Insurance

whitestar1

Just popped out of the Commuter forum. Did some reading up on insurance. Have you insured? With who? What's the deal?

Andrew_J_Heard

I dont really see the point in separate insurance as you can easily cover it on your house insurance . Unless your looking at race cover or public liability etc

wheelygood

Trying to insure yuor bike under specific cycle insurance is really expensive. I got a quote the other day for over £300 to cover two custom built road bikes worth about £1500 each. This is more than I pay to cover my Peugot van! In the end I got them covered as specific items on our house insurance for an additional £60 on the premium. Also be careful as some companies don't automatically cover the bike for being out of the home - which is very silly.
And some comapnies are very specific about what they have to be locked up with and most of the locks you wouldn't want to carry them about with you on a ride as they are either huge and /or heavy! The Coop will cover any bike in or out of the home up to £1000 value as part of house contents.

specialeyes

House insurance for me too, (more than). Covered upto a grand inside and out for an extra £24 a year. To be honest though I ride my bike to work and lock it up inside the warehouse next to my office so there's no chance of it being lifted. Thats the only time its locked up as I don't use it for errands ect and on the trail it never leaves me.

angry_bird

Home insurance when I'm at home, something like £30 for the year to cover £4k of bikes for the year in the shed, may need to review this when my next bike comes along though...

At uni I need separate insurance, fecking nuisance and bloody expensice, just about to cancel the policy as I won't be taking my bikes down anyway as it's revision time.

whitestar1

I will be looking into my home insurance. I want the third party liability so a membership with CTC seems the cheapest way out. That will cover my commute to work.

diy

You can get liability cover for on and off road for 21 quid a year from cycleguard. Personally I couldn't be doing with supporting CTC as I am very opposed to their policies.

whitestar1

diy wrote:

You can get liability cover for on and off road for 21 quid a year from cycleguard. Personally I couldn't be doing with supporting CTC as I am very opposed to their policies.

Thats a surprise. Why?

diy

CTC
- support blanket 20mph speed limits in urban areas
- Were opposed to motorcyclists being allowed access to bus lanes in London (despite the fact that it supports their safety in number argument)
- Think speed cameras are a good idea
- Go on about how cyclists who jump red lights don't cause accidents.
- Think drivers and motorcyclists should automatically be liable for all road accidents involving cyclists "Strict Liability".

They are also closely linked to some pretty loony tree hugers and run by some proper idiots.

Miggins

www.ilovemybike.co.uk Really good cover. £67 to insure my £850 bike for a year. Don't just go for the cheapest. Check what cover you're getting.

njee20

M&S home insurance, bikes covered up to £4000 without being named items, away from the house too.

blablablacksheep

njee20 wrote:

M&S home insurance, bikes covered up to £4000 without being named items, away from the house too.

you sure about that?

LV /frizzle which i have are pretty shocking atm, they cover £0 bikes

house insurance prices have shot up recently too it quite shocking how much you pay for such a poor cover.

checked some sites and avg price is around £5-10 per month for a bike worth 500-600 quid, quite a lot i think

alfablue

blablablacksheep wrote:

njee20 wrote:

M&S home insurance, bikes covered up to £4000 without being named items, away from the house too.

you sure about that?

Yes, I pay £33 pcm, home (building) and contents cover, M&S Premium Policy which adds accidental damage and cover for personal items including bikes, at home and worldwide, with a limit of £4000 per bike. Bikes don't need to be specified and there are no requirements regarding storage or locks (other than the general requirement to take reasonable care).

People on here who have claimed have reported prompt and efficient settlement wiithin days.

I couldn't fine dedicated bike insurance to cover my 9 bikes to this level (most balked at 5 bikes), if I had the premium would be likely to be 10% of the bikes value, so maybe £1000 p.a.!!!

alfablue

Angry Bird wrote:

Home insurance when I'm at home, something like £30 for the year to cover £4k of bikes for the year in the shed, may need to review this when my next bike comes along though...

At uni I need separate insurance, fecking nuisance and bloody expensice, just about to cancel the policy as I won't be taking my bikes down anyway as it's revision time.

Some policies (including M&S) cover posessions of familly members whilst away at uni.

tegski

But if you want race insurance then you have to get a cycle specific insurance. I am most likely to get my bike damaged during training (for Enduro MTB and 24hr Solos) or racing. I am covered by my insurance for this, but shop around as the price varies quite a lot…and read all the small print!

cavegiant

There are two types of insurance

1: theft/vandalism

2: AD

If you just want cover for number 1, try and stick it under your house policy.

If you need accidental damage expect to pay approx 10% of the value of the bike.

The only company who does is cheaper is E&L, there is a reason for this. This is coming from both an ex-insurance broker and customer of theirs, AVOID.

Do the sums, how often does your bike get stolen? Compare the costs of insurance to locks?

Due to being in the revised flood plane (even though I am on the second floor and only covered for bike theft not damage) I was going to be charged £400 for insurance. I spent £250 on locks. Then that money you were going to spend on insurance put in a savings account if the worst does happen.

Self insurance is the way forwards.

diy

golden rule with insurance is only insure what you can't afford to loose.

the benefit of self insurance is that you can approve your own claim and offer betterment if her in doors allows.

I do think I could probably do with some liability insurance though.

Briggo

cavegiant wrote:

There are two types of insurance

1: theft/vandalism

2: AD

If you just want cover for number 1, try and stick it under your house policy.

If you need accidental damage expect to pay approx 10% of the value of the bike.

.

Why would you pay 10% of the bikes value, just get it insured under your house insurance that will cover AD too.

M&S cover includes AD in and away from the home for bikes, Im sure other insurers do under contents cover.

alfablue

Briggo wrote:

cavegiant wrote:

There are two types of insurance

1: theft/vandalism

2: AD

If you just want cover for number 1, try and stick it under your house policy.

If you need accidental damage expect to pay approx 10% of the value of the bike.

.

Why would you pay 10% of the bikes value, just get it insured under your house insurance that will cover AD too.

M&S cover includes AD in and away from the home for bikes, Im sure other insurers do under contents cover.

Yes, my M&S Policy includes AD & Theft / Loss / Vandalism, worldwide, unlimited bikes up to £4k each, it is astonishingly good value! Why use dedicated insurance unless you want racing cover. 3rd party cover comes via CTC.

cavegiant

Didn't know they did AD as well, if they rate at less than 10% seems a deal.

Do not forget to factor in excess, and increase in premium if you claim.

Briggo

cavegiant wrote:

Do not forget to factor in excess, and increase in premium if you claim.

As with any insurance.

alfablue

cavegiant wrote:

Didn't know they did AD as well, if they rate at less than 10% seems a deal.

Yes, the premium would be exactly the same if I had 100 bikes worth £4000 or no bikes at all, so the cost to include bikes is 0%!

JimboBrennan

Recently had to claim via my contents insurance policy for my bike, Endsleigh were absolutely fantastic - took all the details, then emailed me a list of everything they wanted (receipts etc) which I sent off the same day... day after this, claim had been approved, Wheelies Direct were on the phone with an amount to spend (very generous!) plus everything that was attached to my bike was also replaced, with only a £50 excess... 2 days later I had my new bike, delighted with the service! Plus I think the additional amount to cover the new bike was only an extra £13 or something for the rest of the year!