Cycle insurance with a twist of lemon...

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Having decided to take bikes on holiday to Centreparcs has brought on the sudden need to get insurance sorted before tomorrow (Mon 15th March) lunchtime! :shock:

Having thrown some figures into Confused home insurance, the returned quotes are in the region of £300, including home contents.

We have four bikes in total, three of which were bought new through Ebay and one through LBS. The thing that concerns me is that I have no idea where the sales receipts are for any of them... (rather careless, I know)

Do you think this is going to cause issues in the event of a claim, given the ballpark of ~£3500 RRP bikes (with upgrades), or could I "cover my back" by taking all bikes to the LBS and getting them to put the replacement cost on headed paper?

Dazza2280

If its gonna be too much for insurance, then just hire the bikes you get there, they're basic at best, but they get you about. You should probably be fine, don't think theres much crime in centerparcs. Don't take your bikes to butlins though :shock:

skyd0g

The bikes may already be covered on your home contents insurance? If not buy a (couple) of good locks for them.

In contrast to what Dazza2280 says, I recall reading that there had been a spate of bike thefts from Centreparcs (not sure which one). This however may have been partly due to people being lulled into a false sense of security (holiday mode) & simply leaving their bikes unlocked outside their chalets.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

We have not got home contents insurance at present, but quotes for it including the bikes are coming in at ~£300.

We have two Abus Granit-X locks, both "gold" rated.

The worry right now, before I get in touch with M&S and alike, is that I will probably have no luck finding the receipts for any of the bikes, which were all bought new.

Bunneh

Christ that's a lot for home insurance contents. I'm paying around £300 a year for home and contents with Aviva (gone up by around £150 since 2005). Sure my bike's not as expensive as yours but £300 still sounds a lot.

Can you not get third party insurance for the bikes? I'm sure small insurers would just let you insure the bikes on their own.

hopper1

The first thing they'll tell you at CenterParcs is to put your bikes in the chalet at night!
Theft is rife!
We rented bikes last year... Very basic cheap MTB shaped things. I had to do some work on them to get them to ride properly. They were ok for riding around the Parc, though.
We where at Thetford.
I'll be taking my own bikes next month.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I went for M&S in the end, gave them a quick phone about receipts issue before paying. Premium home contents insurance cover, including home and away plus legal expenses for £335. Split over 12 months with no direct debit fee.

So the Saracen Pylon8 and Zena2 are coming on holiday, with two Granit-X locks for campus travel, coming indoors onto a groundsheet cover in the villa when not in use.

Happy holidays!

Mr_Cellophane

I think Elvendon Forest (Thetford) is the one that had a bad theft problem. I won't take my own bikes to any CP now.
My bike insurance on the contents was only £40 for a £500 bike with LV. All they need is the frame number and that it be locked to something fixed. No requirement for a level of lock.
I might change to ETA when I need to renew. The price was much the same and they include a get-you-home service.
http://www.eta.co.uk/insurance/cycle

passout

Mine (First Direct) didn't need anything from me when I claimed. No receipt, nothing. Worth checking though.

afcbian

Mr_Cellophane wrote:

I think Elvendon Forest (Thetford) is the one that had a bad theft problem. I won't take my own bikes to any CP now.
My bike insurance on the contents was only £40 for a £500 bike with LV. All they need is the frame number and that it be locked to something fixed. No requirement for a level of lock.
I might change to ETA when I need to renew. The price was much the same and they include a get-you-home service.
http://www.eta.co.uk/insurance/cycle

LV wanted £276 extra for me to insure my 2 bikes a specific items :shock: :shock:

Gazzaputt

Err bit of a hijack but I'm off to CP end of this month and was planning to take the road bike (hmm after reading this).

What are the roads like around there for those that have been before?

Harry B

Gazzaputt wrote:

Err bit of a hijack but I'm off to CP end of this month and was planning to take the road bike (hmm after reading this).

What are the roads like around there for those that have been before?

I've been to the one near Bath a few times and the roads are fine if a little hilly but its not really the place where you are likely to see lyrca clad roadies (I say this as a lycra clad roadie). Also given the number of people a few fast training rides are going to be a bit difficult. I took my old MTB last time and it was fine for my needs

hopper1

Gazzaputt wrote:

Err bit of a hijack but I'm off to CP end of this month and was planning to take the road bike (hmm after reading this).

What are the roads like around there for those that have been before?

That would depend on which CP you are visiting... :roll:

passout

Dazza2280 wrote:

If its gonna be too much for insurance, then just hire the bikes you get there, they're basic at best, but they get you about. You should probably be fine, don't think theres much crime in centerparcs. Don't take your bikes to butlins though :shock:

Centre Parc IS Butlins (but in the woods)

Gazzaputt

hopper1 wrote:

Gazzaputt wrote:

Err bit of a hijack but I'm off to CP end of this month and was planning to take the road bike (hmm after reading this).

What are the roads like around there for those that have been before?

That would depend on which CP you are visiting... :roll:

Would help wouldn't it! Thetford.

hopper1

Gazzaputt you're probably better with a mountain bike :shock: Thetford has some excellent singletrack, and I can send you some routes ( I think!).
I'm going home today, so I'll check if I have any routes for the Elvedon area.
It's a pretty flat area, with lots of options, just stay off the A11.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Not long arrived back from Longleat, after a bit of drama... The engine would not start after loading up to head home, but the staff were brilliant in helping me push-start the motor, so looks like car is off to garage again (this time for possibly a starter motor).

No dramas with the bikes, two Centreparcs locks and two Abus Granit-X Pluses. During the week, I spotted a decent specced Rockhopper hardtail; Stumpjumper full-suspension; Gt Aggressor 1... Disc brake bikes stood out like a sore thumb amongst the Mongoose CP bikes (which aren't bad, but £30 per bike hire is a bit of a sting, like most CP prices).

Longleat's campus is great for racing bikes, in as much as there are plenty of 10% and 12% hills to defeat. However, off-roading is extremely limited, with just a single official trail, which is evil... Loose pine needles, ~300 degree turns tranversing the hill, at what I guess is 10-15% gradients! :shock: Easily the hardest accent on the whole campus, which defeated me and Pylon8, due to lack of traction from the Land Cruiser tyres and my saddle being too far back (doing mini wheelies due to lack of weight over front).

Getting back on thread topic, the small-print has arrived from M&S, which I will read through over the weekend. Hopefully everything is covered as I expected, if not I will use the cooling-off period clause. £335 annaul "premium" cover (inc. home/away and legal expenses) seemed a reasonable quote given their reputation and my lack of no-claims bonus, having never used home insurance before, plus their search reporting local subsidence issues (despite just covering contents but not bulding itself).

Gazzaputt

hopper1 wrote:

Gazzaputt you're probably better with a mountain bike :shock: Thetford has some excellent singletrack, and I can send you some routes ( I think!).
I'm going home today, so I'll check if I have any routes for the Elvedon area.
It's a pretty flat area, with lots of options, just stay off the A11.

[coughs splutters]

I did some MTB some years back in the forest which was good. Now total roadie have no mtb.

I know what you mean about the A11 I'll avoid there.