Car roof dented by ice off Harley Davidson van!

[Jon27]

My wife was driving home down I-40 last night. A huge chunk of ice flew off the top of a Harley Davidson van. It really dented the roof of her car BAD!! She was smart, and wrote down the license plate number. When she got home, I called the Harley Store. I spoke to Dan the General Manager. He was going to call their insurance company, and get back with me. He called me back today, and said that a claim was filed. Their insurance company called me. The lady was EXTREMELY rude!! It was some number out of Wisconsin. I couldn't understand the name of the company, but I think it started with a W. The woman just asked me what happened, and said very rudely ""We'll investigate, and get back with you." I work for a major insurance company that has a call center here. I talked to a liability adjustor of ours, and was told that they are liable for this. I don't know how good of service I'll get with Harley's insurance. Any thoughts from anyone?

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

That sucks.

[Karried]

Oh man, something similar just happened to me today! I was picking up the kids from school, turned into the school parking lot and a huge chunk of ice/snow from a power line fell onto my hood!

I pulled over and got out but it appears that there was no damage. Good thing because who the heck would I have called?

You should be fine with the insurance from Harley.

I'm sure you have done this but take pictures of the damage, maybe video of your vehicle and surrounding areas that may have ice still on them, ie trees or power lines or cars traveling.. with date stamps.

I doubt you'll need it though, you should have no problem recouping damages from them. They are a pretty reputable company.

Be thankful it wasn't JoeBlow Plumbing Company out of Kansas.

The one thing that you have in your favor is the national coverage of our ice storm. The other thing is that the driver of the van was negligent in not clearing off a potential hazard before driving. And if all else fails, somewhere with all of this disaster - state of emergency claims, there has to be a provision covering vehicle damage.

Let us know how it goes.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

lol...Call FEMA.








They'll probably give you a new trailer.

[Karried]

lol...Call FEMA.




They'll probably give you a new trailer.

Or at the very least, a gently used one.. just ignore the black stuff growing on the walls... and don't breathe deeply.

Hey, you never know... Fema is so desperate to revamp their image.. there just might be some provisions available ...

Personally, if it were me, I'd barter for a new Harley - Road King Classic - heavy sigh... I so miss our motorcycle.

btw, One time while driving, a rock flew off of a truck and the company who owned the truck replaced my windshield without much of an issue at all.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

btw, One time while driving, a rock flew off of a truck and the company who owned the truck replaced my windshield without much of an issue at all.

See...That's weird. I always heard that they'd just tell you that you were following too close for the conditions. Like if you hit a dresser that fell off of a moving truck. They'd say that you were driving too fast and/or following too close to give yourself ample time to drive around it.

Of course...One of my biggest pet peeves on the road this time of year is people not cleaning their vehicles off before hitting the road. A 5 lb chunk of ice moving 50 mph could probably kill somebody, and moving down the highway I've seen huge pieces of ice sail 30' in the air off the top of some cars.

[Ginkasa]

I thought I remember hearing something from the last ice storm that ice that comes off of cars is treated like an improperly secured load?

[Jon27]

I thought about the bartering for a new motorcycle Karried! Tell them, "I won't have you guys on the 10 o'clock news for a new bike, and the roof fixed." Too bad things don't work that way!

[Easy180]

Had a piece on channel 5 (I think) news with questions for the state insurance commissioner...She said that the car with the ice flying off would not be responsible for the damage...Didn't catch the explanation, but her answer definitely caught my attention

[SpectralMourning]

Not sure if this was shared before, but it's relevant to the conversation :-D

YouTube - Huge chunks of ice fall from 1600 foot TV tower

good stuff.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Had a piece on channel 5 (I think) news with questions for the state insurance commissioner...She said that the car with the ice flying off would not be responsible for the damage...Didn't catch the explanation, but her answer definitely caught my attention

That was my understanding. "Following too close for the conditions" was one of the reasons.

[Easy180]

Gotta love the insurance industry

Guess they didn't notice the ice usually shoots upward and then comes down well behind the vehicle it came off of

Oh well...Yet another reason to carry full coverage

[Jon27]

Had a piece on channel 5 (I think) news with questions for the state insurance commissioner...She said that the car with the ice flying off would not be responsible for the damage...Didn't catch the explanation, but her answer definitely caught my attention

From what I understand in talking with fellow adjustors that I work with, they will be liable.

[Easy180]

superchris good luck with it, but it seems to me to be a little much to expect everyone with vans, semis and larger suvs to climb up on their vehicles and hammer away at a block of ice before driving

Of course it can be done, but I'm not sold on them being liable if they don't...Just another hazard we run into when we have the always fun ice storms

Let us know how it turns out for you

[Jon27]

superchris good luck with it, but it seems to me to be a little much to expect everyone with vans, semis and larger suvs to climb up on their vehicles and hammer away at a block of ice before driving

Of course it can be done, but I'm not sold on them being liable if they don't...Just another hazard we run into when we have the always fun ice storms

Let us know how it turns out for you

We'll see what happens. I'm kinda with you though, I'm not holding my breath! This will be a learning experience for all of us! I'll definatly let you know how it turns out.

[Kerry]

What ever you do - do not repair your car until you have resolution one way or another. Once you pay out of pocket it will be harder to collect, and most likely, you will just lose interest and not be up for a long drawn out process.

[CCOKC]

I was just in Pittsburgh last weekend where there was snow and ice and the paper had an article on the front page reminding everyone that you as the driver of the vehicle are responsible for any damage or injury due to flying ice or snow from your vehicle punishable by a pretty hefty fine acccording to Pennsylvania law. Not sure how that relates to the big trucks that would have a really difficult time getting ice off of the tops of their trailers. I do think I will think twice the next time this happens and make sure to allow extra time to get the ice not only off of my windows but the top and hood of my car. It really could save someone's life.

[Jon27]

My wife was driving home down I-40 last night. A huge chunk of ice flew off the top of a Harley Davidson van. It really dented the roof of her car BAD!! She was smart, and wrote down the license plate number. When she got home, I called the Harley Store. I spoke to Dan the General Manager. He was going to call their insurance company, and get back with me. He called me back today, and said that a claim was filed. Their insurance company called me. The lady was EXTREMELY rude!! It was some number out of Wisconsin. I couldn't understand the name of the company, but I think it started with a W. The woman just asked me what happened, and said very rudely ""We'll investigate, and get back with you." I work for a major insurance company that has a call center here. I talked to a liability adjustor of ours, and was told that they are liable for this. I don't know how good of service I'll get with Harley's insurance. Any thoughts from anyone?

They're paying for it!! It's through Wausau Insurance. They are paying for the dent 100% plus rental bill for 5 days. The estimate is 798.36.

[Karried]

Yay!!!!

[kevinpate]

repair AND 5 day rental for under 800? That's either a much smaller dent than I imagined, or someone is working dirt dawg cheap. Either way, glad it worked out.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Cool!