Bike Insurance - Hive Mind Opinion

sketchley
sketchley Posts: 4,238
edited May 2013 in Commuting chat
My genesis is currently a named item on house insurance, going to call the insurer (co-op) to see about adding new bike as well and get cost. Other option is using third party company to insure new bike. Any suggestions for companies welcome.
--
Chris

Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5

Comments

  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    Morethan seemed to have the best cover when I was sorting out our contents insurance.
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Hmm can't add bike to home insurance, above limit! Suggestions on specialist bike insurers welcome.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Just got a quote with CycleScheme £450!!!! Bloody hell....
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • ThatBikeGuy
    ThatBikeGuy Posts: 394
    Which insurer do BC recommend?
    Cannondale SS Evo Team
    Kona Jake CX
    Cervelo P5
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    Ask Frank.
    He replaced M&S recently but I don't recall a post saying who he went with.....
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Sketchley wrote:
    Hmm can't add bike to home insurance, above limit! Suggestions on specialist bike insurers welcome.

    When I got my Look, I asked my old insurer to put it on the list of named items. They said they couldn't insure it as it was abover their limit (I think that was about 1k so it wasn't exactly close!) - on that basis they agreed to refund pro rata my unused insurance on the basis that they could no longer insure me.

    I then went to M&S but have just changed. Not so much because of the terms and conditions change - I think the increase to my policy due to the Look was about £80 - but because the quote had become hopelessly over-priced anyway. I transferred to Aviva which cost half as much though the Look is slightly underinsured with a 2.5k limit. But though that leaves me short on 'new for old' it's still well above the bikes current resale value so I can live with that.

    Incidentally, M&S were doubly cack. Not only excessively expensive (and bear in mind I have never claimed on my house insurance) but to try to reduce the quote I tried them on their more basic insurance (no idea how I came to be on their more comprehensive policy anyway :roll: ). So that one, instead of asking for bikes over 2.5k, asked for bikes over 1k. So instead of one named bike, I ended up with three! And the quote was higher than the premium policy........ Yeah, these underwriters really know how to assess risk..... :lol:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    Rolf F wrote:
    but to try to reduce the quote I tried them on their more basic insurance (no idea how I came to be on their more comprehensive policy anyway :roll: )...... :lol:
    Possibly because the Premium policy covers items away from home.
    I for one want my bike covered when I am away from home. :wink:
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • nich
    nich Posts: 888
    I use Direct Line (same as my home insurance).

    I think it's around £150 a year for 2 bikes (which are valued about £600 each).

    They paid last year when I needed, but took a bit of talking to to get the right amount of money, not that bad though as far as insurance companies go. They certainly didn't seem to attempt to screw me over :)
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    daviesee wrote:
    Rolf F wrote:
    but to try to reduce the quote I tried them on their more basic insurance (no idea how I came to be on their more comprehensive policy anyway :roll: )...... :lol:
    Possibly because the Premium policy covers items away from home.
    I for one want my bike covered when I am away from home. :wink:

    Yes, but that is an option on the basic. The premium covers all sorts of stuff I don't need (like being a clumsy oaf! I don't have kids so any accidental damage in the home is my fault and I'm not claiming for that. Besides, all that crap about coverage for spilling red wine on your carpets - red wine cleans off perfectly well so why get insurance for it?) so you'd think that if the insurance covered less, then you'd pay less. On the grounds that risk is proportional to exposure and all that!

    I think M&S would have been close to £600 for home and contents with the Look listed. Aviva charged less than £300. Still, I'd prefer a bit more cover on the Look - hopefully next year I'll find something more ideal. Might see what Morethan can do as per Bails recommendation.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    Rolf F wrote:
    ....so you'd think that if the insurance covered less, then you'd pay less. On the grounds that risk is proportional to exposure and all that!...
    Yeah, I got that and don't understand it either, or insurance companies in general. I was just hypothesising why you may have taken the premium options. :wink:
    FWIW, my M&S insurance is underwritten by Aviva so the discrepancy is even more confusing. M&S must have got a lot of business by having good cover for cyclists - which they are now losing when the underwritten insurance is by the same company :?: :?
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    I'd be interested in a view on insurance too... I used to be insured with M&S but I hear they've changed their policy now - they used to allow you to claim for an unnamed item up to £4k or something, which would easily have included all my bikes... Other insurers are more pernickerty about how and where you lock your bike I've heard - you have to use specific lock types and they're not covered in certain shed types etc....
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    M&S now ask that you specify bikes over a certain amount but I can't remember how much.
    It may be over £2000 (edit - checked and it is 2k) so not an issue for some/most. They are not pernickety over locking.

    Swings and roundabouts.......
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    daviesee wrote:
    M&S now ask that you specify bikes over a certain amount but I can't remember how much.
    It may be over £2000 (edit - checked and it is 2k) so not an issue for some/most. They are not pernickety over locking.

    Swings and roundabouts.......

    Ah thanks... My "best" bike is probably worth about £1.5-2k if I was forced to replace it from new, certainly not over £2k I wouldn't have thought, so I would be OK...
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    daviesee wrote:
    FWIW, my M&S insurance is underwritten by Aviva so the discrepancy is even more confusing. M&S must have got a lot of business by having good cover for cyclists - which they are now losing when the underwritten insurance is by the same company :?: :?

    That's just logic which doesn't work in the real world!
    Headhuunter wrote:
    Other insurers are more pernickerty about how and where you lock your bike I've heard - you have to use specific lock types and they're not covered in certain shed types etc....

    I though that was mainly the cycle specific insurers. House insurers tend not to have specific conditions about how a bike is kept as long as it is behind a locked door.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • cookeeemonster
    cookeeemonster Posts: 1,991
    Rolf F wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    FWIW, my M&S insurance is underwritten by Aviva so the discrepancy is even more confusing. M&S must have got a lot of business by having good cover for cyclists - which they are now losing when the underwritten insurance is by the same company :?: :?

    That's just logic which doesn't work in the real world!
    Headhuunter wrote:
    Other insurers are more pernickerty about how and where you lock your bike I've heard - you have to use specific lock types and they're not covered in certain shed types etc....

    I though that was mainly the cycle specific insurers. House insurers tend not to have specific conditions about how a bike is kept as long as it is behind a locked door.

    ETA were the best cycle specific insurance i could find. Coverage for everything, no specific shed lock asked for, new for old replacement, cycle breakdown recovery and so on. Worth checking out

Categories