Beware bike insurance loopholes [MoreTh>n]

[mumbo jumbo]

Seriously pissed off. I just had my claim for 2 stolen bikes declined (Trek 4500 and Specialized Hard Rock Sport - both MTBs with front susp). These are not high end bikes but were about £650 new around 2 years ago. Replacements just cost me £850. I was expecting the insurance to cover maybe half of that cost.

What happened? I had a trial run at fitting the 2 bikes plus roofbox and a couple of other bits onto the roof of our car before going on hols. Got it sorted in the end but a phonecall then heavy rain intervened and I ended up leaving them locked onto the car overnight. The car was parked on the drive. So we have:

- a parked car, deadlocked with an immobiliser
- roofbars locked onto the car
- bike carriers locked onto the roofbars
- bikes locked onto the bike carriers

You guessed it. Following morning they were gone. Police were informed and, credit to them, came round and investigated later that morning. Needless to say, nobody saw anything.

Now for the insurance bit. I expect like many of us, I have a specific bikes add-on to my home contents policy. £100 excess. £1500 single bike limit (that's for my bike!). There were 3 reasons my claim was declined:

- Although the bikes were on my property, they were outside the physical building which is my home so the normal contents policy didn't work. If they had been in the building, they would have had to be locked to something immoveable for the insurance to work.
- So my bike specific add-on should cover it (or so I thought). But no. This covers loss whilst outside the home and the land belonging to the home. The car and hence the bikes were on my land so I'm not covered. So it seems that locking your bike to a drainpipe or similar on the front of your house will never be covered.
- Even if the car had been parked 5 yards away on the road (off my land), I would still not have been covered because the bikes were not locked to an immoveable object. OK - so a car can be driven but this is a deadlocked car with an immobiliser. What this means is that your bike add-on extension to your contents policy will not cover you for any theft of bikes when they are in transit on a vehicle. Like going away on holiday for instance.

My complaints have fallen on deaf ears. It's true to say that not all policies are the same so I'd be interested to know if others have successfully claimed for theft of bikes in similar circumstances or if there are insurers who are well known for providing better bike insurance.

 

[User16625]

This is the reason I absolutlely despise insurance companies. They are 1 notch up from scum of the earth terrorists, pedophiles etc. Its a legal way to steal as far as im concerned. Only ever buy insrance that is absolutely required such as motor insurance and save yourself the bother.

 

[byegad]

I gave up last year when my then house insurer decided that my trikes had to be:-
a) 'Valued, by an expert.'
Could they point me towards one?
No I had to find my own.
Would a price list help (They were covered new for old.)?
No!
If I find one and get them valued will they accept the valuation?
Not necessarily, but they'd only confirm if they accepted the valuation IF there was a claim.
b) 'The lock you use must be from our approved list.'
So weighing a ton!
c) 'The bike must be locked through the frame and a wheel to an immovable object and any other wheels similarly attached to the frame by a lock on the list.'
Another two tons! AND the need to find immovable objects. Given that the earthquake which caused the Japanese tsunami deflected the Earth slightly in its orbit, that one sounded like a catch-all get out clause if ever I heard one.


I shopped around for house insurance, without bike cover as they all seemed to be allergic to insuring my trikes, and saved nearly £200/annum.

So I thought I'd go to a specialist insurer. For my two trikes they all want approximately £700/annum, and they have lock requirements. Blah! Blah! Blah!

So I didn't insure at all and instead used the money I've not spent on insurance to buy a third trike, delivery due soon.

 

[MontyVeda]

typical insurance companies, you're only covered until you make a claim!

 

[Flying Dodo]

More Than should rename themselves as Less Than!*

It's worth paying a bit extra to cover loss of personal items outside of the home.





*[sub]or should than be Fewer Than for the grammar police?[/sub]

 

[ColinJ]

typical insurance companies, you're only covered until you make a claim!

I have mine covered on my M&S home and contents insurance. In this thread, tundragumski reports having had his/her(?) unlocked bike nicked when (s)he turned his/her back for a few seconds at a cafe stop and (s)he got a new bike through M&S insurance within 2 weeks - not bad!

 

[MontyVeda]

I have mine covered on my M&S home and contents insurance. In this thread, tundragumski reports having had his/her(?) unlocked bike nicked when (s)he turned his/her back for a few seconds at a cafe stop and (s)he got a new bike through M&S insurance within 2 weeks - not bad!

interesting... thanks for that.

I keep considering contents and bike insurance but if i never get burgled and i never get my bike stolen it's money down the drain... so it's a case of finding a policy where the cost is negligible and a company that will pay out in the unlikely event i get robbed

 

[Red Light]

I've heard of good experiences with M&S from others. But if the insurance is with the same company for bikes and household I would try the insurance ombudsman. Also have you looked at your car insurance to see if that would cover it.

I got mine insured through the broker that advertises in the back of the CTC magazine and they seem to be pretty good at finding good home contents policies that include bikes inside and outside the house all risks.

 

[mumbo jumbo]

Also have you looked at your car insurance to see if that would cover it.

M&S are sounding good just now. I'll also look into a motor insurance claim. Probably should have thought of that before!

 

[sean8997]

Be carefull what you tell your car insurance company, I had my bike nicked from inside my car last year, was locked up, coverered outside the hotel I was staying in, found that my car insurance only covered up to £100 worth of contents so i decided not to claim as not worth it. When my renewal quote came through, it had my car being broken into even though I didnt claim!

 

[ColinJ]

One loophole I've seen is that bikes must be stored locked in buildings of brick or stone construction, so wooden garden sheds would not be covered, no matter how securely your bike was locked inside! It's an absolute nonsense of course, because most brick or stone buildings have wooden doors ... Check the small print!

 

[sean8997]

I now have my new bike insured with british cycling, as I live in an apartment block I leave my bike in the communal cycle stwage area, I provided pictures of the stowage area, the locks used and how I lock my bike up, they were more than happy with that.

 

[chris-s]

Not much help now, but that's why I moved to
Marks & Spencer home insurance.

Chris

 

[al-fresco]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. When I added my bike to my household policy I specifically checked that Liverpool Victoria consider that a locked roof-rack on a car counted as an "immovable object" and they advised me that it did. Well done for posting here - I certainly won't consider moving my insurance to Morethan.

 

[Seigi]

One loophole I've seen is that bikes must be stored locked in buildings of brick or stone construction, so wooden garden sheds would not be covered, no matter how securely your bike was locked inside! It's an absolute nonsense of course, because most brick or stone buildings have wooden doors ... Check the small print!

I roll a boulder in front of my garage at night to close the door.