Do you insure your bikes?

[asterix]

Crime in general is very low.

Most police are plain clothes. Sentencing is very severe, sentences are served, and they have the death penalty as well as the rattan cane.

You don't want to get into trouble here.

The police once stopped me in London with a few grams of weed. They gave me a ticking off and sent me on my way sans weed.

I would have probably done between 10 and 15 years here.

Get caught stealing a bike and you'll get a few lashes and maybe something like 8 years in prison.

It does happen, but at nothing like the rate it does in the UK

Just down the road from the office today is one of those police signs appealing for witnesses. The last time I saw one in the UK it was for an axe murder. The one I saw here today was for a car theft....

On 2nd thoughts this bit of France is nothing like Singapore

 

[asterix]

A few words of advice from a former Crime Scene Attender of the local Plod. In general people are very lax about security particularly with sheds and garages, and the chances of the offenders being caught and the valuable property being returned are almost nil. In my two year stint in that job I attended 2000 offences and I believe there was only one 'Detected'. That sounds appalling but it really wasn't through lack of trying. No witnesses, no forensic evidence and poor security mean't that the offenders always had us and their victims at a great disadvantage.

Sheds and garages. Time and time again We found the shed or garage fitted with a £2.50 mickey mouse padlock even though the property inside was worth thousands. Lawnmowers, stainless steel garden tools, power tools and titanium mountain bikes, all protected by cheap junk. Buy a really good quality padlock.

Hinges. How many people fit carriage bolts to their hinges? Hinges are almost attached with Posidrive screws and offenders often unscrew them and lift the door away from the frame rendering the padlock useless. Carriage bolts have round heads and cannot be undone from outside. When screwing into thin timber, add a decent piece of timber for the screw to screw into. My garage has sections of 4x2 glued in place, to allow the long screws something decent to screw into.

Bikes. Have you considered having your bike postcode stamped? As a local Bobby, I regularly used to do it. I'd stamp the owners postcode and house number into the frame and under the bottom bracket, so that should the bike be stolen, we'd have a fighting chance of returning the bike to the rightful owner. Obviously the stamping chips the paintwork but I used to go over the postcode with nail varnish thereby preventing rust. And when a yoblet is stopped on the bike and the bottom bracket checked, how will he explain the postcode he knew nothing about?

Shed/garage alarms. These battery-powered devices are as cheap as chips and at one time our local Police Station sold them to the general public. They don't cost much more than £20 or so which is peanuts when you consider the value of the objects at risk.

Just something to think about, Ladies and Gents.

Ta for the advice, I'll take a look at my shed when I get back to the UK. However, bikes in my garage are D-locked to secure anchors in the wall. Also, FWIW, there are police officers who live in the street, one of them opposite.

 

[Wheeledweenie]

I have both of mine insured because I know I couldn't afford to replace them and with commuting/going out/shopping etc mine spend a lot of time locked outside in public places.

I have the Evans insurance and had to buy a £50 D-lock that's up to their required standard otherwise they're not covered when I'm out and about.

 

[lordjenks]

i keep mine in my room and sleep with a shotgun under my pillow

 

[HJ]

Our DirectLine household insurance covers them at no extra cost, even out of the house...

 

[palinurus]

None of mine insured. Not only that but my security arrangements are pretty poor for the commute bike. It'd be different if it was my shed but it's the landlord's. Still, the good bikes are kept up in the flat, the hacks in the shed. Only problem is my new commute bike isn't as hacky as the old one was and I'd be pissed off to lose it.

Plenty of locks though. And I've never had one stolen.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Both bikes insured as named items on the all-risks part of my household cover. Costs very little, and with a total replacement value of over three-and-a-half grand, I wouldn't want to be uninsured.

But security is good too. Trike in a heavily-secured garage, Brompton in the house, and neither are left out of my sight when out & about.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Forgot to add: specific cycle insurance policies like the CTC one are all ridiculously over-priced, from what I've seen. Most of them seem to charge about 10% of the value insured, which is ridiculous. Household contents cover is the way to go.

 

[Joe24]

Mine are on the house insurance. If they are out of the shed, and in the garden then they are still on the insurance, but only to about £300 i think, but when they are in the garden its when im in, so it doesnt really matter.
Not insured when they are just locked up in the street though, which doesnt happen often.

 

[ASC1951]

I haven't insured any of my belongings - except house and car, which are compulsory - for at least a couple of decades. I have saved a fortune.

 

[swee'pea99]

No. My bikes aren't worth anything and I hardly ever leave them in a public place.

 

[fossyant]

CIS for me..very reasonable.....most bikes fit the £1k limit, then we have a reasonable 'extension'........to the policy, plus a rabid house owner...........

 

[Headgardener]

My hack/hybrid is on the household insurance but my best Dawes Horizon is insured seperatly through CTC. Although the security could be better (don't have a wall or ground anchor yet but it is on the cards) which is a garage just round the corner from our flat (I can see the block from the kitchen window). Difficult to get the Horizon out though as it is behind the hybrid which is fastened to a heavy object.

 

[HLaB]

I used to have my contents insurance with Tesco (what don't they sell!) they were really good value (I never claimed though) but they only cover bikes up to £750 so when I got the Bianchi I moved to M&S who cover anything up to £4,000. The commuter lives in the bike cage but the 3 road bikes stay in the flat and hopefully I never have to claim.

 

[marooncat]

Mine is insured through our contents insurance.. and they have just paid out no problem for it when it fell off a cycle carrier on the motorway ...