Insurance?

barrybridges

Sorry if this is a totally ridiculous question.

Having just spent more than I ever thought I would on a new bike, I want to look after it.

I'm going to be using it for RR, but actually given I'm a pretty lowly 4th cat all I hear are horror stories about prangs and crashes - so my question is, what does insurance cover and can you take out race insurance?

I mean, I know you can, but does it just cover injuries? If I come a major cropper (which I hope I won't, but you never know) and damage my frame, for example, does insurance cover that? Or does that sort of thing not exist.

And following that question, where to get insurnace? Is it best to get it through BC?

Lots of questions and your advice would be welcomed. I know there's an element of risk involved in life, but you never know how bad someone else's riding might be and I'd hate to wreck an expensive bike that I've just bought.

SteveR_100Milers

The only way to check is to ask the insurance underwriter directly, I'm sure some of the BC affiliated ones specifically for cyclists will give you the cover you need (but at a price no doubt).

felgen

I have a policy with equine and livestock. It includes competition in road racing and triathlons commuting use and travel abroad for 30 days a year at a tame, , and cost about 250 quid. Your BC silver/gold membership covers you for 3rd party liability either that or your day licence fee.

There are other insurance companies such a cyclegard who do similar cover.

If you want to convalesce in a nice private hospital if you get injured you need personal injury insurance cover.

barrybridges

felgen wrote:

I have a policy with equine and livestock. It includes competition in road racing and triathlons commuting use and travel abroad for 30 days a year at a tame, , and cost about 250 quid. Your BC silver/gold membership covers you for 3rd party liability either that or your day licence fee.

There are other insurance companies such a cyclegard who do similar cover.

If you want to convalesce in a nice private hospital if you get injured you need personal injury insurance cover.

But what, specifically, does this cover?

If some loon fails to keep their racing line and there's a crash, in which let's say my frame snaps, would insurance cover a replacement frame? Or does race insurance just cover liability for injury?

Pross

I'm not advocating this but how would the insurance company know you were racing rather than just fell off whilst riding on your own / with a group of friends?

barrybridges

Pross wrote:

I'm not advocating this but how would the insurance company know you were racing rather than just fell off whilst riding on your own / with a group of friends?

It's a fair question - I've got no idea. I'm assuming that they would check these things out though - I'm a sure of a spectacular spill would make it onto YouTube!

Seriously though, I'm not being paranoid but obviously this is a lot of money for a pride and joy (just got the Izoard that was reviewed on here recently) and I'd hate to have it smashed up should there be an accident.

SteveR_100Milers

barrybridges wrote:

felgen wrote:

I have a policy with equine and livestock. It includes competition in road racing and triathlons commuting use and travel abroad for 30 days a year at a tame, , and cost about 250 quid. Your BC silver/gold membership covers you for 3rd party liability either that or your day licence fee.

There are other insurance companies such a cyclegard who do similar cover.

If you want to convalesce in a nice private hospital if you get injured you need personal injury insurance cover.

But what, specifically, does this cover?

If some loon fails to keep their racing line and there's a crash, in which let's say my frame snaps, would insurance cover a replacement frame? Or does race insurance just cover liability for injury?

I have always assumed that insurance through a day license or TT entry fee is for 3rd party liability only. You will need you own accident cover if you want to insure your bike against total or partial loss. The conditions will be specific to each underwriter - your quickest way to answer this is to search online, ring up the underwriters you trawl up and find one that will give you the cover you want.

TommyEss

I used to use cycleguard, but found it very expensive. I ended up adding my bikes onto my home insurance policy with More Th>n, and when I asked them about damage, they didn't mind how the bike was damaged. They only specified it being locked to an immovable object whilst unattended.

rokkala

If you can add it to the home insurance then that will more than likely be the best option cost-wise. Always good to have an insurer who is known for customer service, as they are more likely to pay out and with less hassle. Likes of M&S, HSBC etc.

If you don't have home insurance or really want the race insurance side of things covered, look for ETA. They do really good cycle insurance. I had only just paid my first premium when i dented wheels on a big pothole somebody didn't shout for, and they were more than helpful and paid out for it.

tartan_army

TommyEss wrote:

I used to use cycleguard, but found it very expensive. I ended up adding my bikes onto my home insurance policy with More Th>n, and when I asked them about damage, they didn't mind how the bike was damaged. They only specified it being locked to an immovable object whilst unattended.

Anyone else had this confirmed by Morethan? I've just taken out Morethan insurance and covered my commutting bike with it. But assumed that still needed my cycleguard insurance to cover my road bike specifically during racing. I'll ring up to confirm obviously but wondering exactly what they had confirmed with others. TommyEss? You asked them about mass start road races on the highway and damage to the bike if it was involved in an accident and they were fine with that?

barrybridges

Hi guys,

In the end I went with Equine and Livestock as recommended above - they come out at a reasonable price and cover racing plus a lot more.

The only issue I have (not just with them, but all of them) is that the insurance for racing only appears to kick in when your bike is rendered unridable. So, if you're involved in a spill and your expensive wheels and chainset are buggared, I'm not sure what the position would be if the bike is ridable still. E.g. nothing short of a destroyed frame is likely to pay out.

I did ask several insurers about this but as you can imagine everyone I spoke to on the other end of the line had no idea about bikes and just said 'if you can't ride your bike because it's damaged, then you'll receive the insurance'.