Due to recent purchases + the fact that everything costs arm + leg more than it used to I need to update my insurance to make sure all my bikes are covered.

Currently they are on the house insurance (named and valued). Is there a cheaper/better alternative?

I’ve just totted up 3 mtbs and one commuter and the grand total to replace new for old at todays internet prices is nearly twelve and a half grand!! As the house thing seems to work on value I suspect it’s gonna cost me….. so just wondering before I pick up the phone?

whatever policy terms best suit your requirements (e.g. value/security etc).

i’m not trying to be obtuse, it’s just that policies can differ significantly on things like house/shed security, so you need to make sure you meet or exceed the terms. If not, make sure you upgrade before you need to rely on your policy.

If your home contents insurer will cover them, then it’s normally cheaper than a specialist bike insurer.

Other posts have said M&S house insurance is good for covering bikes, but I’m yet to investigate it.

If your home contents insurer will cover them, then it’s normally cheaper than a specialist bike insurer.

That’s what I’m trying to clarify really….Is this still true?

I used to use ETA for bike specific insurance, who are quite competitive.

I’m now with MoreThan and it costs me about 50% less to insure my bikes (I can’t get M&S due to their system showing my house as a flood risk, which is nuts, unless my house rolls away down a hill)

I do a fair bit of hunting around each year for insurance and i’ve found household contents to be the best deal if you can get them to add the bikes on (my previous contents insurer wouldn’t cover any bike over £500).

M&S have very favourable terms if you can get them to insure you. They cover bikes up to £5k IIRC.

M&S cover up to £4k replacement value for each bike or collection of parts to make up a bike. There are no limits for the number of bikes you have. If it costs more than £4k you need to add it as a named item and then they screw you on the premium.

I switched th M&S and seems by far the cheapest way. Used to use ETA, and they were great, but cost went up too far when I added new bikes.

Recently had my bikes stolen and M&S paid out within 3 days of the theft! Can’t really ask for better than that.

I recently got some quotes from specialist Bike insurers. Bikes to value of about £6k. They wanted £700 a year, and had stringent conditions on storage when out of the home.

They are on my contents insurance for pennies extra.

Like peterfile M&S decided my house was in a flood risk area, again nuts unless they imagine tsunamis can hit Wilts. Anyhow, as an existing customer they had to keep insuring me, but have done their level best to make the increases each year increasingly extortionate. NFU have had good press, but you need to call them to get a quote, don’t do online. HTH

Cheers guys. Sounds like House insurance is still best then. Need to dig out my policy and check how much it currently is then get a quote for upping values / changing one of the bikes….

As a general observation, I’ve found that bike specific insurers want around 10% of the value of the bikes in annual premia.

Whereas, it’s around 5-7% of the value when adding to a contents policy.

Clearly, this is a considerable saving when you’re talking about £10k+ worth of bikes.

See here
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bike-house-insurance-who-do-you-use

Following this advice I’ve gone for NFU Mutual, changing from M&S. They’re over £100 cheaper per year. Each bike can be covered up to £5k. They apply a depreciation cost to any bike that’s over 2 years old. I queried this as my Soda frame is 4 years old but has newer everything else on it now. They said as long as you keep receipts and therefore can prove other stuff is newer then they would only apply the depreciation to the older bits. I thought that was very fair.
Only limitation is contents off your property come under ‘personal belongings’ which covers only up to £1k for any item. I decided this was safe enough as I wouldn’t leave my Soda unattended and everything else I have is under £1k.

Whilst I was with M&S I couldn’t fault them but NFU seems excellent (and cheaper) too.

Only limitation is contents off your property come under ‘personal belongings’ which covers only up to £1k for any item. I decided this was safe enough as I wouldn’t leave my Soda unattended and everything else I have is under £1k.

See, this is were you’ve really got to find a policy that fits your personal circumstances.

The chances of my bikes being stolen from my house is practically nil. So i’m most concerned about it being pinched while i’m travelling or out on the trails.

For example, I had a bad accident about 2 weeks ago and had to go to hospital. I refused an ambulance on the basis that I didn’t want to leave my bike. My girlfriend had to take me (and the bike) to hospital instead (took over 2 hours). If I had been even more injured and didn’t have a choice, I would have been leaving a £5k bag of cash locked to a tree – not ideal. So a £1k limit would be useless to me.

Interesting and again what peterfile said .. it’s the ‘away from home’ cover that makes me swallow M&S’s yearly battering as it is still cheaper than the alternatives..