Bicycle Insurance - Will Your Home Insurance Cover You?

A health benefit of the global financial crisis though is that more people are riding to work and getting into cycling. At last count at the end of 2008 about 3.3 Million people in the UK were estimated to be riding to work - and saving money doing so.

The downside of the crisis also means that crime increases and bikes are a sought after item for thieves. In England & Wales alone, around 300,000 bicycles are stolen each year. Unfortunately only about 5% of these make their way back to their rightful owners. Many bikes are stolen from homes and garages, but not surprisingly thousands are stolen from public streets, parks and workplaces. If this happens to you will your bike be covered by your Home Insurance policy?

Bicycles can be insured as part of a home insurance policy or with a stand-alone policy. Homeowners should check their home insurance terms and conditions to see whether their bike is covered or not. In many cases if your bicycle isn't specified on the policy, an insurer may limit the payout for any claim on a single item. If that happens to be your shiny bike you could find yourself out of pocket by quite a lot.

It's well worth checking the details of your home insurance policy to establish what cover you actually have. Most policies cover bikes as part of their personal possessions option - however, cover levels vary with some insurers only protecting your bicycle against theft if you keep it locked in a secured area. If your bike is parked in the street or at work without a proper lock to secure it, insurers may look on your claim in a dim light. Some insurers will cover you against risks such as vandalism and accidental damage.

If you have a particularly expensive bicycle and can't imagine life without it, then you're probably better off taking out a conventional bicycle insurance policy. In the UK, the likes of E&L Insurance and Cycleguard offer protection that includes options such as accidental damage cover, legal expenses cover, replacement hire and coverage for trips overseas.

Why Bicycle Insurance is Essential and Worth Considering

This has resulted in more people embracing bicycles for commuting to and from work. And lets not forget the the importance of the bicycle and exercise, where the basic bicycle is extremely popular whether it is used for leisure or sporting events.

So how are basic bicycles and bicycle-related incidents covered under insurance?

Policies differ by Insurance Company, and may even differ within a province, state or country.

In general, both homeowners and renters insurance may typically cover your personal property worldwide against specified perils, generally including theft, and this will of course include your bicycle.

There are limitations and exclusions on this coverage, and they vary significantly among different insurance companies and policies.

One common restriction is that personal property at a secondary residence such as a vacation home or one that you are visiting for an extended period of time, may have a fairly small amount of coverage. So if you want property at that location to be fully insured, you better insurance on the property taken to or at that location.

At this point you are wondering how much will insurance pay for my bicycle if it gets stolen wherever I am?

Again this depends on the coverage you have. The norm for many policies is to pay actual cash value for personal property - that's what the item is actually worth given its present age. For example: A ten year old bicycle would be valued at the cost of a new bicycle minus ten years' depreciation.

However if your basic bicycle insurance was a replacement cost coverage, then the bicycle would be replaced without any depreciation with your the bicycle being replaced would be for one at current market value meaning that that that same ten year old bicycle would be valued at the cost of a new bicycle of similar quality.

Of course there is always a catch as the insurance generally does not pay the full value of the loss. Your bicycle insurance policy may typically have a deductible, maybe $100, maybe $1000, depending on what you could afford or chose when you bought the policy.

Before you do have a theft loss, its a good idea to take a photo inventory of your bicycle, and keep receipts of the original purchase, whether your two-wheeled pedal powered transport costs a few hundred or more than a thousand which could be the case nowadays with the many types of hi-tech bikes in the marketplace. This will undoubtedly help in speeding up your claim especially if the bicycle is over a thousand, and will solidify report of theft to the police where you can present the records you kept at the time of purchase.

One last bit of advice, before reporting a theft claim, its beneficial to compare the amount you expect to recover to the possible costs of the claim, such as a claims surcharge on your insurance premiums for the next several years, and the possibility that you will not qualify for standard homeowners coverage. Of course policies vary dramatically by company so always with your local insurance agent for advice.