Motor insurance should include cycling cover?

[Alex321]

Pleasingly I am covered through on my home insurance against theft but wonder if people who rent are covered for bicycle theft , or whether they can take out home insurance on what is another persons property. When cycling I have third party cover through British Cycling.

It is my house contents policy that covers against theft, and you certainly can (and should) still take that out on a rented property.

 

[I like Skol]

Just getting back to the comment about possible cheaper car insurance for cyclists. How on earth would that work, because I can imagine a long queue of drivers asking for the reduction "Yes I cycle, I bicycle all the time, I'm always riding my bike. Now give me my cheap car insurance so I can drive!"
Doesn't seem feasible to me, even though I agree that cyclists probably do generally make better drivers. Neither does the adding cycle insurance to a car insurance policy as I can see no benefit to it.

 

[Profpointy]

To be fair, that's not what the OP is suggesting!

No, but there is the "slippery slope" argument which does have some merit here

 

[Sallar55]

It should but insurance is for the vehicle not you. Its a pain if own more than one car, can't drive 2 at the same time. Insurance is based on your driving record, so why do you need multiple insurance policy's.

 

[steveindenmark]

A more sensible approach would be to add it as an option to household insurance. Most of us have that. But not everyone has a motor vehicle.

I do not think most cyclists object to having cycling insurance. I thing we should all have it. But people either cannot be bothered to go out of their way to get it. Or do not know where to look for it.

Its peace of mind when you have it .

 

[steveindenmark]

It should but insurance is for the vehicle not you. Its a pain if own more than one car, can't drive 2 at the same time. Insurance is based on your driving record, so why do you need multiple insurance policy's.

In Denmark the vehicle is insured. I can drive anyones car with their permission, providing I have a full valid licence. I do not even need to have a car or insurance policy of my own.

 

[Alex321]

A more sensible approach would be to add it as an option to household insurance. Most of us have that. But not everyone has a motor vehicle.

I do not think most cyclists object to having cycling insurance. I thing we should all have it. But people either cannot be bothered to go out of their way to get it. Or do not know where to look for it.

Its peace of mind when you have it .

It already is an option on most household contents insurance policies.

 

[Alex321]

In Denmark the vehicle is insured. I can drive anyones car with their permission, providing I have a full valid licence. I do not even need to have a car or insurance policy of my own.

There are a few countries which have that model of insurance - I think the USA are similar. I've never quite understood how that works though, in terms of drivers presenting different risk levels.

Here, insurance premiums are dependent on the risk profile of the driver and vehicle combined. So a teenager will pay more to insure the same car than somebody in their 40's will. And somebody with a history of accidents or traffic convictions will pay more than somebody with a clean record.

 

[steveindenmark]

There are a few countries which have that model of insurance - I think the USA are similar. I've never quite understood how that works though, in terms of drivers presenting different risk levels.

Here, insurance premiums are dependent on the risk profile of the driver and vehicle combined. So a teenager will pay more to insure the same car than somebody in their 40's will. And somebody with a history of accidents or traffic convictions will pay more than somebody with a clean record.

I do not know how it works. But in 2019 the UK was 3rd on the list for vehicle insurance payouts and Denmark was 13th. I know there are many factors in that calculation. But it shows the Danish system is not completely mad.

 

[a.twiddler]

In many countries you renew your "road tax" or vehicle registration annually which includes third party insurance. Sometimes the number plate itself has a marker, changed annually, to show this. This means insurance is no big deal, everyone who drives a vehicle has it. Different risks, age, whatever, I don't know how it works, but it apparently does. If you want more cover, I presume you can buy it.

What went wrong in the UK? So many uninsured drivers, so many young or inexperienced drivers struggling to afford their premiums, so much complication and hassle at renewal time where you often have to change insurers to get a decent deal. Everything's an extra, everything's a massive risk and they're doing you a huge favour by insuring you at all. Don't dare to be a non standard human or drive something out of the ordinary. All the time being bombarded with TV and other advertising about something which most people are supremely uninterested in (until you have to make a claim) and only reluctantly buy once a year because you have to. The insurance industry takes up too much brain room in peoples' lives which could be usefully directed somewhere else.

So while you can include bike insurance on your household contents policy, or get it included in membership of Cycling UK or other organisations why would you want to even go near a motor insurance company with their endless lists of exclusions and add ons. Who has a standard bike? Most people modify things to suit themselves so it's a completely different scenario. Plus, of course, insurance is not a legal requirement for cycling.

 

[numbnuts]

Not insurance, but breakdown cover, I asked the AA if they would consider bike cover if you already had car cover answer “NO we don't do push bikes” but.......didn't want to know.
The RAC still waiting for a reply........that was three years ago

 

[vickster]

Not insurance, but breakdown cover, I asked the AA if they would consider bike cover if you already had car cover answer “NO we don't do push bikes” but.......didn't want to know.
The RAC still waiting for a reply........that was three years ago

The clue should be in the 'A' in the name for the two motoring organisations surely?

I don't think there are any companies that will fix broken down bikes by the roadside/at home. ETA will get you home/to station/to shop in a taxi though (not used but I pay £18 a year for this [unusually a better price as have been with them a few years than for new policies]).

I've just cancelled British Cycling as My Aviva Plus home legal cover provides the same legal benefits if hit by a motorist/hit a third party (as someone pointed out upthread).

 

[Nebulous]

In many countries you renew your "road tax" or vehicle registration annually which includes third party insurance. Sometimes the number plate itself has a marker, changed annually, to show this. This means insurance is no big deal, everyone who drives a vehicle has it. Different risks, age, whatever, I don't know how it works, but it apparently does. If you want more cover, I presume you can buy it.

What went wrong in the UK? So many uninsured drivers, so many young or inexperienced drivers struggling to afford their premiums, so much complication and hassle at renewal time where you often have to change insurers to get a decent deal. Everything's an extra, everything's a massive risk and they're doing you a huge favour by insuring you at all. Don't dare to be a non standard human or drive something out of the ordinary. All the time being bombarded with TV and other advertising about something which most people are supremely uninterested in (until you have to make a claim) and only reluctantly buy once a year because you have to. The insurance industry takes up, too much brain room in peoples' lives which could be usefully directed somewhere else.

So while you can include bike insurance on your household contents policy, or get it included in membership of Cycling UK or other organisations why would you want to even go near a motor insurance company with their endless lists of exclusions and add ons. Who has a standard bike? Most people modify things to suit themselves so it's a completely different scenario. Plus, of course, insurance is not a legal requirement for cycling.

One of the things that went wrong was comparison websites. They meant people went for the cheapest quote, regardless of quality, and to some extent regardless of cover. Companies then gave quotes they couldn't really afford and discovered ways to milk customers by removing things that had previously been standard - like being able to drive someone else's car. They also charged much more for changes - move address, add a new driver, change your name, change your car will all be chargeable now at surprising rates.

The same happens with competitive tendering. I once had an interesting conversation with someone who ran a company providing catering and cleaning services to oilrigs. She said the only way to get a contract was to tender below what it would cost to provide the service. Then they had to do two things to make money:- under deliver on the contract, and find ways to squeeze more money out of it. This often involved conflict with the management on the rig.

"The guys aren't happy that the sinks in their accommodation aren't being cleaned." Flick through pages and pages of contract. "Oh sorry, that doesn't appear to be in the contract. Shall we say £2.50 per week, per sink?"

"The guys are concerned about the food - they used to get steak regularly, but they don't now." "We can do that. Thursday can be steaks. Does a fiver a head sound ok?"

We've found endless ways of driving costs, standards, wages and quality down under the guise of 'efficiency.'

 

[Dogtrousers]

"The guys aren't happy that the sinks in their accommodation aren't being cleaned." Flick through pages and pages of contract. "Oh sorry, that doesn't appear to be in the contract. Shall we say £2.50 per week, per sink?"

Same as it ever was. I used to work for a software house in the 80s/90s. We'd go fixed price on something that we knew wasn't what the client really wanted and make a profit on change requests "Oh ... you want it to actually work properly? That'll be extra".

 

[steveindenmark]

There are a few countries which have that model of insurance - I think the USA are similar. I've never quite understood how that works though, in terms of drivers presenting different risk levels.

Here, insurance premiums are dependent on the risk profile of the driver and vehicle combined. So a teenager will pay more to insure the same car than somebody in their 40's will. And somebody with a history of accidents or traffic convictions will pay more than somebody with a clean record.

I do not know how it works. But in 2019 the UK was 3rd on the list for vehicle insurance payouts and Denmark was 13th. I know there are many factors in that calculation. But it shows the Danish system is not completely mad.

In many countries you renew your "road tax" or vehicle registration annually which includes third party insurance. Sometimes the number plate itself has a marker, changed annually, to show this. This means insurance is no big deal, everyone who drives a vehicle has it. Different risks, age, whatever, I don't know how it works, but it apparently does. If you want more cover, I presume you can buy it.

What went wrong in the UK? So many uninsured drivers, so many young or inexperienced drivers struggling to afford their premiums, so much complication and hassle at renewal time where you often have to change insurers to get a decent deal. Everything's an extra, everything's a massive risk and they're doing you a huge favour by insuring you at all. Don't dare to be a non standard human or drive something out of the ordinary. All the time being bombarded with TV and other advertising about something which most people are supremely uninterested in (until you have to make a claim) and only reluctantly buy once a year because you have to. The insurance industry takes up too much brain room in peoples' lives which could be usefully directed somewhere else.

So while you can include bike insurance on your household contents policy, or get it included in membership of Cycling UK or other organisations why would you want to even go near a motor insurance company with their endless lists of exclusions and add ons. Who has a standard bike? Most people modify things to suit themselves so it's a completely different scenario. Plus, of course, insurance is not a legal requirement for cycling.

I do not look at it as not being a legal requirement. I look at it as common sense. I cycle a lot and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that I could run into someone and seriously injure them. My cycle insurance covers all my legal fees and third party insurance up to about a million pounds, I think.

Hopefully I will never need it. But I will be so relieved if I ever do.