Insuring a 'bent

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belgiangoth
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Joined: 29 Mar 2007, 4:10pm

Insuring a 'bent

Post by belgiangoth »

I bought my speedmachine second hand, but a new one would be £2000+. My insurance (coop) replaces new for old, which is good, but up to 1,000 unless specified (probably at extra cost). Obviously if someone broke into the shed it would be a real pain, but as I am unlikely to leave the SM unattended on a ride I'm not sure it's worth it. What does everyone else do?
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
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NUKe
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by NUKe »

Never bothered with any bikes, last time I looked they wanted £160 toinsure a£1000 bike. you can add to some household policies as an any risk item quite cheaply though.
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pjclinch
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by pjclinch »

Some insurers do a bigger value for bikes (ours is M&S and was up to 4K, but it's changed for subsequent new policies IIRC), but overall I wouldn't worry. Famous last words, this is not a guarantee etc. etc., but while 'bents are expensive they're not particularly attractive to thieves because they're about as fashionable as, errrrr, something that's not at all fashionable. My understanding is that the main point of nicking stuff is to sell it on, so it needs to be not only valuable but also difficult to trace and the sort of thing lots of people want, so high end road bikes and mountain bikes rather than something that sticks out like a sore thumb and that most riders wouldn't be seen dead on.

Dedicated cycle insurance is insanely over-priced, or was last time I looked: about 10% of the value per year. We did this for one year, thinking how much we'd spent, but then came to our senses.

My trio of 'bent, cargo bike and Moulton are my three most valuable bikes by replacement cost, and they're the three I worry least about being nicked. The Brompton needs an eye kept on it and I'd worry about it a lot more in e.g. London, but it's the MTB (by far the least valuable by replacement) that I'm paranoid about getting nicked.

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Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
KM2
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Joined: 23 Oct 2008, 5:38pm

Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by KM2 »

I asked my insurers about a bike, and they said under £1500, it is simply a personal item away from the house. So would be insured, locks expected.
Stradageek
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by Stradageek »

I have a stable of bents with a new replacement value of about £12k.

I never leave them unattended when riding and I do worry about them when I'm out of the house (especially on holiday) and they are alone in the garage.

Thought of putting a serious lock on the garage door but became convinced that this just screams "I have something in here worth nicking"

So far so good - but it's a personal choice - insurance is very expensive
belgiangoth
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by belgiangoth »

KM2 - which insurer? I am with the COOP who will cover up to 1k personal posession, I need to specify for up to 2.5k
Stradageek - for piece of mind, how about a floor anchor? Doesn't advertise that the garage contains valuables but does make it harder to nick.

I now know why my neighbour keeps his bikes in the house.
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by Cyril Haearn »

There was a thread on here a while ago about a stolen bike with a 26" frame..

Three types of bikes unlikely to be stolen*

Bents
Very big frames
Fixies

* because most thieves cannae ride them
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OldBloke
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by OldBloke »

My house contents insurance (in Australia) has a provision where I can add a bit to cover 'portable' sporting goods. Bicycles are covered except where participating in races. We have $5,000 cover for our two trikes. It wouldn't have been worth it to take out separate insurance for our trikes.

OB
skelo
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Joined: 12 May 2016, 2:52pm

Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by skelo »

I had my kett noted on the house insurance at a value of £5K with no additional premium. One of the advantages of having an old fashioned insurance broker.
nigelnightmare
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by nigelnightmare »

IME these "new for old" policies only apply to "Bought new & up to 3 years old".

To insure my Trike (ICE Q nt 2007) I've been advised to insure it for the amount that a new one of the same spec would cost.
That means a quoted premium of £635 =10% of trikes value!
That's over half of the purchace price *(that I paid secondhand)* and they'll still try to weasel out of paying in the event of a claim. :twisted:

*edit*
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Mine was new-for-old. Trike was damaged in an RTA, insurance bought me a new one.

I went from a ~’93 Pete Ross creation to a 2010 ICE Sprint. I added a little cash to move from the 26” rear to a 20” rear with bounce.
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nigelnightmare
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by nigelnightmare »

Who are you insured with [XAP]Bob?
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Barclays home insurance.

They were brilliant with that, but a bit pants with insect damage, fairly good with water damage.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
LowdownRider
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Re: Insuring a 'bent

Post by LowdownRider »

NUKe wrote:Never bothered with any bikes, last time I looked they wanted £160 to insure a£1000 bike. you can add to some household policies as an any risk item quite cheaply though.


I just insured 2 ordinary bikes, adding them to my household insurance, and my premium shot up. Ridiculous that 2 ordinary, nothing special bikes, total value (new) £830, have cost an extra 25% on what I paid for my house AND contents!

... AND I'm now trying to get my (new) recumbent trike covered and the underwriters are being unreasonably awkward, asking some mind boggling questions, and it will cost me as much as my house and contents insurance combined - IF they decide to insure me at all!

[I've been with them all my adult life and never made a single claim]. :evil:
The older I get, the more I know, the less makes sense! :lol:
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