DENVER — It's been almost two months since Jay "Ron" Allen and his wife had their electric bikes stolen from their Denver garage.
"We put them in the garage 'cause we thought, 'Hey we'll come back and use 'em later or use 'em tomorrow,'" Allen said.
The next morning, there was activity on their security cameras that showed two men breaking into their garage and stealing the bikes.
Allen is upset with the thieves, but he's even more aggravated by his insurance claim.
"We thought, 'Yeah we have insurance.' We've had homeowners insurance for 27 years with the same company, and we didn't think there'd be any issue," Allen said. "We were wrong about that."
USAA denied his claim, saying E-Bikes fall under "property we do not cover."
"We assumed they were bicycles," Allen said. "The company said "No, those are motor vehicles, and we don't cover motor vehicles.'"
The denial said his homeowner's policy would cover "golf carts" or "motorized vehicles designed or modified to operate at speeds not to exceed 15 miles per hour and for use off public roads."
Allen asked if his car insurance could cover the bikes and was told that doesn't apply either.
9NEWS reached out to USAA media relations on Wednesday afternoon and they said they would review the denial.
"We always think there's no new thing in insurance, but there is, and E-Bikes fall under that," said Carole Walker, the Rocky Mountain Insurance Association Executive Director.
Walker said some insurance companies might consider E-Bikes personal property and cover them under homeowners or renters insurance, but others might not.
"Even if you have coverage under a homeowners policy, understand how that's covered," said Walker. "If it's excluded, if you do have coverage, what the limits and deductibles are, then how are you covered for liability?"
Ultimately, Walker's advice is to call your insurance now rather than find out the hard way, like Allen.
"If I had just reported that my bike was stolen for $1,600, I would have been reimbursed," Allen said. "But because I put 'My electric bike was stolen,' they said 'No, we don't cover it.'"
Part of his frustration comes from Colorado law, which states that electric bikes and scooters "are exempt from motor vehicle registration and license requirements."