worked hard to please me with a new custom build and the offers were extremely impressive (Salsa Vaya Travel, SLX gears, Xt brakes) but ultimately they could only offer touring frames with v-brake mounts. What I wanted from this one was some cash so that i could get my hands on another retro kona. I didn't ask for money but I continued to decline their proposed replacements, for very valid reasons, until they concluded that a cash settlement would be more appropriate. They calculate it by offering what their proposed replacement would have cost them to assemble. They get a hefty discount from their supplier, but even so the sum offered was £944. I accepted and bought a beautiful 95 cindercone frame from here which I am in the process of assembling.

Be assertive. insist that "like for like" means just that, and if their supplier can't deliver it, then they need to offer a "new for old" value cash settlement.

A shame you had your bikes nicked in the first place but a great result in the end - good work!

What insurance company was that? They seem very reasonable, the only time I have had to deal with an insurance company it was a pita trying to get what I wanted - they kept trying to fob me off with a replacement by a different company with a lower spec level. I got there in the end but it wasn't the experience they try to sell you on the adverts!

This is an interesting thread. Glad you got a reasonable result on what could have been a lot worse. Damn theiving scum!!!

This thread kind of does make me glad that i'm borderline OCD when it comes to buying and building bikes. I keep a log of what i've spent on the a build (and weights... i know sad) and i keep all the reciepts wherrever i can. I hope i never have to call on these...

so who's the insurer? I reckon I want to go with them.