Bike Insurance

I, too, would be interested in why RBS refused you.

As an aside, I had been told that single item insurance was just that- for a single bike, and I would have to pick which bike it applied to.

Being honest about this when I had a bike stolen cost me a grand, somewhat annoyingly.

They are saying that we haven't named either of the bicycles on the house insurance which means we can't claim for them. The frustrating thing is that we called up to name our specific bicycles a few months before the theft and they said they didn't need to be specified. Unfortunately we didn't record our call and they claim the call never happened, so now we've been told something by one of their employees that isn't true and it's cost us two beautiful bicycles.

Anyhow after this experience with RBS Insurance we are now on the hunt for a different insurance company. Unfortunately we're not eligible for M&S Home Insurance so any other suggestions would be great!

we didn't record our call and they claim the call never happened

It certainly seems like it is worth putting everything in writing yourself at the very least. I've had a few telephone conversations with financial people of various kinds where employee A says one thing and employee B says the exact opposite. If you can't get them to send you a letter stating what they say on the phone, you can write to them and basically say 'you said this on the phone, will you please confirm in writing'. And if you don't get a reply, take your business elsewhere.

It certainly seems like it is worth putting everything in writing yourself at the very least. I've had a few telephone conversations with financial people of various kinds where employee A says one thing and employee B says the exact opposite. If you can't get them to send you a letter stating what they say on the phone, you can write to them and basically say 'you said this on the phone, will you please confirm in writing'. And if you don't get a reply, take your business elsewhere.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing! If I could turn back the clock I'd have done a whole world of things differently. Certainly though with insurance companies you need to cover yourself at all costs - slippery bastards!

Not just insurance people but anything financial, I would say. The 'fun' one that I had some years back was being chased for a defaulted loan by someone else entirely who just happened to share my initial and surname! Different actual name, different address, different everything. Didn't stop them sending threatening letters about bailifs, courts etc. No amount of explaining/complaining over the phone got anywhere - they would always agree and apologise on the phone but then send another threatening letter. It was only when I started writing threatening letters of my own including details of said telephone conversations that they eventually backed down and buggered off.

The thing is, M&S were the complete opposite. When I had my bike stolen, they were practically bending over backwards to give me as much money as they could! It was astonishing. I don't know why they would refuse you but if it is anything you can chase them about or change then it would be worth it. As insurers go, they are awesome.

@tiswas we asked them for records on everything we had contacted them about in the last 6-months but they said there was no record of bikes being mentioned at all.

I don't really know what to do anymore - I'm going to contact the Financial Ombudsman and see if they can help.

Also I checked and M&S wont insure us because we live in a flood risk area :( tis a shame - we should be ok as long as the Thames Barrier is functioning!

No they didn't provide transcripts or anything like that, they just said that they'd gone over our calls and nothing about bikes was mentioned.

I'll get back onto them. It's just so deflating!!

If you can provide any evidence that you made the call then they are fucked- by law they have to have recorded it, and if they've lost it, then they are in trouble.

What phone did you make the call on? Get the bill, show them.

Friend of the Mrs had this situation- the insurance company have to provide the recording, and then stick to what their agent said.

If they have the call then ask to hear it- again they have to provide it.

Could you use the freedom of information act to request the recording?

I am planning to get an insurance for my bike of value £2K from Cycleguard the instant quote is showing me i have to pay £16.57 a month that covers the bike for the following:

This is the standard policy which provides cover for general cycling - including commuting and business use. You are also able to participate in road based time trials but not mass starts (select the Active option if you need cover for mass starts or other competitive bicycle related activities).

The area of cover is UK.

Public liability is none.

Roadside recovery is none.

My primary concern is theft. I already have the 'gold' standard lock they require me to have to insure a bike of that sum.

My only question is is £16.57 too much? or is it something i have to pay for bike that expensive?
And without UTFS how are CycleGuard?

ok after UTFS found out that M&S is better option and value for money over a cycle specific insurance like CycleGuard. WIth my specifications M&S Premier option (the one with accidental damage) is costing me £374.52 which is £31.21 a month.

The not-so-detailed points covered are these:

                             unlimited sum insured                                 
                            no extra charge if you pay in installments                                 
                            accidental damage included for Contents only                                 
                            discount for buying buildings and contents together

Obviously I will go through the small print before I buy the policy.
This is the policy summary

Beware of paying in instalments, sometimes that means that they won't have to pay out as you haven't fully paid your coverage.

Insurance companies are 'mares.

I'm with Hiscox and can't recommend them highly enough having had to claim in the past. But prior to that I was with More>Than who I couldn't slag off enough as all give would give you is vouchers for Halfords.

So check with the potential insurer how they'd pay out if your bike did get stolen. Would they give you vouchers for a bike store? If so, and if you have anything custom or bespoke about your bike, go check out Hiscox.

^ A bit early in the morning for me to read too much info, but will do, sorry stayed up all night watching the news. Do they insure a complete custom build bike with new and vintage parts?

Beware of paying in instalments, sometimes that means that they won't have to pay out as you haven't fully paid your coverage.

Insurance companies are 'mares.

I'm with Hiscox and can't recommend them highly enough having had to claim in the past. But prior to that I was with More>Than who I couldn't slag off enough as all give would give you is vouchers for Halfords.

So check with the potential insurer how they'd pay out if your bike did get stolen. Would they give you vouchers for a bike store? If so, and if you have anything custom or bespoke about your bike, go check out Hiscox.

Agree with all of this - I have worked with Hiscox in various capacities over the years and I would happily buy insurance from them. Its probably worth mentioning that the LCC bike insurance offering is now a Hiscox policy although still arranged by Butterworths.

^ A bit early in the morning for me to read too much info, but will do, sorry stayed up all night watching the news. Do they insure a complete custom build bike with new and vintage parts?

^ This.
My brother in law works for them and if he's anything to go by I'll try them. I'm just interested as to how they'll insure a bike made of all 80s/90s parts that I couldn't/wouldn't want to replace with something from Halfords.

stand alone policy's are expensive, getting them on household insurance is cheaper and often has less restrictions

if you have a few bikes it's worth insuring with M&S as they do items up to 2k away from home (like bikes) without any specific locks needed

if like me you are in a 5 bike houshold plus a couple of expensive guitars it's only £450 a year including the usual £20k personal effects if the items (bikes) are under 2k they do not need to be named.

a single policy for a 1k bike is £115 (was the last time i did this 5 years ago with cyclegaurd) a waste of money if you can get it on contents insurance.

Wish mine was that cheap. Insuring my bike (cannondale mtb) for a value of around £300 was costing me an extra £80 on my house insurance (Liverpool Victoria)

Jeeeez! Just got a quote for our house insurance and added on the hubby's Willier and Genesis and my Paul Hewitt and it quoted and extra £300 just for the flipping bikes!!!! So we had a look on this thread and saw the recommendations for the M&S policy and it allows up to £4K without specifying an item which also means I don't have to mess around providing valuation certificates for my engagement ring or our wedding rings. M&S all the way!

Yup, M&S are almost too good to be true on their contents policy! It is definitely true though, and no they don't pay out in Halfords vouchers. When I had a bike stolen a couple of years ago they were very helpful indeed. It went through as a full custom build due to the number of upgrades and changes I'd made over the years so basically, they quoted me an equivalent spec value and then said I could have whatever I wanted up to that figure.

The only thing to be wary of is that they go through an agent (basically a bike shop in Wales that specialises in insurance replacements) and said agents proved to be something of a bunch of muppets. As noted though, M&S themselves were great and kept chasing things up whenever it got stalled with the agent.

dont want to read through 12 pages of stuff so just want a quick answer, I can get 1.2k insurance for 93 quid a year with endsleigh. worth it?

Quick update on the Butterworths claim.
I finally did get the payout, and now have a new Brompton, however I wont be using Butterworths again, because their claims adjuster Merlin is just God awful.
Luckily my new M&S home insurance covers all my bikes, as they are all worth (well) under 4k each.

I've written to Butterworths, thanking them for their service and explaining why I wont be renewing. Real shame, as Butterworths themselves were nothing but helpful.

I'm imagining a wizard, standing on your doorstep telling you that he is taking 40% off the value due to something silly.

Loss adjusters <= Parking wardens

I've just added cycle cover away from the home to my contents insurance with L&G. It cost £62.19 for 11 months, so my new monthly payments are £19 something. I quizzed them on approved locks and stuff, but they said it doesn't matter as long as it is locked to something immovable. We'll see....

I've been wondering, what happens if you are as unfortunate as Stonehedge and you are forced to hand over your bike, I'm not so sure insurance covers that seeing how they ask to see broken locks etc... anyone know?

Im looking at getting some insurance on my new build and wondered what peoples reccomendations were?