Its insurance time again

jeremy1

Does anyone have any personal experience of a good insurance company please for bikes, NOT home insurance


and any ideas on how to blasted well post photos here.

Thanks

cooldad

faq.php

Gromson

I've been pleased with ETA insurance, mainly because they have WAY WAY WAY fewer exclusion clauses, particularly with regard to where and how you store your bikes. They also cover my bike overseas.

Downside: maximum single bike value of £5000. I had to negotiate a specific price for my BMC which has a bookprice of >£5K (but which I paid nowhere near that, and in additionally the model cant be replaced like for like, as it's completely discontinued now).

I looked at many different companies a while back and many of them have lots of smallprint that will negate many claims. Just make sure you've read the exclusions, particularly with regard to locking and storage - some wont cover sheds or garages, particularly if those buildings have a window. Some insist on D-locking systems but only if they are anchored into the floor. etc etc.

Some home policies, like John Lewis Premium will cover most people's bicycle collections at a reasonable price, with a palatable exclusions list.

None of them are actually cheap at the end of the day. But then neither is the cost of replacement.

fenix

Why not home insurance ? Works out much cheaper for me.

jeremy1

Thank you

Gromson

Fenix wrote:

Why not home insurance ? Works out much cheaper for me.

I think it depends on the insurer. For many people it's probably fine, but you need to know what you're getting.

Some insurers won't cover any bikes with a bookprice of £1000+ or £1500+ - which is fine for some of my bikes (which are on the home policy) but not for those I sold a kidney for. Also, some home contents policies will cover bikes up to £5000 in value, but the value of ALL bikes in the household also needs to be under £15K or sometimes £25K.

But you're right - it's worth looking at your own circumstances and your own bike(s) against a standard home contents policy.

ps This may not apply across the board, but my insurer advised me of their policy: if the book value of your bike exceeds the company's maximum (say £5K) and you fail to declare the true value at the outset (ie if you try to under-declare the value to get a better premium) some insurers claim the right to void the policy for under-insurance if you try to claim, or they'll pay the under-declared value less a hefty fine. The companies can be a royal PITA when making a claim, but their phone centre staff are perfectly reasonable and chatty and able to answer specific queries human-to-human.