Co-Op home insurance, with cycling options

[simonineaston]

Going back a couple of decades, when I first started to cycle-tour, I bought insurance from the Co-Op, based, I think, on advice from this very forum! This was back when the representative came to the customer's house...!! Renewing my car insurance last week, I was tempted to get a quote from their domestic insurers, when they offered me a discount if I took both together. Well, after an initial and fairly thorough discussion lasting about 40 minutes, I decided that their bike cover was inadequate. (In summary, I would have had to up the cover to include premium options in order to get adequate cover for cycles, and while I don't mind paying for a good product, the cover other than for cycles offered by the expensive options was waaaay more than I needed.)
Turning back to cover offered by Co-Op insurance, does anyone have recent experience of their products & service with respect to cycles and cycling that they'd like to share? The world of leisure cycling has changed hugely since I first got into it and I suspect that the world of insurance has too - back then, the cover offered by the Co-Op was fairly generous and I imagine they will have cut back on that...

[PH]

Not sure what your insurance needs are.
My home insurance has with the Co-Op for many years, until last year I was paying a premium to have bikes over £1,000 added, bikes under than were included.
This year I separated the bikes and insured them with a specific bike policy from TSB, which looks to offer better terms and was a bit cheaper. I haven't had cause to claim from either.
https://www.tsb.co.uk/insurance/bicycle-insurance/

[Paulatic]

I’ve been with Co-Op insurance for house and contents for 17yrs. Simple reason was they were the only one I could find then to insure a non traditional build. (Log)
I just renewed it a couple of months ago and apparently mine was an old policy and was advised switching to their new type would be advantageous. The sums insured for building and contents are now far larger so no worries about being under insured. Yes I had to pay more for a bike over a thousand pounds, but even with that the premium is far less than my old policy. I was also assured it’s covered if stolen from anywhere, not just from home, and they didn’t specify any minimum type of lock used. My other bikes valued under a grand are covered which I recall on my old policy it was upto £500.
I also have Co-Op motor insurance and recently have to make a claim for my glass roof on the car. Can not fault their service at all and everything done without any stress in my department.

[mercalia]

how do they handle claims for old bikes that cost say £650 in 1999? what value do you place on such now? a replacement might cost much more than that now? will they accept inflation issues?

[rmurphy195]

Not sure what your insurance needs are.
My home insurance has with the Co-Op for many years, until last year I was paying a premium to have bikes over £1,000 added, bikes under than were included.
This year I separated the bikes and insured them with a specific bike policy from TSB, which looks to offer better terms and was a bit cheaper. I haven't had cause to claim from either.
https://www.tsb.co.uk/insurance/bicycle-insurance/

I've just switched to TSB as well, best option this year

[Redvee]

I looked at Co-op home insurance mainly to cover my bike(s) and asked about lock ratings when I was called back and I was simply told as long as they are locked up, I then asked again if that meant a cheap £5 lock and was told again that would suffice. I didn't take a policy out cause I wouldn't have been eligible through other reasons but do have gold standard locks. Only time my bikes aren't locked are when they are in the flat or i'm riding them.

[mjr]

I still see a lot of bikes parked unlocked so the usual insurance minimum requirement of some sort of lock to an immovable object when not in the home probably results in a big reduction in theft payouts. Requiring the debatable lock rating schemes probably wouldn't reduce payouts by more than it lost custom.

[Paulatic]

I looked at Co-op home insurance mainly to cover my bike(s) and asked about lock ratings when I was called back and I was simply told as long as they are locked up, I then asked again if that meant a cheap £5 lock and was told again that would suffice. I didn't take a policy out cause I wouldn't have been eligible through other reasons but do have gold standard locks. Only time my bikes aren't locked are when they are in the flat or i'm riding them.

Yes I can confirm that’s exactly what I was told too

[millimole]

I also have Co-Op motor insurance and recently have to make a claim for my glass roof on the car. Can not fault their service at all and everything done without any stress in my department.

It's this sort of feedback that is invaluable.
It's always possible to find insurance a pound or two cheaper, but, as I've discovered to my cost, what they shave off premiums they slice off customer service.
I'd much rather pay a bit more for insurance and get decent service if I have to make a claim. Getting honest feedback on claims handling is very difficult.
(I'd even pay a fair bit extra to an old fashioned broker who'd remove all the stress from claiming, but they don't seem to exist for mortals living on normal incomes!)


You can easlily remove the Tapatalk spam using settings on YOUR phone

[PH]

The advantage of the TSB over the co -op is that your premium is based on your most expensive bike and all other bikes are then covered, I assume it works on the principal that you can only ride one at a time, though it covers my greatest fear of having them all nicked from home. With the co-op I had to add three bikes separately, the TSB works out 40% cheaper for me.

[PH]

I'd much rather pay a bit more for insurance and get decent service if I have to make a claim. Getting honest feedback on claims handling is very difficult.

Me too, but my experience of such services is that you don't always get anything better for your money. Despite all the names on the policies there's very few insurers behind them, the cost is more likely to be a result of the negotiations between the seller and supplier than anything to do with service. It isn't hard to find good and bad reviews of the same insurers, I feel it probably has more to do with the luck of who you get dealing with it.
Yes, the replacement of the broker who had the expertise, with internet compare sites is a shame, though there were good and bad brokers as well.

[pga]

I have insured the house and contents plus the car with breakdown recovery with the Co-op for many years. After a house break in they paid out straight away on one phone call.

I have about ten bikes, some in bits, insured up to £1000 per bike with the house contents insurance. I bought a bike for £1300 three years ago so this is probably worth no more than the £1000 limit. All the others come under the £1000 limit.

The premiums go up a small amount every year but I value the Co-op service and prefer to stay with them. The proof of all insurers is how they deal with you when you have a need to call on their services. After my theft claim they did not raise my premiums as others may have done.

I am always very careful cycle parking. On club runs most cafes and garden centres are reasonably safe with cafe locks but city centre pub nights demand the highest grade U locks (eg Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Mini or an old Citadel - the former is a tight fit onto racks and railings, the latter not so.

[softlips]

I looked at having separate cycle cover but even with the club discount it was three times what my house and contents cover is. I tried to do the house and bike with PedalSure but they want almost £500 for their cheapest policy. Sticking my two bikes (new cost £3000 and £800) added just under £5 to my home insurance. They are covered new for old. Only thing they're not covered for that the specialist companies did is competitive use, they are covered for sportives though.

[belgiangoth]

I used to have cycle specific cover from a specialist insurer, but it was expensive and did not cover bikes locked outside after 10:00 or something like that - basically before pubs shut (as was). I have not had to claim with the coop but they cover as many bikes as you care to own that cost less than £1000 and you can store them in your shed. I pay out for items away from home which I guess is used mostly for people with expensive smartphones or computers, but covers my bike after pubs close.
Ironically I’m rarely (if ever) out after 10:00 these days.

I do wonder about them paying out, as nowhere in my policy does it state that I own n+1 bikes or how much they cost.

[simonineaston]

Thanks folks, helpful replies I'm going to give the Co-Op another go, and ask them for a quote. BTW there was an interesting segment on comparison sites on Moneybox y'day. Well worth a listen on catch up, if you care about that sort of thing... they're certainly not the straightforward way to get great VFM we might assume they are. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jxkv8