Bike Insurance for an odd commute(r)

[alnapp]

Hello, new (well technically: recently un-lapsed) member here

Just got a new bike (it's not to everyone's taste but I like it:
http://www.fromnought2sixty.com/post/77506246544/finally-got-the-new-bike-built-and-road-ready

As it is all shiny new and, for me, quite a hefty investment I'd quite like to insure it.

But

I commute Mon-Friday by train and bike, but have to leave my bike at the station (Cambridge) due to the overloaded trains, so my bike is locked overnight Mon-Thurs and then over the weekend Friday evening to Monday morning.

The problem is this exceeds most policies "left unattended in a public place" requirements

The bike is always securely locked (sliver rated axa defender) and has an immobilise immobitag fitted and registered but that doesn't seem to make any difference.

Unfortunately I arrive to early (or leave to late) to regularly make use of the nearby secure bike park at it's attached to a shop

Anyone else had this and did you find a solution? Or any good suggestions as to what to do?

Of course I should have bought a folder for this problem, but what the manufacturers of those laughably call a maximum rider weight is a whole other, slightly more ranty post

Cheers

Al

[mercalia]

couldnt u have chosen a better colour - has the colour of virus infected chest phlegm?

well I dont think u will have that bike for long if u continue to leave it where & how u do.

regular patterns are a boon to thieves and anything nice and shiney soon attract the magpie thieves,

Report back to us when it get stolen. So we know how long it took. I ll open a book for the bets.

[Mick F]

I don't think bike insurance is a good thing.
The idea is good, but the stipulations are too restrictive.

Try car insurance, and they suggest you mustn't leave your car unattended in a public place!
If you can get car insurance, you should be able to get bike insurance too ................ but you can't.
The only "insurance" that works with a bike, is not to leave it out of your sight.

My advice is to ride a bike that the thieves don't want to steal.

[thirdcrank]

Perhaps mercalia is an insurance underwriter? He's certainly made the right call here, even if his way of putting it is humorous. I'll suggest that if the insurers don't want to touch something, it's because they know they can't possibly make a profit and getting a posh bike nicked from somewhere like a railway station where it's regularly left all day, must be as near to a certainty as it's possible to go without predicting that the sun will rise tomorrow morning.

Nobody has come up with a general solution to this problem. The lock hasn't been made that's good enough, and if it has and nobody mentioned it, then they've not installed anything strong enough to lock it to. It's a pity that the secure cycle park is unsuitable, because that's the only sort of thing that's likely to be effective.

[mjr]

I doubt there's any garages for rent near the station in Cambridge. Can you commute from wherever it is to another station to avoid the Cambridge- Ely bike ban zone? Can you contact local CTC or camcycle to see if anyone has space to store it near the station?

[mike_dowler]

couldnt u have chosen a better colour - has the colour of virus infected chest phlegm?

My advice is to ride a bike that the thieves don't want to steal.

I think he did.

[mercalia]

what might happen is first the seat and seat pin will go , & any other bits easy to remove bits

then think about cycle home with no saddle?

[Mick F]

The only "insurance" that works with a bike, is not to leave it out of your sight.

[[XAP]Bob]

Insurance will be sufficiently expensive that you would be better off pushing the "premium" into a savings account.

Use a battered bike, add frame locks...

[Psamathe]

I don't have sufficient experience to say where you might find cover. But, looking at the problem from my understanding of how insurance works, a premium would normally relate to the risk, the higher the risk the higher the premium. And I would expect that leaving a bike unattended on a very regular basis in a city ... not so much a question as to "if" but "when".

But maybe things have changed.

What is disappointing is that there are not better facilities for cyclists; either on trains themselves or for secure storage at stations.

(Sorry to sound negative)

Ian

[alnapp]

Blimey, what a lot of "helpful" people
Thanks all, think I may have a solution (drive*)
Al

mercalia
virus infected chest phlegm just happens to be my favourite colour
Are you sure you aren't a bike thief, doubling up by running a book on my impending be-burglarising?

Mick F
Ride a bike that the thieves don't want to steal - Did that, but that bike broke after 7 years faithful service this is my new one and I have not yet covered it in duct tape and attached the pink tassels

thirdcrank
Perhaps mercalia is an insurance underwriter? -> see my theory above
I know if someone wants to nick it it will be nicked, but this is a busy public place CCTVd (apparently) with hundreds if not thousands of bikes there all the time it’s just annoying that CTC’s recommended specialist bike insurer (among others) doesn’t seem to cater for actually using a bike

Mjr
Ely is 19 miles each way, so a bit far (I currently do 5 miles each way, so would take some building up to) and while it’s more secure still wouldn’t qualify for insurance – I think weekends at Station Cycles might be the answer and I’ll just cope with the opening hours restrictions as best I can

mike_dowler
You may have a point

mercalia
seat has own lock and while annoying there’s a bike(and saddle)shop near the station

Mick F
I wonder if I could

Bob
I think a “new new bike fund” would not be poplar at home

Psamathe
Your negativity is appreciated – long term things are looking up for Cambridge train\cycle commuters http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/VIDEO-Explore-plans-for-new-25m-Cambridge-station-cycle-park-04012013.htm if I can just keep it till then. However even this facility would be outside the insurer’s terms

*not really

[mercalia]

" know if someone wants to nick it it will be nicked, but this is a busy public place CCTVd (apparently) with hundreds if not thousands of bikes there all the time"

ah safety in busy places - you should google YouTube on that matter. Some time ago there was TV programme where they place a bike in busy London roads and then went about stealing it with u name what tools - even large bolt cutters & angle grinders. NO ONE PAID THE SLIGHTEST ATTENTION. Passerbys just maybe took a glance and moved on. There is psychology behind this. There was an experiment persfomed in USA where they had joggers jog round having to touch head I think periodically( give them some thing to concentrate on), and they went past a mock up fight. Many didnt see the the fight. This had a real life instance where a US cop chasing a suspect went past a group of cops beating up a person. When this went to court he was done for perjury as the jury didnt believe he didnt see the beating. This was all mentioned in a recent TV programme on cognitive bias.

[mjr]

Police have done a similar demonstration in Cambridge - http://road.cc/content/news/96012-cambr ... ling-bikes

I was meaning ride to Ely and take the bike on the train. Most bike bans don't apply north of Ely. Not ideal but the best I could think of.

[alnapp]

I was meaning ride to Ely and take the bike on the train. Most bike bans don't apply north of Ely. Not ideal but the best I could think of.

tbh, I don't catch many of the trains with restrictions, it's more I'm large enough on my own to be self conscious of the space I take up on the very busiest of trains without hauling a bike over people's toes

Eventually no doubt I'll do the entire 40 miles each way by bike now that would save me money

[thirdcrank]

alnapp

If people seem sceptical or even cynical, it's more to do with being realistic. It's just confirmation of what you have already discovered for yourself. I get the impression that the only consistently successful strategy for people who want to commute by a combination of cycling and train travel is a folder. That's an expensive solution, especially if you pick a decent folder, but I think it's one that soon pays for itself and above all, it works.

Whenever people ask about bike security in the workplace, I always recommend befriending the security / janitorial people who have the keys to all the nice secure cubby holes. I'm particularly fond of nice warm boiler rooms. Useless in this case, of course, but there must be plenty of other premises nearby with unused secure storage space. It sounds as though your hours exclude shops, which is a pity, but if I were to be desperate to find somewhere safe to leave a bike on a regular basis, I'd search for somewhere like a pub, hotel, whatever, where they were prepared to come to a long-term agreement in exchange for ££.

I don't know if you are joking about commuting 40 miles each way daily by bike, but in case you are serious, I'll suggest that it's unrealistic.