Bike Insurance

What he ^ said.

Unless you have insurance from someone like Hiscox, you will be given vouchers for an equivalent bike at Halfords.

Your only defence will be to cite specific features for inclusion in the like-for-like... they may just say "this low-end £300 full sus MTB bike is the equivalent of your bike", in which case you need to be able to state that the equivalent spec is a mid-range groupset to get that included in the like-for-like.

In the future, insure with a company that give you cash, and make sure you record the features of your bike that prove the value (groupsets are a good indicator).

I had a sneeking suspicion this was going to be the case.

the fondriest wasn't even itemised but was covered on the house insurance

Having previously worked in home insurance in the recent past I can say the above (halfords vouchers) really does depend who you are insured with. Many insurance companies have arrangements with suppliers (pretty sure the company I worked for used evans) and get you replacement bikes rather than vouchers to spend. If what they offer isn't acceptable then get some quotes for what you feel is like for like, ie similar age, components etc and present these to them. The more info you can give them (pictures, spec lists) the better as there will probably be some claims agent looking this stuff up to try and find out how much they can value the loss for.

The company I work for are adjusters, if your case was referred to us we would try and replace your bike with bikes from cycle solutions (bike shop that specialise in providing for the insurance industry), if you argue long and hard enough that none of them equate then we give cash.

Basically what ever they offer bitch and complain that it's not what you had so not like for like... And if you are lucky you'll get money.

my mate had a specialized stump jumper nicked from his shed , it was about 12 years old and everything on it was rusted or not working, but the insurance just posted him a brand new stump jumper within weeks, that was on house insurance

some insurance firms will have small print about outside buildings which include garages and sheds must be alarmed and secured with BS rated locks, they will only pay out if the police report specifies that such locks had been circumvented

Update:

they've offered me a Kona Cadabra full sus for the Gary Fisher, a Fire Mountain for the old GT and are getting back to me with an offer/ equivalent for the track bike within 48 hours!

result.

Brilliant.

Given that there are lots of +1s for M&S on this thread, those of you with M&S insurance might want to read this:

http://bicycleslut.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/home-and-contents-insurance-rip-off-from-aviva-via-marks-and-spencer-claim-refused/

looking into getting insurance because my bike is my pride and joy and means of income. the thing is it cost £600 to build but i got a really good deal on the frame and am sure it'd be worth a couple hundred more to buy. does anyone know if i should say it is worth more on the policy?

johnny, it's worth going to a LBS and get them to value your bike, and use that for the insurance, it's especially useful when you've build a custom bicycle.

I insure my bike through ETA and they aren’t all that great.

I broke my rear wheel last year and put in a claim. They took nearly 4 weeks to process and approve it. I asked if I could pay for the replacement wheel myself while they processed the claim but they said “no, that would invalidate the claim as they may want to arrange repair/replacement themselves”. That meant I was without the bike for 4 weeks. When I complained about it their basic response was “too bad, we are busy”.

They say you can claim back the costs of hiring a bike while yours in out of action, but if your claim is denied you get stuck with those costs as well.

And they say they offer “roadside rescue cover” but you have to be more than 5 miles from home, it cannot be a commuting journey and you have to have photo ID with you when the recovery vehicle arrives.

Cycleguard need a kick in the nuts.

Wont let me cancel my policy under 12 months. Ive been insured for 2 1/2 years, but because its gone into a new year, its a year renewal.

Fuck you, Cycleguard. Fuck you in the goat arse

Just like to add this to the thread.

There's no fucking point everyone writing about how great a company is, or even worse, how they've* heard* it's great, if they haven't put a fucking claim in!

So stop it! It's misleading, and has no merit.

Given that there are lots of +1s for M&S on this thread, those of you with M&S insurance might want to read this:

http://bicycleslut.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/home-and-contents-insurance-rip-off-from-aviva-via-marks-and-spencer-claim-refused/

Without wanting to be harsh, this dude seems to be in a fairly unusual position and doesn't seem to have read the small print. Shame he's been bitten in the arse, but if it's in their policy I don't see how you can hold it against them...

looking into getting insurance because my bike is my pride and joy and means of income. the thing is it cost £600 to build but i got a really good deal on the frame and am sure it'd be worth a couple hundred more to buy. does anyone know if i should say it is worth more on the policy?

M&S sorted my crash claim out very straightforwardly. It was a custom bike so I sent valuations from a couple of LBS's while they insisted on another valuation from their own "preferred supplier" (fair enough) - all 3 quotes were within £100 of each other. I made it clear from the outset that I wanted a cash settlement rather than a replacement - full value payment received within 2 weeks. I initially lost my no claims, but again, once it was noted that the driver had a court judgement against him and I'd made a point of them agreeing that it would not affect my policy if this was the case, they revised the premium back to its former level. All in all, pretty decent behaviour on their part...

Without wanting to be harsh, this dude seems to be in a fairly unusual position and doesn't seem to have read the small print. Shame he's been bitten in the arse, but if it's in their policy I don't see how you can hold it against them...

It's actually a she, and she did get her bikes back:

http://bicycleslut.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/bikes-returned-home/

just wondering wheres the best place to insure a bike someone told me you can only insure a bike for £1000 this doesn't sound right thx

Well, I've only claimed a phone on my M&S policy and they were fine. All my bikes are in my house though, not another address. I will continue to use them and should they fail to payout if/when I need them to I will be shoplifting exclusively from M&S. Given their grocery prices it shouldn't actually take too long to cover the cost of the bike. ;)

Is there any insurance for custom built bike used both brand new and 2nd hand parts?

I imagine you could get the bike valued at a friendly shop- then take that valuation to the insurance company.

^ Thanks, I have looked at a couple of the big companies and they all ask for receipts of all parts so I am a little confused as this bike is my first project. Had been an Evans customer before... oops...

Hey all I am new to the whole road cycling scene. I have just inherited a road bike its a Peugout Professionnel 400 (at least that the only identifiable markings I can see on it) Can anyone give me and Idea of value or somewhere to take it to be valued, as being a noob have no idea if its expensive enough for me to look to insure it. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

I've just had a really good experience with M+S home insurance..... my beautiful custom build was stolen a few weeks ago ( https://www.lfgss.com/post2088871-5953.html ) - the police gave up on me after a couple of days, no sign of the bike or components on ebay, gumtree, brick lane etc... I put the claim in to M+S, they passed it on to Wheelies Direct who soon realised they couldn't deal with a custom, passed it back to M+S who just asked me to get a replacement cost for the build - they made one call to Condor to check the cost and have transferred the money into my account (just less the £100 excess). Good service - I can highly recommend M+S - cycles are covered as part of the normal cover, no special policy.....

So now getting a shiney new build.....I'd still rather have my bike back though........

I've just had a really good experience with M+S home insurance..... my beautiful custom build was stolen a few weeks ago ( https://www.lfgss.com/post2088871-5953.html ) - the police gave up on me after a couple of days, no sign of the bike or components on ebay, gumtree, brick lane etc... I put the claim in to M+S, they passed it on to Wheelies Direct who soon realised they couldn't deal with a custom, passed it back to M+S who just asked me to get a replacement cost for the build - they made one call to Condor to check the cost and have transferred the money into my account (just less the £100 excess). Good service - I can highly recommend M+S - cycles are covered as part of the normal cover, no special policy.....

So now getting a shiney new build.....I'd still rather have my bike back though........

Good news!
I had a similar experience with More Than, after i crashed my road bike.
They passed me onto a claim person who had the money for all the replacement parts (minus excess) in my account by the end of the week :-D

Is there a maximum limit to the value of the build? What would happen if the frame/forks was custom made, and then you build up with your own purchased parts? Is the total sum of parts considered?