Bike Insurance

Right, what is the best way of valuing a bike that was purchased complete/stock, then significantly altered?

Purchase price of bike+purchase price of components, or guesstimate value of frame, then add components?

Issue is that the bike is a halfords special, only available from them:

rame Boardman CX Team, L
Fork Boardman CX Team, full carbon tapered steerer
Headset FSA 1.5" to 1 and 1/8th tapered
Seat collar Thomson
Bottom bracket Cannondale Hollowgram
Cranks Cannondale Hollowgram Si, 50/34
Power meter Wireless SRM compact spider
Pedals Time ATAC ROC
Bottle Cages Cannondale GT40
Shifters SRAM Apex
Front mech SRAM Force
Rear mech SRAM Apex long cage
Transmission cabling Gore RideOn
Brakes Hope V-Twin hydraulic disc brakes
Brake cabling Hydraulic hose
Wheels Hope Hoops, Pro II Evo hubs to Mavic TN719 rims
Tyres Maxxis Refuse 28c/folding
Cassette Ultegra 12-27
Saddle Fizik Arione
Seatpost Thomson Elite
Stem Thomson X4
Handlebars 3T Ergonova Pro, 44cm
Bar tape Fizik
Computer Garmin Edge 800

Hiscox will insure any bike out of the home up to £2,500, but any bike stolen from the house is insured up to the limit of your contents- £63,000 is their typical amount.

Handily, according to the chap I just spoke to items such as an SRM can be counted as "training equipment", and claimed for seperately, so don't count toward that 2.5K limit.

I've just insured through Hiscox as a result of that, and do feel more relaxed now- my biggest worry has always been to return home to discover the front door hanging off it's hinges and the bikes gone.

Dammit ^ on the whole purchase of special components thing did he say?

I dont have receipts for most of my parts as theyre off here etc, but want insurance so how do i go about valueing the bike? and proving the cost of loss if it got stolen?

I've got a list saved and -you will be stunned to hear this I am sure- I have pretty comprehensive photographs of the whole bike, detailing every component.

Which is actually a good point- I should do the same with the CX bike now that I have insurance.

Their policy is new for old, so if a part was no longer in production they would value the modern equivalent- so Dura Ace 7400 would be valued as it if were Dura Ace 9,000.

I recently swapped from E&L to ETA thanks entirely to some of the feedback on this forum. A couple of weeks ago I did something unspeakable to my Condor Pista involving a roof rack and low barrier. Total stupidity on my part. I put a claim in to ETA as I had accidental damage cover, but wasn't very hopeful. They just settled in full (less £36 excess) for the cost of a new frame. I'm chuffed - so they get a thumbs up from me.

I'm moving out because of uni but I'm pulling my hair out over insurance atm, I want to insure my main bike but normal student insurance only covers up to £1k and my bike is worth a bit more than that. I know a lot of companies only offer evans or halfords vouchers which is of no use unless my saddle got nicked, has anyone insured a bike while being a student. Any recommendations as to where I should be looking? I've tried the usual banks, my parents house is insured with Direct line which are from what I've heard useless when it comes to bikes. Would it be worth joining british cycling and taking out a policy?

On Hiscox - will only cover you if you live with your lover (or better half if you aren't doing much loving); shared tenancies are excluded

On Endsleigh - have reduced their bike cover to £1k (from 1.5k) so if you have a bike worth more it really will cost you to insure.
Pretty poor form as I have been their customer for more than 5 years.

As an aside I loved when they asked me whether I had a "broken top-tube".

On British cycling - (JLT) - I opted for this over ETA because there was about a £100 difference for me.

Anyone know any good insurers for a shared tenancy place?

On Hiscox - will only cover you if you live with your lover (or better half if you aren't doing much loving)...
lol

I have come to the conclusion bike insurance isnt worth having, its just too expensive. I secure my bikes in my garage by locking them to a structural roof beam and use a good quality garage alarm.

Anyone know any good insurers for a shared tenancy place?

I don't think they exist.

I have come to the conclusion bike insurance isnt worth having, its just too expensive. I secure my bikes in my garage by locking them to a structural roof beam and use a good quality garage alarm.

After looking into it I have to agree, the cover always seems to be mediocre and not able to fully cover my bike to the point where I wouldn't have to worry about falling short should something happen. Insurance is meant to leave you in the same position you were in, not short and not in profit. Not found anyone that can provide this!

Wrong. Insurance is there to make money for the insurance company.

It's only worth while if the odds are remote that you'll use the cover, which with bikes in London is not the case.

I have to be slightly pedantic here - The point of Insurance is, in most cases, to indemnify you in the event of a loss - that is, to put you in the same position financially as you were before your loss. That is the product.

People and businesses engage in the business of insurance to make a profit.

Whether its worth it or not really depends on how you view the risk and the cost of passing on the risk.

That definition only works for insurance against things that aren't likely to happen.

If the chance of someone making a claim is 100% or near, then you can't expect to be in the same position financially. The chances of someone making a claim on bike specific insurance is very high (people don't take it out unless they see risk and it's so expensive it puts off a lot of people who think saving the money and buying a new bike in 18 months is a better idea) so it's difficult for companies to turn a profit unless they make savings in what they give back.

As I said on the last page, the one rule with insurance is that it's basically gambling, the house works out cost based on risk and the house always wins...

Anyone know any good insurers for a shared tenancy place?

Mechamorgan - only Endsleigh but see below - there is no competition in this market.

On Endsleigh - have reduced their bike cover to £1k (from 1.5k) so if you have a bike worth more it really will cost you to insure.
Pretty poor form as I have been their customer for more than 5 years.

On British cycling - (JLT) - I opted for this over ETA because there was about a £100 difference for me.

Spoke to a chap at Endsleigh; their spectacurlarly shit service got worse on the call. I thought I would give them a chance to respond before I posted.

My thoughts are insure the bikes separately. Endsleigh don't deserve your money. If the premium is significantly cheaper with Endsleigh vs JLT/ETA then start living with your lover...

lol

Nice work on your part MM

Right, I'm thinking of going with ETA - is it worth getting their 'custom bike' insurance with a quote from a bike shop or just plugging in an estimate myself? Both bikes have been built from the frame up, so totally non-standard.

Also, if the latter, what should I quote as the cost? Total cost of replacement, new for old, what I paid, or an intermediary sum? I think if it's new for old I might not be able to afford it :(

I'm seriously considering going with Velosure as they are quoting me a decent price, anyone have anything good/bad to say about them?

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).

Any recommendations of companies that do as part of home insurance?

I was looking into getting insurance to cover three of my bikes.

One is the Graham Weigh bike, so a c.13 year old frame with brand new wheels, forks and components. Because of the age of the frame, the policy would apply depreciation of 50%, which means I'd get a grand back after the nominal amount I gave them. Considering I have only just finished building it up for more than that, it hardly seems worth paying nearly £30 per month if I couldn't build up something similar again.

Should I get better valuations than the quick guesses I went for? Or is there a different insurance company who might have a more sympathetic approach to vintage bikes?

I tried Cycleguard as we get a discount through work.

My Dave Russell is old but depreciation didn't count because it just made the frame rare and irreplaceable.

According to whom?

All you punks with expensive bikes and M&S contents insurance, taken out because they have a £4000 unspecified item limit, BEWARE!

You now have to tell them about any bikes worth over £2000 or you ARE NOT COVERED.

I've yet to hassle them about the specifics of this change of policy terms so I don't know what they expect (ie. if you have expensive wheels purchased separately) but it's a bit pissing annoying when items over £4000 still don't need to be specified at all, so my diamond-encrusted gimp suit is fine but my bikes are not.

Hi Hippy - let us know how this pans out as a lot of other sites recommend M&S but this may change opinions

Had an interesting one with Hiscox- I called them to confirm that my bikes were covered for £2,500 each when out and about, and that the SRM would be covered as “sports equipment” additional to the value of the bike (as it gets moved from bike to bike).

They said “no, we only cover up to £1,500”, so I asked them to go back and check the tape of the call I had had with their sales representative when I took out the policy.

I then received an email stating that they would honour the offer that he had made, and therefore the bikes would be covered for £2,500.

Worth checking these things!

The road bike is only able to be covered when it’s in the flat, which is annoying in some ways, but when it’s out of the flat I’m usually on it.