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.