URGENT HELP - bike insurance abroad

ollie cb

Ok so here's situation:

flying to france thursday PM.
bike box worth £500
bike worth £3,500


Bike is NOT covered by holiday insurance
bike box covered up to £400 by holiday insurance (fine)

home insurance phone line closes at 7pm so cannot ask and need an answer asap. (would like to be prepared before calling in the morning)

how have people on here who have flown abroad with a bike protected against the following:
1. loss of bike in transit
2. theft of bike abroad
3. crash damage to bike abroad

which of the above three have you had coverage for? with travel/home/specialist bike insurance? and what was the name of the relevant company/policy please?

I have AA travel insurance and Santander home insurance.

Thanks in advance.

Grill

BC Bike Insurance is what I use for coverage abroad. Had one claim which was pad I a week. Highly recommended.

bigpikle

Bike wont be covered in transit if it goes missing - I lost mine a while back and when I started phoning I quickly found the loophole in ALL policies, whether travel or home related. If the bike is lost in transit its called 'unexplained theft' and is outside the t&c's of all policies. I spoke with the BC and CTC insurers who said the same If its not locked to an immovable object you're stuffed.

Its ok if it arrives smashed, but once you hand it over at check-in you are taking the risk sadly. I've contacted loads of different insurers and even tried to get a bespoke policy and NOBODY will cover that risk for a bike.

Theft abroad is different and will depend on your policy and where the bike is, whether its locked etc etc. Crash damage I'm not sure about. That will probably depend entirely on your policy and if you were riding or taking part in a race etc.

Good luck.

ollie cb

Thank you both for your help. Going to check out BC now.

Not bothered if it turns up smashed as long as it's paid out if that makes sense? By the sound of it Bigpikle, are you saying that insurers WILL pay out for damage to the bike in transit but not if it is lost?

I will ascertain as to whether theft + crash damage abroad is covered by BC (and home insurance tomorrow AM).

No races, will be wearing a helmet etc so no worries there.

I welcome many more responses.

Grill

Mine was damaged in transit (Phoenix to London) and BC paid out. I also have full race cover with them as well and crash damage is covered whether racing or not.

simonhead

Try eta, if you get a receipt from the airline at drop off confirming they have the bike I think you are covered.

bigpikle

simonhead wrote:

Try eta, if you get a receipt from the airline at drop off confirming they have the bike I think you are covered.

sadly not the case if it doesnt actually arrive at the other end....

The BC/CTC insurers, and numerous others I spoke to personally, calss this as unexplained theft, and in ost policies this is simply an exclusion to the policy or they use the clause that the bike wasnt locked to an immovable object so there is no theft cover. Believe me that when my bike disappeared ont he way back from Gran Canaria at Xmas I was VERY determined to find out why the insurance policy wasnt worth the paper it was printed on. Your only hope in that circumstance is a claim on the airline itself but the global rules you sign up to when you buy your tickets all give the airlines the right to severely limit your compensation in the event of any claim. Its not too bad if you lose a case with some clothes in it but they laugh at you when you tell them your £3k+ bike is missing :evil:

Luckily, the tracking systems for luggage are excellent an 99.9% of the time your bike will appear somewhere, as mine finally did, and will be shipped home, but in the event it vanishes into the ether or is genuinely stolen you're stuffed.

Damaged is OK though assuming your insurance covers you for that. I was repeatedly told that a bike bag full of broken bike bits would be covered but only if it came back to me in the first place. It stinks but thats the way it is....

danlikesbikes

Bigpikle wrote:

simonhead wrote:

Try eta, if you get a receipt from the airline at drop off confirming they have the bike I think you are covered.

sadly not the case if it doesnt actually arrive at the other end....

The BC/CTC insurers, and numerous others I spoke to personally, calss this as unexplained theft, and in ost policies this is simply an exclusion to the policy or they use the clause that the bike wasnt locked to an immovable object so there is no theft cover. Believe me that when my bike disappeared ont he way back from Gran Canaria at Xmas I was VERY determined to find out why the insurance policy wasnt worth the paper it was printed on. Your only hope in that circumstance is a claim on the airline itself but the global rules you sign up to when you buy your tickets all give the airlines the right to severely limit your compensation in the event of any claim. Its not too bad if you lose a case with some clothes in it but they laugh at you when you tell them your £3k+ bike is missing :evil:

Luckily, the tracking systems for luggage are excellent an 99.9% of the time your bike will appear somewhere, as mine finally did, and will be shipped home, but in the event it vanishes into the ether or is genuinely stolen you're stuffed.

Damaged is OK though assuming your insurance covers you for that. I was repeatedly told that a bike bag full of broken bike bits would be covered but only if it came back to me in the first place. It stinks but thats the way it is....

Have had some professional dealings with ETA & their policy states the following regarding Theft cover;

EXCLUSIONS APPLICABLE TO THEFT
Loss or damage occurring whilst in the custody of an airline or courier unless;
a) a receipt has been obtained from the airline/carrier for the period of transportation confirming their acceptance of responsibility

Written as usual a little backwards but suggests is excluded if you do not have the above, so long as you do you would be covered by their policy

Suggests to me that ETA would cover Theft if your were in receipt obtained from the airline

ollie cb

I would like to thank you all again for taking the time to write these lengthy replies.

Home insurance confirmed I require separate "specialist" insurance so I will now be calling ETA, CTC and BC to confirm the options. Of course, I will be double checking the matter regarding the airline's responsibility. I will also be phoning British Airways to check that they have no problem in writing such confirmation of acceptance - again, any experience here?
I don't fancy turning up to the airport only to be told it is the discretion of the check - in staff to write confirmation of acceptance.

Thanks again for your help so far and I will follow this through as it may be of help to others.

edited: red text is incorrect. please read my next post.

bigpikle

be interested to know how you get on with the acceptance of responsibility?

I cant see any way that a 3rd party checking in agency is going to give you that confirmation, given that most of them are nothing to do with the airlines anyway and are just an agency doing all the work on the ground. Ryanair/Easyjet staff doing that for you in a packed check-in area - call me a cynic but its never going to happen....

Good luck though and if it does turn out to be a solution it will be amazing news.

ollie cb

Right, as it stands:
My initial answer that home insurance would not cover it was due to the person thinking it was not a named item.

HOWEVER, I can update with the following facts:
I have Santander home insurance.
My bike is a declared item on the insurance.
As such, it is fully covered against theft and crash damage for up to 60 days abroad in the same way it is in the UK - ie not for races (no problem) and must be padlocked to an immovable object (no problem).

The interesting part regarding cover on a plane:
The CLAIMS department (I was put through to them due to the complicated question) confirmed that the bike IS covered whilst in transit as long as I obtain proof of acceptance/carriage.
I asked whether this was either a standard hold luggage sticker receipt OR a pre-written letter by myself explaining the item that is then signed/stamped by check-in staff.
The answer: EITHER would suffice. I will not take a chance so will write the letter to get it stamped.

I will be calling BA in a minute to confirm there will/should be no problem having such a letter signed by a check-in member of staff.

alfablue

Bigpikle wrote:

be interested to know how you get on with the acceptance of responsibility?

I cant see any way that a 3rd party checking in agency is going to give you that confirmation, given that most of them are nothing to do with the airlines anyway and are just an agency doing all the work on the ground. Ryanair/Easyjet staff doing that for you in a packed check-in area - call me a cynic but its never going to happen.....

OP is using BA, but when I took my bike on EasyJet they actually required me to sign their form disclaiming liability!

Mikey23

interesting stuff... cant think of a situation when i would take my bike on a plane but will store this info away for if i do. have taken it on a cross channel ferry where it has been tied to a pipe with as piece of string ... but thats not really the same thing

ollie cb

If I can avoid using a plane, I will certainly do so in the future!

Or

I will buy another bike that I don't care if it's lost.

hopper1

Well, this thread just prompted me to check my position with M&S, prior to going to Majorca later this month.
My bikes are declared items on my policy, and incur an extra premium.
I am insured for 'away from home' too. This cover evidently is global.
The advisor I spoke to assured me that I was covered for every eventuality discussed in this thread, even for a 'lost in transit' situation

bigpikle

good luck guys but please bear in mind that when it came to me actually making a claim in these circumstances the situation rapidly became quite different to the headlines of the insurance... even Amex Platinum insurance that claims to cover everything including winter sports and dangerous sports etc suddenly decided 'everything' didnt extend to a bike I had checked in.. its funny how that happens when you actually speak to the claims team and the not the customer service person who sells the policy

simonhead

Out of interest did the OP get it sorted?

danlikesbikes

Bigpikle wrote:

good luck guys but please bear in mind that when it came to me actually making a claim in these circumstances the situation rapidly became quite different to the headlines of the insurance... even Amex Platinum insurance that claims to cover everything including winter sports and dangerous sports etc suddenly decided 'everything' didnt extend to a bike I had checked in.. its funny how that happens when you actually speak to the claims team and the not the customer service person who sells the policy

Tend to agree with you there. I started out in a customer service role & have seen some good & some poor advice given in my time. So not trying to slate everyone but would always suggest a read through the policy wording, sounds boring but can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

Only reason I posted up the ETA wording was I was asked a question about it & recalled that its pretty well laid out and easy enough to follow.

Sounds like the OP has this covered now though so good luck on the holiday!

ollie cb

Yes just to reiterate, my home insurance is with Santander. My question re coverage in transit was difficult son the customer services put me through to claims to answer it. The claims lady said I would indeed be covered if it was lost in transit as long as I had my little check in sticker thing.

Admittedly, I have not called British airways for their stance.

ollie cb

Just thought I should update to be courteous...
I have now returned from my holiday complete with bike. No loss, no damage so very happy. Glad not to have to file a claim!

I at least hope this thread has been have been of use and people have checked insurance due to it.