Bicycle Insurance

[danielf]

So, some toerag nicked my 6 months old GT Avalanche 3.0 Disc when parked at the train station. No insurance: Damage: £300+

Not deterred by this minor setback, I will replace said item, but I now have a cunning plan: I will insure it

I had a look at cycleguard which looks quite reasonable: 10% (yearly) of the insured sum gives you new for old cover for the first 3 years (I'm in a relatively high risk post code). There's no excess* provided you attach it to an 'immovable object' using a silver rated lock.

Sounds reasonable to me. Any thoughts on this company? Better deals? Horror stories?

Also, there's the following question on the form: 'have you made a claim (paid or not), or had any bicycle incident which might result in a claim' (my wording) in the past three years. Not answering truthfully may void the insurance if a claim is made...

Am I to tell them I had my bike nicked? Will it affect the price? I will give them a call in the morning to ask, but any input is appreciated.

*Well, £100 if it gets stolen from my home, as it will be stored in a wooden shed, but I don't have any immovable objects in the shed, so it's basically not insured at home. Unless my home insurance comes to the rescue.

[Strzelecki]

My bike is insured with Cycleguard I think (was a while ago when I renewed). I had my GT stolen about 3 months after starting uni and my parent household insurance coughed up and bought me my current Specialized, which is insured for £700.
As for the claim thing as long as you don't buy the insurance and then try to claim for the already stolen bike than you'll be fine so:

have you made a claim (paid or not)?

No.

had any bicycle incident which might result in a claim?

This is more geared towards injury or legal proceedings you may have as a result of riding your bike, so no.

[punky]

Your bike is covered under your house contents insurance even if not at your home when stolen. If you already have decent home contents insurance, then you shouldn't have a problem.

[Strzelecki]

That depends entirely on the insurer as many say that the bicycle must be listed on your policy for them to do this. It is always worth a try though.
Oh and a correction:

You need to tell us about any bicycle related losses or claims you have had within the last three years whether insured or not. If you require Roadcare only cover or the Roadcare option, you must tell us about any liability, property damage or personal accident related events or claims.Having made a previous claim won’t affect your cover but you will have to pay a higher premium. You can have up to 2 prior claims and still take out Cycleguard insurance.
You need to complete the claims section of the application form, as failure to disclose this information could invalidate your cover. You must also disclose any material facts such as criminal convictions for theft or dishonesty. If you are in any doubt, you should tell us.

[danielf]

Me looks up the home insurance policy, and hopes he's got a receipt for the bike somewhere

---------- Post added at 00:59 ---------- Previous post was at 00:54 ----------

Originally Posted by Strzelecki

Oh and a correction:

See, this bugs me. Now, they won't know about this particular theft (I didn't report it), but it does bug me...

[punky]

Originally Posted by danielf

Me looks up the home insurance policy, and hopes he's got a receipt for the bike somewhere

Indeed. If you reported it at the time, you should still be able to claim. If you never did, you might be able to report it to them now and claim the day after.

[altis]

Our bikes are declared separately on our houshold insurance. This is probably the cheapest way to arrange it.

You may want to consider joining the CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club). Membership includes third party insurance.
http://www.ctc.org.uk/

They have arranged to offer cycle insurance through Butterworth. Good cover but, be warned, it's not cheap.
http://www.butterworthinsurance.co.uk/

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Originally Posted by punky

Your bike is covered under your house contents insurance even if not at your home when stolen. If you already have decent home contents insurance, then you shouldn't have a problem.

Sadly bike cover is usually an optional extra now if you want cover for that level

[danielf]

Picked up my new bike yesterday

I went for cycleguard in the end, as they were the only ones that actually give full details (including a list of approved locks) of the policy on the web. Butterworth were comparable in price, but I couldn't find full details on their site.

I called to ask about declaring the theft, and they said I should. The price went up from £35 to £40 (for an insured sum of £350). Ah well...