Insurance against cycle theft

[confusedcyclist]

Don't discount shopping around for a house contents policy that caters better to cycle cover. Dedicated cycling insurance will always costs more. For a while I insured a £5000 ebike, a £2500 custom build, and a £1070 brompton for an additional £75 extra over my usual household premium. Yes there is an excess, but I wouldn't expect otherwise. If your bike is low value, it's no wonder your balking at the excess.

Depending on your risk appetite, where the bike is stored day and night will factor, if your most expensive bike is £750 it's probably worth considering self-insuring. If you can put away a small lump in a savings account, £200-300 and then drip feed it similar to what you would be willing to pay in premiums by standing order, if your bike does eventually get nicked, you will only need to cover the difference, probably similar to an excess on a typical policy. Replacing old for old initially, but as your savings increases, maybe even new for old. If you never get a bike nicked, then you're quids in. An interest bearing account only sweetens the deal. Of course the more expensive your fleet, then it might be worth handing over a premium and forking out the excess. The self insurance strategy suited me well for 5 years before I splurged on the ebike, because my only bike was locked in a garage, or with two D-locks at secure location at work, or the brompton under a desk. My self insurance strategy helped me save toward the ebike too

If you are losing bikes to theft on a regular basis that makes self insurance impossible, then you also need to rethink how and where you store them. If I were you, self insurance all the way.

 

[vickster]

I'm with Aviva Plus as well, I have Regular Tier cover for buildings and contents (between Basic and Premium Tiers) and added 'Contents away from home' to this as well up to £5K limit (more than the standard). Total annual premium a little under £150

I was a little worried when you stated that bikes over £1500 had to be named as I called them specifically to ask the following questions.

Is there a limit to the no. of bikes, - (Answer - No)
Is there a limit to an individual bike value - (Answer - No)
Is there a limit to the total value - (Answer No - just the total sum assured £100K as per standard policy details)

Just found this from their FAQs which has reassured me again - not sure why yours is different.





However this still seems a good idea !

I also asked them the following

Do the bikes have to be locked to an immovable object (Answer - No, only if left in the garden - no need for locking within shed or garage at the home address)
Does the garage/shed have to have locks of a specified standard (Answer - No)

As others have done I looked in to stand alone bike insurance - the answers to all my questions would have been 'Yes' and it would have been impractical and expensive.

Maybe the £1500 was recollection of my previous Lloyd’s policy (which on renewal was much more than Aviva)...my bad!

Just checked, I have Premium and costs me just £19.70 a month (unlimited cover, accidents and theft away from home, with legal cover too, just £100 excess too)

 

[vickster]

I looked at cycle specialist insurance..
Nearl 4xwhat I pay for a 28k car..70- 80 quid pcm!!
Our Barclays home insurance pays upto 2.5k per bike which is 2k light on 2 of them.

If this means you are under insured, you may find they cover nothing if you try to claim. Might be worth checking

 

[confusedcyclist]

If this means you are under insured, you may find they cover nothing if you try to claim. Might be worth checking

I'm with Lloyds. Technically my ebike is £70 over their individual bike limit. I asked if they would still cover it up to their limit, they agreed on the proviso that any replacement cost no more than their limit. I figured the model I have would either get reduced in time anyway or I would settle for an alternative, not perfect, but good enough.

 

[vickster]

I'm with Lloyds. Technically my ebike is £70 over their individual bike limit. I asked if they would still cover it up to their limit, they agreed on the proviso that any replacement cost no more than their limit. I figured the model I have would either get reduced in time anyway or I would settle for an alternative, not perfect, but good enough.

That’s fair enough if you checked but not all insurers will cover if under insured hence suggesting the poster check (he said under insured by 4k if I interpreted correctly)

 

[confusedcyclist]

Yep definitely worth a check!

 

[Landsurfer]

I had cycle insurance from Eversure.
My shed, multipul locks and cctv, and less than a metre from the main house, was broken into and my nearly new Triban 520 was taken.
Police asked if i was insured and when i replied in the positive they lost all interest giving me a crime number...
What happened next was strange ....
Eversure employed a 3rd party loss adjustment company to handle the loss.
We're talking about a £300 bike here ...
I had described the bike as a Decathlon Triban 520 on the policy.
The loss adjusters said that a Triban 520 was not available at the time of purchase.
My mistake, it was Decathlon Triban 520 SE.
My claim was rejected for an inaccurate description !!!!

Guess what, not insured with Eversure any more .......

Caveat emptor ........

 

[confusedcyclist]

My claim was rejected for an inaccurate description !!!!

Guess what, not insured with Eversure any more .......

Caveat emptor ........

Did you take it up with the relevant ombudsman? Whilst there's no guarantees, this is why you should always check the policy is underwritten by a company that has a record of paying out. Smaller, less well known companies like those you might find on comparison websites rarely operate with a 'no fuss' policy. Bigger names tend to be more likely to favour the consumer because their reputation is important, it's how they keep the money coming in. Always check the reviews, premium price isn't everything when it comes to insurance.

 

[vickster]

Did you take it up with the insurers ombudsman?

Indeed. They should surely not have sold you a policy for something that they then said was unavailable

 

[Landsurfer]

Indeed. They should surely not have sold you a policy for something that they then said was unavailable

Eversure did not say it was not available ........ the loss adjustment company did .... see whats happening here ......

 

[vickster]

Eversure did not say it was not available ........ the loss adjustment company did .... see whats happening here ......

But they engage the loss adjusters. And make a decision on the claim based on the feedback from their subcontractors loss adjusters?
They were in the wrong to have an unavailable bike in their database for you to select. When did this happen?
Any bike can be available as a used item long after the retailer has sold out

 

[Levo-Lon]

That’s fair enough if you checked but not all insurers will cover if under insured hence suggesting the poster check (he said under insured by 4k if I interpreted correctly)

It states upto 2.5k, as that's their max payout.
So we would be paid out but obviously not enough to replace with new, but possibly like for like.

All the other bikes are fine on this cover.
We've had a few chats with Barclays about extending cover to higher value.
No joy

 

[confusedcyclist]

Eversure did not say it was not available ........ the loss adjustment company did .... see whats happening here ......

Loss adjusters are intermediaries. That's irrelevant if the insurance company have taken your money. A complaint needs to be raised at the insurance companies office. Fight them all the way.

 

[vickster]

It states upto 2.5k, as that's their max payout.
So we would be paid out but obviously not enough to replace with new, but possibly like for like.

All the other bikes are fine on this cover.
We've had a few chats with Barclays about extending cover to higher value.
No joy

Is it confirmed in Ts&Cs that they’ll pay out the £2.5k. I have been warned in past that under insurance can lead to claim being denied!

 

[lane]

John Lewis cover is good for bikes and claim experience on 3 bikes stolen from my garage was also good. NFU mutual also good cover on bikes to add to options others have listed.