Think about bike insurance
If there’s one thing that has beome abundantly clear from the aftermath of my recent accident it’s that, if you haven’t already considered it, bike insurance would be a good idea.
I’m a simple fellow and confess to not giving this the attention it deserves in the past. But having injured myself reasonably badly it’s clear that I would hate to
inflict this on anybody else. To do that would be bad enough, but to then face a significant financial penalty simply because I wasn’t grown up enough to have taken out insurance would be unforgivable.
So I’ve been looking around at bike insurance options. First and most important is to cover yourself against third party liability and the best I’ve found for this is membership of British Cycling, the ‘governing body of cycling in Great Britain which represents the interests of everyone who rides their bike for sport and leisure’, via their EverydayCycling website.
Just £2 per month gives you £10m worth of indemnity insurance in the event you injure someone by riding your bike. We’ve certainly had cause for thought. Recently I ill-advisedly careered round a bit of bridleway to come head to head with a startled horse and rider, the sort of thing that gives MTB-ers a bad name.
Before that I’ve been following Dave and Mark down the Denbies high speed descent and come face to face with heavily loaded teenagers slogging uphill on some Duke of Edinburgh event. All three of us were out of control and lucky not to clatter into them, with the prospects for serious injury pretty apparant. Apart from learning that this behaviour is unacceptable, insurance seems a prerequisite.
Once you’ve covered your liabilities, the next is to cover yourself and the bike. It’s true some household contents insurances will cover the value of your bike if it gets stolen and any damage you may inflict on it although there’s likely to be an excess to pay so you need to check your policy. If like me though your bike typically is worth more than £2K you might find yourself better off with a proper bike policy.
Again, looking around I’ve managed to find British Cycling’s Bike Insurance website to be pretty competitive, quoting £317 per year for my £3200 bike – that’s just £26.42 per month for a new-for-old policy for bikes up to three years old, small beer versus what would be a massive loss in the event the bike was stolen. Do note that their monthly figure includes a 26% interest rate for credit so don’t be misled.
Other quotes from Cyclesure and ETA were in the same ballpark. Do check the policy terms to make sure you’re getting what you need though and note I’m not advising any of these companies, merely noting what’s available.
When I finally get on the bike again I’ll be making sure I’m properly covered.
About the author
Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.
Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.
An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.
If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.
There are 4 comments on ‘Think about bike insurance’
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Rob E says:
Try Marks and Spencer for your house contents insurance policy. They are very competitive anyway, aside from the fact that they will cover MTB’s upto a value of £4000 against theft or loss, no matter where it is taken from, your home or on the trail.
They make no extra charge for this and do not specify a maximum number of bikes that can be covered. I have all my 5 bikes covered by the one policy – you only need to specify what make and model etc. if it is over £4000.
I pay £250 a year to cover all my house contents, bikes, watches, cameras, jewellery etc. all risks, new for old. I think they call it “Premium Level” cover. Hope this helps others.
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Posted on July 31, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Andy says:
I’m with Rob on the M&S cover.
Good cover and easy to deal with in the event of a claim. A guy at work just had his bike stolen on the Transalp race and M&S replaced it within a week.
CTC also provide 3rd party cover as part of their membership:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4088
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Posted on August 1, 2008 at 9:06 am
James says:
Can I make a case for Halifax Home Insurance…this being my profession and employer. The Halifax policy can cover theft, loss and crucially any damage, so bin an expensive wheel set – claim. Only condition is that you were not part of an official race. So crash on a Sunday, snap a carbon frame, all good with the Halifax.
I stuck my bike, thule rack and car under a height restriction last year, wrote everything off, car was less than 1 month old, roof rack was on second outing, bike was a stumpey, Halifax sorted it all, only conditon was they sent chq to LBS (Cycleworks) but all good there.
Pricewise its a close thing between Halifax and M&S, depending on your postcode. For all other aspects of service relating to Home Insurance, outside of MTBing Halifax genuinely is class leading.
Also your home insurance provides something called occupiers liability cover, which would idemnify you in the event of hitting a third party while riding…this would probably be the cheaper option of obtaining TP liability cover, rather than buying a stand alone liability policy.
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Posted on August 1, 2008 at 9:17 am
Dave says:
I actually dispute that I was “out of control” going down Denbies, I think of it more that my ultimate level of control was somewhat limited ;o)
I must amend my house insurance as well as it should have 2 extra bikes listed!
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Posted on August 1, 2008 at 12:46 pm