Insurance questions for a newbie

mstrmind5

Hi all,

I'm about to decide/get thte appropriate insurance so I can begin to commute. I know the two main things to get/consider are:
1. Third Party Liability - where I am at fault
2. Bike theft/accidental (or home contents) insurance - weighing this up because I would be storing in home and inside workplace building.
I'll be riding in London, 20 mile round trip per day. The bike is £800 and I imagine once I get all the other bits for the bike, they will come to about ~£250 total.

I've already read a lot about insurance through the guides/advice on this forum and others. Just need a couple of to clarify some things for me.

1. If I'm in an accident and the other party is at fault, how or what will cover the cost of the damage/replacement of a damaged bike/accessories? I don't need to get any cover myself to for these potential sitautions?

2. What combo of cover is best/appropriate/recommended?

3. What companies to look for, British Cycling, Pedalsure?

4. What % or ratio is approximately correct for the value of insurance relative to the value of the bike?

5. Is a helmet cam worth it?

Thanks.

slowbike

British Cycling or CTC membership for 3rd party & legal protection.
Bike theft/accident - I don't bother - but then where I ride I'm not likely to damage the bike myself - it's more likely to be someone hitting me - so claim on their insurance. If it is my fault then I'll pay for the replacement. As you're storing in home and inside work I'd suggest that theft is less likely - but that's really down to you to judge - my bike is stored in my office & next to my desk at work - so I don't even need to bother with a lock.

Helmet cam - I wouldn't bother tbh - I'd get commuting sorted first and do your best to avoid conflict even if it means taking an extra 5 minutes to get there. You need to enjoy the commute and not get your heart rate up by getting irrate at some idiot who's just carved you up.

fenix

Helmet Cam is the least of your worries. A lot of the cam recordings on YouTube seem to be by people actively seeking issues with drivers - and sometimes their riding leaves a lot to be desired.

DanielCoffey

When I was last insuring my bike, the premiums were around 10% of the declared value (non-London location).

I understand that BCF membership gives a discount off the cost of insurance and access to cycle-friendly lawyers so is worth a look.

You will need a correctly certified lock for theft insurance to be valid unless it is stolen by forced entry to premises. The tier of lock is dependent on the value of your bike.

As for the camera, I would spend the money on good insurance from a company with good post-incident support instead and just enjoy the commute.

andyh01

Hi If you have home insurance particularly legal protection extension it may be worth checking/reading the policy wording as this may already cover you for TP legal cost in the slim event of being sued for injury/TP property damage (unlikely) whilst ot on your bike will cover legal defence costs ect usually there be no excess and won't affect your NCB on the home, it's an before the event insurance. Likewise depending on value of bike home contents may also cover this esp if ask for "all risks" ie cover away from home, but this will have an policy excess in event of stolen and would affect your ncb and have conition bike has to be secured (similar to stand alone policies though). In both cases usually would exclude competition/organised events where separate insurance may be required but for just commuting you'll be fine