Bike insurance

nick67

I have done a search on the topic which threw up some horrors, I wondered whether anyone has got a recommendation for bike insurance, I have tried my home insurance, but they are not cheap, am in the throws of renewing at the end of the month, currently with Direct Line.

Have seen this:

https://www.money.co.uk/bicycle-insuran ... gL6avD_BwE

kingrollo

Cost benefit analysis - is it worth £150 pa - to insure a £1k bike (for example) - 3 years in and your close to 50% of the bike value.

Also if you adhere strictly to the standard of lock required - and what to lock it to ...your bike is much more unlikely to be stolen.

Its your decision on piece of mind v cost - factor in the unreliability of insurance companies of paying out as well.

I don't bother - you can't eliminate risk - only reduce it .YMMV.

alex222

In my experience if your bike is within the home insurers bike limits, then it is normally cheaper to go via that route than a specialist insurer.

joey54321

I've recently been bitten by this. I went with PedalCover for home and contents insurance but when I came to rely on them due to a bike being stolen they refused to pay up.

If you check all the terms and conditions then work out what the risk is I don't think it adds up. In my case, my bike was locked to another bike that was locked to the tree. My lock between my bike and the 2nd bike was cut leaving the tree and my friend's bike undamaged. They refused to pay out because the locked bike wasn't "immovable". This coming from a company which advertises they understand cyclists and pay out more too.

drlodge

I've been with Pedal Cover too the last year and a bit, its costs quite a bit more than standard home insurance but gives good coverage not just for bikes but all expensive items generally. Unlimited contents insurance, and coverage for expensive items like bikes, when outside of the home, up to £9k value (other limits available). It also covers aspects such as costs of hiring a bike, if yours is stolen while on holiday. Other goodies too, such as an excess policy thrown in which covers excesses up to £600 so you get the full value of the claim, which you can also use with your car insurance.

shirley_basso

I used Lloyd and White as a broker, cant remember who my policy is with but it covers my 3K bike FoC. No idea what the T&Cs are tho!

photonic69

I too are looking at bike insurance but more importantly bike insurance that covers loss of earnings through accidents whilst commuting. Does such a thing exist? Would this be better as a separate life type policy or do any cycle specific insurers offer such a thing?

kingrollo

PhotoNic69 wrote:

I too are looking at bike insurance but more importantly bike insurance that covers loss of earnings through accidents whilst commuting. Does such a thing exist? Would this be better as a separate life type policy or do any cycle specific insurers offer such a thing?

I think pedalsure offer this - at a price !!!

nick67

Thanks for the replies so far, awaiting some quotes

shirley_basso

Also try M&S - came highly recommended on here in the past.

nick67

Shirley Basso wrote:

Also try M&S - came highly recommended on here in the past.

Thanks, just ran a quote looks very interesting

yellowv2

I have my house and contents insurance with NFU and whilst it is relatively expensive it is according to "Which" the best available, they cover all my bikes on the contents policy, with my best bike valued at £4000, covered separately with a premium of £60.
A few years ago I had off, straight over the handle bars landing on my face/head, due to a very deep pot hole. The council wriggled out of my attempt to claim against them, despite BC legal efforts. NFU covered all my kit and bike damage very quickly and no quibble.
So no reason to suspect they won't honour any future genuine claims.

pilot_pete

Pedal cover for me. Cover up to £24k worth of bikes, ALL associated equipment (clothing, Garmin, lights, everything) against theft, loss or damage at home, when out, including abroad AND when in transit, say on an aeroplane. This includes theft and accidental damage.

They also include unlimited house buildings and contents. I got all this for about £100pa more than my previous buildings and contents policies. Prior to this I didn’t insure my bikes because when I last looked I was quoted £400pa to cover a £2500 bike...

I know joey is unhappy with his claim being rejected, and I sympathise, but ALL insurers look for loopholes where clauses have not been complied with to wriggle out of paying, so really we all need to read that small print, especially if we are about to make a claim...

Regarding PhotoNic69’s request, I reckon you should look at a standalone policy for loss of earnings. Such policies do exist, and a lot of self employed people take them out. I suspect they are not cheap and you need to make sure they cover you for EXACTLY what causes your inability to work and loss of earnings - I.e. bicycle accidents. There may be caveats regarding types of riding, such as mountain biking (which is perceived as higher risk) so you need to be careful to ensure you would be covered for your specific risk - commuting by bike may well be covered, and if that is the only time you ride a bike then that may be fine, but if you also ride socially, or for fitness, or enter sportives, ride with a club, race, TT etc you may find not all risks are covered. Be careful...

PP

rafletcher

Pedalcover for me too, for house contents, including bikes.

laurentian

yellowv2 wrote:

I have my house and contents insurance with NFU and whilst it is relatively expensive it is according to "Which" the best available, they cover all my bikes on the contents policy, with my best bike valued at £4000, covered separately with a premium of £60.
A few years ago I had off, straight over the handle bars landing on my face/head, due to a very deep pot hole. The council wriggled out of my attempt to claim against them, despite BC legal efforts. NFU covered all my kit and bike damage very quickly and no quibble.
So no reason to suspect they won't honour any future genuine claims.

We also have our bikes insured with NFU house insurance - never had to use it but comforting to see the above.

schlepcycling

Just renewed with Pedalcover with NO premium increase and they've included cover for our excess, so in effect we have no policy excess.

nick67

Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like the 2 contenders are Pedalcover and M&S, just need to read the small print as they are both around the same price (£660 ish), cannot get over how expensive insurance is, but suppose if you have nice things that would explain it. I did try NFU however their base was the same even before we discussed the bikes and my various watches.

pilot_pete

I also took out the additional excess cover policy. This covers any excess on lots of policies, such as car and pet insurance in addition to the house and bike cover. This means you can take a bigger excess, which drops the premium prices on policies such as your car insurance, and the excess cover would kick in in event of a claim, thus in effect you don’t have an excess and get full value for a claim (assuming you complied with the policy small print).

This got the price of my home/ bike cover (including the excess policy) lower than if I have just taken it out with no excess, with the bonus that it covers other policies excesses too.

PP

drlodge

nick67 wrote:

Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like the 2 contenders are Pedalcover and M&S, just need to read the small print as they are both around the same price (£660 ish), cannot get over how expensive insurance is, but suppose if you have nice things that would explain it. I did try NFU however their base was the same even before we discussed the bikes and my various watches.

Wow that's a lot. My PedalCover premium is quite a bit less than that...3 bed semi near Woking.

nick67

drlodge wrote:

Wow that's a lot. My PedalCover premium is quite a bit less than that...3 bed semi near Woking.

5 bed detached with a £6k claim 3 years ago against Buildings and as my wife will say too many watches!!!!

nick67

nick67 wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Wow that's a lot. My PedalCover premium is quite a bit less than that...3 bed semi near Woking.

5 bed detached with a £6k claim 3 years ago against Buildings and as my wife will say too many watches!!!!

Taking out the claim, watch cover, removing children and keeping the bike cover the premium is less than half

pilot_pete

nick67 wrote:

nick67 wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Wow that's a lot. My PedalCover premium is quite a bit less than that...3 bed semi near Woking.

5 bed detached with a £6k claim 3 years ago against Buildings and as my wife will say too many watches!!!!

Taking out the claim, watch cover, removing children and keeping the bike cover the premium is less than half

Kids to the highest bidder and back to a Casio digital then?

PP

nick67

Pilot Pete wrote:

Kids to the highest bidder and back to a Casio digital then?

PP

Haha don't think I haven't thought of that, even would do a BOGOF on the kids.

As someone said if you buy nice/expensive things be prepared to pay the price to insure them.

g00se

Pedalcover are brokers that are underwritten by AXA - so if you need to claim, you need to go through AXA. M&S are - I believe - now underwritten by Aviva (they used to be AXA too). So check the small print on both.

Years ago, M&S were underwritten by AXA and had a fantastic bike policy under house insurance. But they stopped the high un-named bike limit when it became too popular (?!?!). I claimed for a bike under this (directly to AXA). I had left my bike locked to the front garden railings - forgetting to take it inside at night. The lock was cut during the night. I thought the fact it was out front would be an issue but I was paid directly into my bank account during the initial claim phone call.

So my experience with AXA is the opposite of the case with the tree - but as will all insurance, you MUST read the small print and take it as it's written. The above case is the perfect example of insurance companies using the policy rules to their advantage and I hope the ombudsman can help them out.

But I'll keep with Pedalcover for now. But I'll double check the policy at the next renewal.

harry-s

I had a bike claim with Pedalcover last year, and they dealt with it pretty well. Axa paid the claim, but I had no physical dealings with them, it was all via the guys at Pedalcover.
My renewal has just come up, and the premium has increased by 35%, - still nowhere near the amount I claimed, but as they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch. £700+ pa.
It's a close call, but the reasonable way they dealt with my claim, will mean I'll probably renew with them.

cgfw201

Currently a few months in with Laka after 2yrs of Yellow Jersey.

So far, seems absolutely excellent. Cheaper, no excess and service has been phenomenal. Almost seems too good to be true, no idea if their business model is sustainable.

nick67

Have now sorted out the policy with Hugh at Pedalcover, overall a more comprehensive cover for my requirements. The deals with PC have been very smooth with any query answered.