Bike insurance - which company do you use?

[nadia]

Mine is on my co-op house insurance. Last time I had a bike nicked (was utterly on its last legs), Aviva i think it was insisted I bought a replacement at halfords (which wasn't really what I wanted)

 

[Herbsman.]

Check the small print of your policy.

My boss's insurance company tried to make him get a bike from Halfords. He insisted that he was paying them to replace like for like, and the only shop that sold the particular brand of bike that was stolen (Ridgeback) is his local bike shop. And that's where he got his replacement from.

If your policy wording mentions nothing about the insurance company choosing where you get your replacement from, then argue the toss with them - they have no right to make you get your replacement from Halfords.

 

[han]

thanks for the tips, folks. I'll definitely get it insured, then.

And co-op - I yesterday bought a couple of d-locks but quite large - so I'll make sure I fill them up as it were, so they're really tight and there's no room to manoevre. Thanks for that advice

 

[co-op]

thanks for the tips, folks. I'll definitely get it insured, then.

And co-op - I yesterday bought a couple of d-locks but quite large - so I'll make sure I fill them up as it were, so they're really tight and there's no room to manoevre. Thanks for that advice

No worries - I have got so confident about theft now that I don't insure (my bike new is about £700 if you include racks etc) - but my life now means that I'm less likely to be leaving it in dodgy places (that's middle-age for you). I have also scuzzed it up quite a lot so at first glance it looks crap.

The D lock/bottle jack thing is *maybe* an over-rated problem imo, I haven't heard of anyone getting a D lock busted for a few years (but that could be middle-age too). But I was down at the South Bank yesterday for the Thames festival and I couldn't help noticing lots of very nice-looking bikes chained up with big beefy D locks, all of which were much much too large for the job and all of which it would have been quite easy to pop with a bottle jack - there are some great little films of people doing it on youtube.

 

[Geri]

Check the small print of your policy.

My boss's insurance company tried to make him get a bike from Halfords. He insisted that he was paying them to replace like for like, and the only shop that sold the particular brand of bike that was stolen (Ridgeback) is his local bike shop. And that's where he got his replacement from.

If your policy wording mentions nothing about the insurance company choosing where you get your replacement from, then argue the toss with them - they have no right to make you get your replacement from Halfords.

That is correct, although it won't be in the small print of the policy.

My insurance company (Aviva) instructed Halfords even though I told them Halfords wouldn't be able to get a Marin. Two days later they rang me and said "Halfords can't get a Marin, you can find a replacement yourself and we will pay for it."

BTW, I would warn against anyone using E&L to insure anything. They are cheap, yes, but their claims service is absolutely shocking - they will use any excuse to wiggle out of paying.

 

[Blagsta]

Mine's on my house contents insurance.

 

[Blagsta]

I am insured with Cycleguard but recently had my bike stripped and they are not paying out - I'm totally disgusted.

Was locked with D-lock (approved) and a good cable lock round the wheels (over and above their requirements). Thieves cut the cable and stole both wheels, saddle, handlebars, gears and chain. I literally have frame and pedals left.

Cycleguard aren't paying out because apparently in the small print it says they don't pay out for theft of parts, unless the "whole bike" is stolen. It's my contention that they effectively *have* stolen the whole bike but it's not an argument I'm expecting to win to be honest.

Am I the only person who is unaware of this caveat in bike insurance? It strikes me as such an obvious thing to *expect* to be covered by specialist bike insurance that if they're *not* going to cover it they need to put it in big black letters up front somewhere. I mean, seriously - the cost of replacing the spare parts is more than the cost of my bike (which is only 4 months old). How can any self-respecting bike insurance company not cover that?

My missus had her bike stripped while locked at work. She got a brand new bike on insurance (Co-op home insurance).