Bike insurance

Reddwarf1972

Can anyone recommend a bike insurer?
Just looked at one and basically if its not keeped in fort Knox they wont pay out think it was E&L insurance. Only £99 for the year though
Cheer

Nachimir

I got under £60 a year from E&L, covered for four hours at a time when locked up in public, and only if it's inside the house overnight. The main thing that swung it for me was paying monthly and public liability included too.

I'd love to know if there's a better insurer too, but the others I looked at at the time were worse.

tsenior

intersted to hear about this as i need to alter my insurance shortly, i'll get a quote from the current provider 1st

i have 3 bikes all bought 2nd hand so need an insurer who will repalce like for like .

I'd also like them to take the security of the outbuilding into account as i'm fitting a proper security door and other measures.

d87heaven

A while back someone mentioned M&S do bike insurance combined with house insurance? Might be worth a look?

ride_whenever

M&S household contents cover is usually the best.

Covers up to 4k iirc and no stipulations beyond taking reasonable precautions.

Ransaka

Do you know if the M&S cover include it being locked in a public place for a certain amount of time? If so I might convince the hag to swap our contents insurance from the bank to M&S next year.

I got separate insurance this year at £99 but it thankfully comes without the "your house must have a certain lever mortice lock or you're not insured clause", just that the property must be secured and the bike out of sight to passers by (not hard on the second floor really).

ride_whenever

It can do IIRC... it's very good cover but quite expensive.

leaflite

Our home insurance(think its halifax or something) allows you to add bike insurance to the policy. It covers the bike wherever it is as long as its locked up. You specify the value of the bike when insuring, so if you only have a cheap bike, you're not paying the same as to insure a 6k xc machine

robertpb

My bike was put on my house insurance and is covered as long I take precautions like padlocking it to something and it is stored in a shed.

It's insured for £2000 and it cost less than £4, that's with the NFU

nathanmanc

Thinking about getting house insurance (mainly to cover the bikes!) but was wandering what's covered if they are custom built/2nd hand (no real receit/proof of ownership)... would it be possible to claim on this as I don't actually have any 'off the shelf' bikes?

Briggo

nathanmanc wrote:

Thinking about getting house insurance (mainly to cover the bikes!)

Amazes me how people dont have house insurance.

nathanmanc

Does it also amaze you how many people live in shared accommodation or rent?

Anyone got any useful information please?

Briggo

nathanmanc wrote:

Anyone got any useful information please?

Yeah, get some contents insurance, you can do that even if you live in shared accom fyi.

nathanmanc

The point I was trying to get across was that while living in shared accom, most people generally don't have enough valuable possesions to be worth £200 a year insurance, or this certainly was the case for me until I recently built up my bike, which is why I was asking the question.

cavegiant

As an ex insurance broker I can say with full confidence that E&L is about as dodgy as they come. There is a reason they are so cheap. They do not pay claims unless threatened with legal action (this one is both from reputation, 2nd hand knowledge and direct experience) they also delay MASSIVELY.

Only my knowledge off insurance law got them to pay.

AVOID!

Nachimir

Cheers for the warning, glad I'm on monthly payments. Will shop around ASAP.

Edit: Also worth noting that E&L class a bike as abandoned after 4 hours locked in a public place, whereas some others have a limit of 12 (That said, I've caught a scally about to go at it just 20 minutes after I parked it on a busy street in Derby).

lightbulb

Butterworths - lovely helpful staff - good rates and paid up no question when I trashed my my bike helmet and gear. Would highly recommend.

http://www.butterworthinsurance.co.uk/

Miggins

www.ilovemybike.com

Very comprehensive cover for a good price. I did ALOT of research/comparisons when I looked for bike insurance and these guys came out on top. For me anyway. But check 'em out.

muchbetterTom

+1 for Butterworth - great staff, reasonably priced and seem to know what they are talking about. have insured a number of bikes with them, all custom up to the value of £3k. never any problem changing the value of the bikes mid way through the insurance period etc.

cavegiant

+1 for butterworth as well.

I thought they were bought out by cyclesure though?

if they still handle the claims, then fantastic, they were great when i dealt with them.

They worked on the policy of settling everything as fast and efficiently as possible, total opposite end of the market from E&L.

E&L look cheap until you claim, these guys look cheap after you claim.

J273

ride_whenever wrote:

M&S household contents cover is usually the best.

Covers up to 4k iirc and no stipulations beyond taking reasonable precautions.

Without starting another thread , thought id post here......

Im currently with M&S insurance and have my bike coverd upto 4k..I also have accidental damage cover for houshold items.

would i be covered if i was to crash and write the bike off?

With me having a carbon fram thats the only thing that worries me and losing 4k worth of bike.

As anyone done the same with any problems

Thanks

Briggo

J273 wrote:

I also have accidental damage cover for houshold items.

J273 wrote:

would i be covered if i was to crash and write the bike off?

You answered yourself, the AD cover isnt just household items, its your contents that are covered, which is everything you own not just your spoons and teapots.

Just make sure its AD away from the home thats on your policy.

J273

Briggo wrote:

J273 wrote:

I also have accidental damage cover for houshold items.

J273 wrote:

would i be covered if i was to crash and write the bike off?

You answered yourself, the AD cover isnt just household items, its your contents that are covered, which is everything you own not just your spoons and teapots.

Just make sure its AD away from the home thats on your policy.

Yes i have the full cover including unlimited cover away from home.

So the bike would be coverd if i was to damage it away from home :?

Briggo

Is it that hard to understand? Surely the clue is in the title...

Miggins

Personally I wouldn't run the risk of being covered under household insurance only. Does household insurance cover you for injury to others? Household insurance may be cheaper by its premium, but potentially much more expensive if you ride round the corner and into someone walking his dog. Especially if that person owns a TV and has seen one of those injury lawers ads. What about getting you home if you suffer a mechanical break-down on the road miles from anywhere? Personal accident cover? Get bike specific insurance and be sure.

Briggo

Get seperate third party liability cover from CTC or such like, about £30, that and house insurance combined still works out cheaper and better than bike specific, usually.

Miggins

Or do what Briggo said. Check out both routes. Just make sure you're covered.

Cheap insurance is sometimes a false economy, leaving you under-insured.