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BMW MOA Road Side and Tire Hazard Insurance story
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During the last meeting on August 8th, I brought up the story of my first attempt at a Bun Burner Gold 1500 which ended in Boerne Texas with a nail in the rear tire on the evening of Friday July 26th.

Having about one hour to find the nearby Alamo BMW, getting the tire replaced was foremost on my mind as I knew they would close at 5pm.   I was also contemplating having to inform the group of people who I invited to watch my efforts in Spotwalla about what it really meant when my moving icon stopped for so long.  Also turns out the GPS never really had a good idea where these guys were, so I had to call them and get directions as I rode to their location.  Made it, nail found, tire replaced and out the door as the clock struck 5pm.  Nice people.

Only when I was well on my way back home did I recall that I had this BMW MOA promoted Tire Hazard insurance.  I didn't try to call them until Saturday morning, but they weren't there.  Called Monday, and they promptly declined the coverage as I "didn't call them for pre-authorization before having the tire changed on Friday".   I subsequently emailed in an appeal with my story, and I got a letter in the mail that said the same thing.  They kept beating me over the head about the contract, which I told her I never received.

I found a few stories about others in similar circumstances who asked BMW MOA to intervene, so I sent an email to them informing them I would talk about this situation during our Club meeting (I did) and I had planned to send an email to the Editor of the BMW ON magazine suggesting how much of a scam this insurance was.  I had a reply the next day from BMW MOA saying it was not a scam, but they would contact the insurance firm and suggest that they take another look at my case.  My wife continued to give me grief about it, and was betting heavily against me.

Fortunately, this weekend, I received a check in the mail for $250.  I plan to send a Thank You note to the insurance folks, and I figured I should at least mention the rest of the story to all those who got to listen to me rant during the last meeting.  I'll be sure to call them first next time.

-James Brown

PS. I'm still trying to plan another Iron Butt BBG 1500 run from Webster to El Paso and back, which *may* start on one of the following Fridays:  9/6, 10/4, 10/18 or 11/1.  I've revised the route and need to figure out when the construction between Sealy and Brookshire will not delay me.
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