Bike insurance

kingstonian
kingstonian Posts: 2,847
edited June 2014 in Road buying advice
Who do you use? Am picking up a bike tomorrow and want to be covered straight away, primarily because if I don't sort it out now I will forget and never get around to it.

Will check if it is covered under my household insurance, but if it isn't for any reason what policies would you suggest?

Comments

  • sirmol
    sirmol Posts: 287
    Most house insurances will have an option to either add it to the policy for a small fee OR it will already be on there up to a certain price - i think mine states as long as one bike isn't worth more than 5k
  • Mart74
    Mart74 Posts: 111
    I added a 4k bike to my house insurance for £120 a year .
    The premiums were over £300 for cycle only insurance
  • kingstonian
    kingstonian Posts: 2,847
    Thanks to both posters. Will call our house insurance firm tomorrow. Do they only cover it from theft within the house?

    And does anyone have a recommendation of a cycle only insurance policy?
  • norvernrob
    norvernrob Posts: 1,447
    Forget dedicated cycle insurance, the cheapest quote I got for my bike was £400. My house insurance only covered bikes up to £2k so I switched to another company that gave £10k of cover for bikes and the total policy is under £200 inc buildings and contents. You can compare prices and put in specific items (the exact bike(s)) on MoneySupermarket.
  • DavidJB
    DavidJB Posts: 2,019
    I use dedicated bike insurance but thats only because I race it and have crash cover...other wise I'd just do it on the house insurance!
  • kingstonian
    kingstonian Posts: 2,847
    ok, thanks everyone. Call to the house insurance firm coming up then !!!!!
  • alex222
    alex222 Posts: 598
    Thanks to both posters. Will call our house insurance firm tomorrow. Do they only cover it from theft within the house?

    And does anyone have a recommendation of a cycle only insurance policy?

    My policy with L&G covers pretty much everything bar racing. So theft, accidents, third party liability.
  • dabber
    dabber Posts: 1,927
    Just had my house insurance renewal come through. Last year the bike cover was up to £2K for a single bike. This was enough to cover my Wilier. This year the cover for bikes is reduced to £1K.... not enough.
    A phone call to the insurer and they will charge me around an additional £105 to get back to the £2K cover.

    Time to shop around. Although the basic house insurance price is about the same as last year, they have effectively put the price up by £105 to keep the same cover for house/contents and bike.
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

    Wilier Cento Uno SR/Wilier Mortirolo/Specialized Roubaix Comp/Kona Hei Hei/Calibre Bossnut
  • StillGoing
    StillGoing Posts: 5,211
    Alex222 wrote:
    Thanks to both posters. Will call our house insurance firm tomorrow. Do they only cover it from theft within the house?

    And does anyone have a recommendation of a cycle only insurance policy?

    My policy with L&G covers pretty much everything bar racing. So theft, accidents, third party liability.

    Yep mine too with More Than.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    I have insurance with CycleGuard through British Cycling. I highly recommend them, they've been great with my 3, yes 3, claims.

    I pay about £20 a month I think
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    IC. wrote:
    I have insurance with CycleGuard through British Cycling. I highly recommend them, they've been great with my 3, yes 3, claims.

    I pay about £20 a month I think

    That's £240 a year...quite a lot. What's the value of your bikes covered under this policy?
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    About £3k now.
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    That's 8% per year of the value of the bikes, in 12.5 years you'd pay out the value of the bikes. Hence this is why most people don't have bike specific insurance, its simply not worth it IMO.
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    Yes, but as I mentioned I'm very happy with it. I had to make 3 claims in all and 3 times my bike has been replaced quickly and without fuss. 2 thefts and 1 accidental damage. It's one bike, not multiple.

    Perhaps the same would be true if I included it on my home insurance, but my personal experience is with this company and it is a positive one. I feel I get value for money and I'm certainly not the only person who uses them and is happy about it
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    Well if its been stolen twice I would say you're better off with insurance...or just take better care of it :wink:

    My bikes are either in my flat or under my bum, no chance of them being stolen really, so the risk is miniscule and my household insurance covers them while they're in the house anyway (Direct Line and they confirmed there's no problem even thought the Rourke is worth £5k).
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    IC. wrote:

    Ah that was YOUR shed, I remeber this thread well. Unbelieveable. Clearly you didn't have multiple ground anchors and motor cycle chains locking the bikes to them :roll:

    If I ever have to put my Rourke in a shed rather than in the house, you can be sure I'd spend a LOT of money to prevent that kind of thing happening to me! There are some very horrible people in this world that just need to be put down.
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    drlodge wrote:
    Clearly you didn't have multiple ground anchors and motor cycle chains locking the bikes to them :roll:.

    I do now :D
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • kingstonian
    kingstonian Posts: 2,847
    My bikes live in the house, no way risking them in a shed.
  • StillGoing
    StillGoing Posts: 5,211
    My house insurance policy covers the bikes outside the property for theft and accidental damage at a fraction of the cost of cycle specific insurance. It's also old for new rather than market value. Also included is public liability. Both bikes had to be specified on the policy due to their value.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.
  • Household insurance for me

    I've got an Asgard bike store which hopefully will put off any nasty people and I never leave my bike out of my sight when I'm out and about on it