Finally overcame the scam that is bike insurance!
Discussion
I requested a couple of quotes for bike insurance for all our family bikes. It came in at just over £600!! 
Yesterday, I finalised a home insurance policy with £1m buildings cover, unlimited contents cover, family legal cover, £2m public indemnity, up to £15k for possessions away from the home, and all the bikes covered in the garage and away from home (as part of the £15k), without the need for stupidly high levels of bike security that I've seen in some specialist policies. It even includes bike racing insurance, should I ever need it.
It came in at just over £600!
Yesterday, I finalised a home insurance policy with £1m buildings cover, unlimited contents cover, family legal cover, £2m public indemnity, up to £15k for possessions away from the home, and all the bikes covered in the garage and away from home (as part of the £15k), without the need for stupidly high levels of bike security that I've seen in some specialist policies. It even includes bike racing insurance, should I ever need it.
It came in at just over £600!
I've had this problem or a few years now. I originally had M&S premium which included my Cervelo and Litespeed bikes at no extra cost. Then one yeah premium shot up as they tried to get people off he policy. I shopped around and bike specific insurance was over £700.
I managed to speak with M&S and paid an additional £150 to include both bikes.
Every year my premium increases by £30 to £40 for no reason. Still much much cheaper than separate bike policy.
I managed to speak with M&S and paid an additional £150 to include both bikes.
Every year my premium increases by £30 to £40 for no reason. Still much much cheaper than separate bike policy.
I had a similar thing with my insurance.
I had the M&S policy for a few years where the bikes were covered but then the prices shot up. My last M&S policy was something like £450 a year.
This year I moved the home insurance to Pedal Cover and it had the same buildings and contents cover as M&S but with better cover then M&S for the bikes. As well as that it was about £200 a year cheaper!
Needless to say I was fairly happy with that. The price they charge for bike specific insurance cover, I'm surprised that anyone bothers with it!
I had the M&S policy for a few years where the bikes were covered but then the prices shot up. My last M&S policy was something like £450 a year.
This year I moved the home insurance to Pedal Cover and it had the same buildings and contents cover as M&S but with better cover then M&S for the bikes. As well as that it was about £200 a year cheaper!
Needless to say I was fairly happy with that. The price they charge for bike specific insurance cover, I'm surprised that anyone bothers with it!
Yeah, I'm kinda surprised anyone buys it.. If you can keep your decent bikes somewhere secure (locked bricks and mortar garage, spare room, etc), then why on earth bother - how many years do you need to go before the insurance costs more than replacing the bike?
Fundamental principle of an insurance company is they need to get more in in premiums than they pay out, so you're onto a looser from the get-go..
Personally I've never bothered. The 'nice' bike lives in the spare room, and I bought a 150 quid nail as a pub bike. Consequently the nice bikes are either safe indoors, or being ridden and don't get left out of sight outside. Don't like to tempt fate, but not had one nicked yet despite living in london, and entirely willing to replace it if I do, reckon I've saved enough for something pretty nice over the last 6 years
Fundamental principle of an insurance company is they need to get more in in premiums than they pay out, so you're onto a looser from the get-go..
Personally I've never bothered. The 'nice' bike lives in the spare room, and I bought a 150 quid nail as a pub bike. Consequently the nice bikes are either safe indoors, or being ridden and don't get left out of sight outside. Don't like to tempt fate, but not had one nicked yet despite living in london, and entirely willing to replace it if I do, reckon I've saved enough for something pretty nice over the last 6 years
t runs you down and drives off.Pachydermus said:
Usually the biggest problem is to find a company that will insure individual bikes worth more than £1000 so that knocks most of the cheaper insurers out. Two I've found are Home & Legacy and Hiscox. Who did you end up with?
The actual insurer is AXA, but the broker is Pedalcover.The bikes when in the garage are included in unlimited contents, and when away from home, in £15k of cover. There was no need to specify bike models or values, and all of my bikes are way below the £10k max for a single item.
We even changed from yes to no on the "have you got these sort of approved locks on the doors, windows and garage", as I wasn't sure on the ones which came with the house, and it didn't change the premium.
Just top it off, they're lovely to chat to on the phone as well.
+1 for Pedalcover, when you start to add up the replacement costs of a couple who each have 3 bikes plus powermeters, disc wheels etc it is scary. Darren at Pedalcover is a really good bloke to deal with and deserves to make a success of it. I had to make a claim last year not bike related but they dealt with it all for me without any hassle.
I had a long chat with Darren@pedalcover last year. I'd have used him as the cover and pricing seems great, but their underwriters don't like the construction method of my house, so he couldn't better my renewal quote. He was very helpful, and I'd recommend him if you're looking for an unlimited type policy that covers decent bikes comprehensively, and your house is made out of bricks,
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