Often you use a police report. My local police department is on an unofficial slowdown strike because they don't feel appreciated post-BLM. Possibly also because if they "forget" to file police reports or they "get lost in the system" then the official crime rate goes down. It took me over a month to get a police report I could send to insurance for a simple break in, and spent more of my labor by hourly wage trying to get that report than the cost insurance reimbursed.
The only thing that will is to stop being trigger happy menaces to public safety.
I wish I could say it was still worth it because filing the report and providing the information about the theft gave the police additional info to use if they ever caught the thief, but nope. They didn't even want a copy of the video from the security cameras at the store in whose parking lot it happened. They made it acutely obvious that I was wasting their time by being there and that they had no interest whatsoever in doing what I naïvely thought was their job.
What an absolute waste of time.
How could it cost more? Are you counting the time spent compiling the documentation?
Generally filing a police report will suffice, if I’m not mistaken. Could you lie? Of course, but (1) it’s generally not in your best interest because the insurer might raise your rates and/or discontinue coverage, and (2) you’d be making a decision to make false statements to the police for purpose of fraud, which most reasonable people won’t do.
Other than perhaps using cameras as a means to deter thieves, I’m not sure that low-value (under USD 5000) items like bicycles are worth the time and effort for insurers to launch full investigations over.
I would agree, yet I have seen it happen. It is a somewhat difficult to predict path. I have seen some smaller claims (~$2000) take significantly longer and with more investigation than other very large (>$50,000) claims. I would assume there are certain metrics and algorithmic methods that effect how this plays out, so it is possible that someone who has had multiple small claims my get more attention than a single large claim.
Either way - The concept of the camera is simple in providing evidence in cases where that evidence can help you.
You've seen insurance claims denied because someone didn't have an unverified video that allegedly showed a theft taking place, even with a police report in hand? (Seriously: How would an insurer know that you hadn't arranged to have your brother-in-law pretend to steal your bike for the camera?)
However it is always good to recognize the primary goals of the insurance parties - which is to not pay. They have strong incentives in that direction, and you providing proof of theft reduces the opportunities for those incentives to slow or reduce the payment.
It is especially true in cases of undeclared specific items, like an expensive mountain bike that you do not have a dedicated policy on.
