IF THERE IS ANYONE WHO HAD THEIR BIKE(S) or ITEMS AT BALANCE BICYCLE THE WEEKEND OF MAY 30/31 AND HASN'T CONTACTED ME, PLEASE CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

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It is has come to my attention that the insurance adjuster has not contacted many of you, in stark contrast to what she told me in June (see June 5 Update.)  You may contact her as much as you like, contact information follows.

Mary Eades with Erie Insurance
804-837-0003
Mary.Eades@ERieInsurance.com
ALWAYS reference claim number A2632466

July 14 - For those of you who haven't received the forms from Erie Insurance to fill out, please download "pol.pdf" at the top of this page.  Rest assured, your bike is on my claim already, but Erie still needs you to fill out these forms.

The incident is "My bike was stolen from Balance Bicycle Shop over the weekend of May30/31."  The break in occurred at 1:46a on May 31.  The Richmond City police were called.  You are not claiming this on any other insurance.  The first document called "Proof of Loss" needs to be notarized.

Email me for the account and claim number.

The completed documents can be mailed to:

ERIE INSURANCE
ATTENTION: MARY EADES
PO BOX 28120
RICHMOND VA 23228-0120

July 9 - I have tried to do this all by myself, but I have reached a point where I cannot continue alone.  I have retained council for Balance Bicycle Shop.  This will help you by possibly expediting your claim and ensuring fair treatment from Erie Insurance.

I have gotten a lot of emails about filling out the paperwork, which is great.  I am happy to answer to the best of my ability.  Unfortunately, many times I have to forward your questions directly to the adjuster.  Please consider contacting her first. 

If the adjuster is unable to talk to you directly, it is because I have retained council. Call me and leave a message or email me (preferred) so that my attorney can assist you with your claim.

July 2 - I submitted the claim for Balance Bicycle Shop.  Everyone who has contacted me, your bike(s) or items are on the claim.  You MUST still complete the required paperwork from Erie Insurance and submit it to the adjuster.

June 23 - The insurance claim for Balance Bicycle is almost ready for submission.  For everyone who has been contacted by me and the insurance adjuster, your bike(s) and items will be on the claim.  Once I submit the claim, it will be out of my hands and the insurance adjuster will continue her work.  My understanding is that the adjuster will return a itemized list to me with with approved payments for your bikes and items.

June 16 - It sounds like the adjuster who is handling the claim for Balance Bicycle Shop is reaching out to you.  If you haven't been contacted yet, I'm sure you will soon.

June 11 - Do to the massive number of calls for parts and service, I am not answering phone calls.  Please leave a message and I will return your call within 1 day, but probably quicker. 

I want to take a moment to express my gratitude.  We all have had our property stolen.  Everyone who I have talked to has been patient and understanding.  I am doing everything I can right now to get all of you compensated for your losses as quickly as possible.

June 9 - Phone lines are back in service and messages will be checked daily going forward.

June 8 - For those of you who are claiming your loss on your insurance policies, the police report number is 202006040327.  This police report number is for the break in and theft that happened at Balance Bicycle Shop on Sunday, May 31 at 1:46am.

If you plan on claiming your loss on your home owners or renters insurance, you will only be able to claim the loss once.  My adjuster has indicated she will be checking to make sure claims are not paid multiple times.

June 6 -  Everyone who has reached out and everyone who I know to have had a bike stolen has been called.  There are probably another 10-15 customers who had bikes in the shop at the time who have not reached out to me.  If your bike was in Balance Bicycle Shop over the weekend of May 30-31, please email me using the contact form so I can inform you of the next steps. 

June 5 - I have begun calling customers and will continue over the weekend.  If you haven't heard from me, you will soon.  Phone equipment is in and out, maybe damaged.

As I suspected based on the initial review done earlier this week, I have confirmation that Balance Bicycle Shops' insurance policy will cover your property loss.  This is excellent news.  You do not need to use your insurance for your claim.  If you have started a claim, I will leave it up to you if you want to continue with your insurance or Balance Bicycle Shops' insurance, but my claims adjuster will be checking to make sure items aren't claimed multiple times. 

Going forward, I will be calling each one of you and compiling one spreadsheet which will be made available to my claims adjuster.  At that point, she will handle the rest of the claim with you directly.

June 5 - I am having the insurance policy for Balance Bicycle Shop reviewed as it relates to property in the care and custody of Balance Bicycle Shop.  I am working with my adjuster and I have contacted outside help to review the policy.  Once I have an definitive answer back, I will begin calling each and every one of you that had your bike or property in my shop when it was looted.

I want to reiterate, your loss may covered under your own insurance policies, usually homeowners and renters insurance.

June 4 - There is little to do today.  I have to take care of my kids today, and therefore I can't work the usual 16hrs. Unrest in Richmond is making it impossible to re-enter the store.  Tomorrow will be a big day.  I have pulled off the customer data from my work server.  Hooking up the phones will be a priority tomorrow too.

As I work through this, it will be time for those who have homeowners and renters insurance to call your insurance providers.

June 3 - Everyone who has contacted me about a bike that was stolen during the protests should have received a message back from me.  There is more work than I can handle right now, so I am asking patience from everyone.  And again, our phone lines are out.

June 2 - Despite saying I was not going to work yesterday, I worked 16hrs straight.  Our phone lines are off still.  I will be using call forwarding soon, but right now I can't even keep up with the emails.  I am only 1 person doing the work of 10, work that is totally outside my line of expertise. 

I am sorting emails so I can start contacting those who had their bikes stolen.  I have to cross all the emails with the our database to begin to unpack the scope of this situation.

As you know, we set up a GoFundMe and the Phase 1 in rebuilding is to make sure my existing customers are taken care of.  The proceeds from the GoFundMe will be first allocated to help my customers who have been harmed by the events that took place on Broad St. on Saturday night. 

My explicit goal with Phase 1 of the GoFundMe is to allocate funds quicker than waiting on the insurance claim.  Based on my experience, I would expect the insurance claim to take 12-18mo for something of this scope.  I understand some of you, many of you, need your bikes or need the money today, yesterday and are looking at the GoFundMe and thinking "You can just pay me now." I understand you. I must make sure this is done correctly. We are all victims of the looting that took place on Broad St. and we will all come out on the other side.

This will not be as quick as many of you want or need it to be. I understand the frustration and helplessness you may feel, I feel that too.  I promise that I am doing everything I can do right now to make you whole as quickly as possible.

June 1 - I have hundreds of emails, text messages, DMs.  I slept for the first time in 40+ hours last night and I won't be working at all today.  If your bike was in my shop and stolen over the weekend and you have emailed me, I have received the email.