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vickster
Legendary Member
Home insurance. Mine for example has unlimited cover at home, 2.5k away from home and costs me £20 a month (covering my house and contents for an unlimited sum too)
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/insurance-and-cycling.118438/
Not surprised it’s as expensive, a bike is far more stealable than a modern car.
What’s the value of your bike and what are you wanting to insure it for/against. I probably would have checked insurance before buying a v expensive bike.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/insurance-and-cycling.118438/
Not surprised it’s as expensive, a bike is far more stealable than a modern car.
What’s the value of your bike and what are you wanting to insure it for/against. I probably would have checked insurance before buying a v expensive bike.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
Get in on your home contents insurance. Bike-specific policies are not good value and have all sorts of weasel word small print that effectively gives you crap cover in everyday cyclist circumstances. I think I'm covered for £1800 of bikes for £22 extra on my home contents policy, and there are no greedy clauses about bike locks, railway stations and all the other spiv stuff.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
I have Yellow Jersey
but if it gets knicked from home I will claim on the Home Insurance because the condition are FAR less strict
YJ said they want Sold Secure GOLD attached to a ground anchor -
Home insurance was happy with a pretty good lock inside a shed and were ecstatic about it being locked to the frame of the shed - the Sold Secure Gold attaching it to the metal bar bolted to the shed was just an extra
so - if at home - Home insurance
outside - that is what your bike policy is for
but if it gets knicked from home I will claim on the Home Insurance because the condition are FAR less strict
YJ said they want Sold Secure GOLD attached to a ground anchor -
Home insurance was happy with a pretty good lock inside a shed and were ecstatic about it being locked to the frame of the shed - the Sold Secure Gold attaching it to the metal bar bolted to the shed was just an extra
so - if at home - Home insurance
outside - that is what your bike policy is for
Another shout here for Home Insurance policies.
We are with Hiscox, Scarily expensive price but includes any number of bikes up to £3.5k without notification, more without extra cost if specified.
We have had ceiling replaced, room redecorated, emergency water leak call out within an hour plus other stuff without any quibble. Our Claims vs Premium ratio is very much in our favour!
We are with Hiscox, Scarily expensive price but includes any number of bikes up to £3.5k without notification, more without extra cost if specified.
We have had ceiling replaced, room redecorated, emergency water leak call out within an hour plus other stuff without any quibble. Our Claims vs Premium ratio is very much in our favour!
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
Put it on your home insurance. I pay £234 pa Buildings and Contents including £10000 new for old**, worldwide cycle cover on my bikes. Bikes must be listed as individual possessions, simply having them under "bike cover" doesn't work.
** Over three years old needs a valuation certificate of some sort. Ask your LBS for a letter.
Cycle specific cover is a rip off.
** Over three years old needs a valuation certificate of some sort. Ask your LBS for a letter.
Cycle specific cover is a rip off.
IanSmithCSE
Guru
- Location
- Worcester, Worcestershire
Good morning,
I have a slightly different perspective on bike insurance.
Even high volume insurance policies needs to cost around about £20 to cover administration, and design of the scheme, low sales volumes policies could easily see this rise a bit. Then you need to add a profit element for those selling direct or commission for a broker.
When included as a specified item (SI) on household insurance, nearly all of this cost can be absorbed into the cost of the core household policy, so your premium should rise only by the premium associated with the value of the SI.
Like motor, household insurance is subject to excesses and no claims discounts, so someone with a good claims history will be getting an NCD on the premium for the SI.
Although pretty pointless, you can get £500 of cycle cover for around about £30, which seem to me to be fair considering the above, but terrible value as £500 is around the limit for an unspecified item in a contents policy.
You then have to ask why someone wants standalone bike insurance, the two obvious answers are
That they want to separate their bike insurance from their household contents insurance so that bike claims don't affect the contents premium. Given that many/most people have a combined buildings and contents policy, it becomes almost impossible to know the effect on the premium for the buildings cover portion of that policy if you make a contents claim. For example is there a separate NCD for building and contents or just one for both.
Doing this is fine, but it does imply that the policy holder thinks that a claim is likely.
Or, they have no contents cover, this would suggest that they have nothing much else worth insuring so are likely to be living in shared accommodation, probably young and carefree. A gross generalisation of course, but you just have to accept that with a commodity product.
A third possible answer is that the bike value is so high that it is outside the limits for a bike as a SI, 10 years that was unlikely, but now with £5k-£10k bikes being quite common it is quite possible. I don't think that that many people would really object to insurers saying that covering a £7.5k bicycle away from home is not really in the spirit of home contents insurance.
There is also the very real possibility that the SI premium is slightly low, as £2K plus bikes are relatively new as a normal item, the risk may not yet be being assessed correctly . Were a lot of these bikes actually being bought, by older, well of people, never used and locked securely in garages? Quite possibly a fair assessment a few years ago, whereas now £2k is now almost entry level if you go to a specialist bike shop.
Of course it would be wrong to deny the fact that cycle insurance is not a very competitive market place.
I went to one online site and they seemed to be calculating premium as something like
£25 + (Sum insured * (0.05 + ((Sum insured / 500) / 100) ) * postcode area factor).
or
£25 + (500 * (0.05 + (0.01)) * postcode area factor).
£25 + (1000 * (0.05 + (0.02)) * postcode area factor).
£25 + (1500 * (0.05 + (0.03)) * postcode area factor).
So as the sum insured rises not only does the premium increase but also the % of the sum insured increases, in the region of 5%-10% of the sum insured.
Bye
Ian
I have a slightly different perspective on bike insurance.
Even high volume insurance policies needs to cost around about £20 to cover administration, and design of the scheme, low sales volumes policies could easily see this rise a bit. Then you need to add a profit element for those selling direct or commission for a broker.
When included as a specified item (SI) on household insurance, nearly all of this cost can be absorbed into the cost of the core household policy, so your premium should rise only by the premium associated with the value of the SI.
Like motor, household insurance is subject to excesses and no claims discounts, so someone with a good claims history will be getting an NCD on the premium for the SI.
Although pretty pointless, you can get £500 of cycle cover for around about £30, which seem to me to be fair considering the above, but terrible value as £500 is around the limit for an unspecified item in a contents policy.
You then have to ask why someone wants standalone bike insurance, the two obvious answers are
That they want to separate their bike insurance from their household contents insurance so that bike claims don't affect the contents premium. Given that many/most people have a combined buildings and contents policy, it becomes almost impossible to know the effect on the premium for the buildings cover portion of that policy if you make a contents claim. For example is there a separate NCD for building and contents or just one for both.
Doing this is fine, but it does imply that the policy holder thinks that a claim is likely.
Or, they have no contents cover, this would suggest that they have nothing much else worth insuring so are likely to be living in shared accommodation, probably young and carefree. A gross generalisation of course, but you just have to accept that with a commodity product.
A third possible answer is that the bike value is so high that it is outside the limits for a bike as a SI, 10 years that was unlikely, but now with £5k-£10k bikes being quite common it is quite possible. I don't think that that many people would really object to insurers saying that covering a £7.5k bicycle away from home is not really in the spirit of home contents insurance.
There is also the very real possibility that the SI premium is slightly low, as £2K plus bikes are relatively new as a normal item, the risk may not yet be being assessed correctly . Were a lot of these bikes actually being bought, by older, well of people, never used and locked securely in garages? Quite possibly a fair assessment a few years ago, whereas now £2k is now almost entry level if you go to a specialist bike shop.
Of course it would be wrong to deny the fact that cycle insurance is not a very competitive market place.
I went to one online site and they seemed to be calculating premium as something like
£25 + (Sum insured * (0.05 + ((Sum insured / 500) / 100) ) * postcode area factor).
or
£25 + (500 * (0.05 + (0.01)) * postcode area factor).
£25 + (1000 * (0.05 + (0.02)) * postcode area factor).
£25 + (1500 * (0.05 + (0.03)) * postcode area factor).
So as the sum insured rises not only does the premium increase but also the % of the sum insured increases, in the region of 5%-10% of the sum insured.
Bye
Ian
Last edited:
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
A passing tea leaf can't tuck a 2019 VW Golf under their arm and stoll away with it. Easier to steal, dismantle and dispose, so the risk to insurers is consequently greater. It's one of those rare occasions that underwriters are actually being honest about risk.
Wiggle does quite good value insurance that covers both bikes and the rider.
Alternatively, joing CUK or BC for the personal cover, and then ensure your home insurance adequately covere the bikes. Many home policies are surprisingly good, but you need to do your due dilligence and equally many are poor in this area.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
You need to check your Home insurance very carefully - my new one covers the bike at least as well as a cycle specific policy - but only in the home/shed. Once outside the house it is not so good - in fact pretty useless
The main problem with the cycle specific stuff is the requirements for security. Mine wants a ground anchor with each bike attached to it by a sold secure lock - there is so much stuff that I can see then wriggling out of a claim very easily.
The Home insurance insists on none of that - just locked up well in a shed seems to be OK. When I described my normally locking arrangement they were amazed and said it was well over the minimum.
They didn't even seem to have much requirement about standard of lock - whcih the cycle specific people were very detailed on - of course if they got a clim for a few thousand I might find them a bit more pedantic about the term 'proper lock'
The main problem with the cycle specific stuff is the requirements for security. Mine wants a ground anchor with each bike attached to it by a sold secure lock - there is so much stuff that I can see then wriggling out of a claim very easily.
The Home insurance insists on none of that - just locked up well in a shed seems to be OK. When I described my normally locking arrangement they were amazed and said it was well over the minimum.
They didn't even seem to have much requirement about standard of lock - whcih the cycle specific people were very detailed on - of course if they got a clim for a few thousand I might find them a bit more pedantic about the term 'proper lock'
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
This very much mirrors my own experience. The locking aspect seems to be particularly important to both company types.
The first point is I am never going to carry a huge, heavy D-lock or similar. My bikes are never out of sight except in my garage. Here they are heavily secured. This is more because I would be gutted to lose them than because of insurance issues.
Cycle specific insurance requires locks and security levels I'm not prepared to go to when out riding. My home insurance doesn't require this but does require a lock of unspecified quality.
One crazy aspect of my home insurance is the locking question. Provided the bike is locked to an immovable object it's covered. The example I was given is the bike is covered if locked to a bike rack. If it is unlocked inside my car in the event of the car being stolen the bike is not covered!!!
Mo1959
Legendary Member
- Location
- Perthshire,Scotland
Never insured a bike yet and don't even currently have contents insurance....just the building. I know I am taking the risk myself rather than paying for it so could backfire at some point, but must have saved thousands over the years. I remember talking to an old farmer who had several Highland ponies when there was grass sickness going around and asking him if they were insured. They weren't. He said the cost of losing the occasional animal was still way less than insuring them all.
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
@Mo1959 yep I know this argument and it's one I've got a lot of sympathy with. For us insurance is like a comfort blanket. It did pay off very well many years ago but certainly has cost a lot in the last 40 years or so.
When we had three small kids and no money we had a significant leak in the bathroom. The claim was £6000+ and we would have gone in to real debt to fix it without the cover.
When we had three small kids and no money we had a significant leak in the bathroom. The claim was £6000+ and we would have gone in to real debt to fix it without the cover.
Thanks for your replies. I've had a look about and managed to get a good quote with Nationwide for contents and buildings including insuring my 6 bikes. I just need to phone my current insurer and tell them I'm leaving!
The cycle specific companies were really expensive!
The cycle specific companies were really expensive!
