Cycling UK Forum

Rilkal47 wrote:I would say it’s worth it. Unless the financial hit of replacing your whole bike or major part is of no consequence.

Just be careful many policies require a lock of a certain standard and have strict requirements on what constitutes a secure building.

Best policy for the ebike would be to treat it like an expensive regular bike and never leave it chained up while you’re out and never out of arms reach at a cafe.

If you must chain it up and leave it the best form of defence I have found is to park your bike near a more expensive one with a worse lock

I had better park it next to the nearest Riese Müller bike then, they just scream I’m expensive. If my bike gets nicked I’ll be annoyed but not destitute, it’s a cheap Polish brand called Kross, but my wife’s bike are a different thing all together.

st599_uk wrote:I use ETA as it includes breakdown cover, which I find reassuring.
https://www.eta.co.uk/

I’ll check them out, thanks.

mumbojumbo wrote:All insurance policies are a form of saving,from which companies make money.I prefer to accumulate the monies not spent on insurance to fund replacement.Most policies are full of disclaimers and if compensated,you will face higher premiums.My view is be careful,be lucky and do not leave your bike in a vulnerable location.I had one bike stolen over a very long time,stolen when left unlocked in an emergency.

I tend to do similar over extended warranties, which has saved me a fortune over the years. Having had a bike stripped down to the frame, which was locked, I know how annoying it is just to get home. I’m feeling in this case that the odds are stacked against so will probably shell out the cash.

Technoblurb wrote:
My wife purchased a monster kryptonite lock with the E-Bike, I think she need the motor for that alone. If it’s not too impertinent who did you use in the end?

I started of with ETA as with others here and did enjoy the cover, however, the required gold rated lock weighed a ton.
I've ended up with Cycleguard who charge a bit more (I think) and only require a bronze rated lock. This allows me to use an Abus chain lock which is lighter and easier to carry around and use. On the downside of this, after 3 years the bike loses its value in depreciation which will hurt if some thieving lowlife scumbag pos decides to nick it and I think I've lost breakdown cover too. Not too big an issue as I'm capable of fixing my own bike.

mumbojumbo wrote:All insurance policies are a form of saving,from which companies make money.I prefer to accumulate the monies not spent on insurance to fund replacement.Most policies are full of disclaimers and if compensated,you will face higher premiums.My view is be careful,be lucky and do not leave your bike in a vulnerable location.I had one bike stolen over a very long time,stolen when left unlocked in an emergency.

That's my view too.

Insurance companies pay for their staff, fat bonuses for the executives, the cost of premises, shareholder dividends etc etc, and all of that comes out of the difference between what you pay in premiums and what you get back in claim payouts. If you don't insure, you aren't paying for the insurance company's costs, and you'll therefore pay less in the long run.

That means it comes down to whether you can stand the immediate cost of replacement or not, or whether you can do without until you've saved up for the replacement.
Only insure if you can't stand the damage.
For me, that's the house, and 3rd party on the car, being the sort of old fashioned person who's always saved up before buying, rather than borrowing (the house excepted).

Knowing that it's you that's going to pay up means that you take care, too.
For my bikes, that's one failed theft in Manchester about 38 year ago that bent the frame (still rideable, and I did), an HPx pump from the York rally, and a bottle from outside a pub in Ireland, plus a bit of crash damage that I could perhaps claimed on, but was fixed out of stock parts.

andrew_s wrote:

mumbojumbo wrote:All insurance policies are a form of saving,from which companies make money.I prefer to accumulate the monies not spent on insurance to fund replacement.Most policies are full of disclaimers and if compensated,you will face higher premiums.My view is be careful,be lucky and do not leave your bike in a vulnerable location.I had one bike stolen over a very long time,stolen when left unlocked in an emergency.

That's my view too.

Insurance companies pay for their staff, fat bonuses for the executives, the cost of premises, shareholder dividends etc etc, and all of that comes out of the difference between what you pay in premiums and what you get back in claim payouts.

Is this news to anyone? Insurance companies are after all regulated as a financial service, does anyone not understand how they make profit? It's a sharing of risk, with the provider taking a cut.

If you don't insure, you aren't paying for the insurance company's costs, and you'll therefore pay less in the long run.

Well no, you can't know that unless the long run is measured in several lifetimes or it's for a large enough collective, or insured in such volumes that you'd be sure to have claims, in business that's called self insuring. But there is no way of knowing that for the individual, some will pay more some less, sometimes the sums will be considerable.
I've had by bikes insured for the last five years and just had a claim settled for the equivalent of twenty years of premiums. If someone had robbed me of all my bikes it would have been the equivalent of 89 years premiums.
It's a choice, buy insurance or not, but unless you can see into the future you can't know which will be the most cost effective.

Knowing that it's you that's going to pay up means that you take care, too.

I'm sure you don't meant to imply it's only the careless that have bikes stolen, it can happen to anyone. Though insurance won't just cover theft, it'll also pay out for accidental damage, it may even offer some third party cover, and other expenses incurred in the loss.