in theory,

if my car is parked out on the street and my window got smashed in, then my bike got knicked.

is the bike always covered?

or only with fully comp?

whats needed? i never had to ever claim before. But saw yesterday some kids hanging about my car when my bike was in it before i brought it back in the house.

just got me thinking.

nick

My home insurance says my bike is covered if it’s in the house or vehicle. So I guess it would be OK, but clearly once ballache + excess are factored in best to avoid leaving it on display.

🙄

Just run a cable lock from the bike to the steering wheel, without cutters they cnat get the bike.

If you leave a bike inside a car, always chain it to something on the chassis. I use a chain running through the spare tyre.

Something I’ve wondered – is it worth using a D-lock and cable inside a car? One could loop the cable around a seat mounting or similar.

*too slow*

(and it might help your claim that the bike was secured)

Have you asked your insurance company?

OP, was your car parked right outside your house? If so, then the local scrotes know which house has a nice bike in it. Been burglaries linked to this.

Why?
Take it indoors you alazy cyclist you.

move house

Leave the bike and a hungry crocodile in the car – it’ll be fine.

haha, no luckily the bike was then taken out and put into my cellar where its chained to a ground anchor in the ground with 2 d locks lol…

i just come back from a bike park and wondered that was all.

will give the cover party a call tho

thanks

a bike in car would be treated as personal effects (unless specifically excluded in conditions) on your car insurance policy but is probably limited to ~£200-£300 limit.

contnets insurance may exclude bike full stop.

if contents insurance does include bike, conditions may be barmy such as “removed forcibly from building”, “removed forcibly from street furniture”, somtimes camping cover is provided along lines of “if stolen whilst away from home eg camping providing practical efforts to secure to an immovable object was made and loss was in location of your tent whilst you are present and force was used to remove covered”..

I would expect that MOST car, home policys will not actually pay out on loss that covers the value of any decent bike from within car…
due to some form of excclusion.

if you have it covered for away from home on your house contents insurance then it should be covered in the car.

But you would be advised to prove it was secured to the car and covered.

When my bike was ripped out the tiny rear window of my car I called up to find out if it would be covered. Nope. Only the stereo and personal belongings were covered. Laptops,suits/clothing,stereo were a few things they mentioned.

About 5 years ago, there was a local case where someone had an expensive bike stolen from inside an SUV or minivan. Though the vehicle was locked, the bike was clearly visible. So the thief just broke a window and grabbed the bike.

I transport my MTB in the bed of a pickup truck that has a locking fiberglass cap on it. Since the bike can be easily seen, I have it secured with a cable lock through the rear wheel and frame. The idea of the cable lock is to prevent a smash and grab. If someone wants the bike bad enough, they’ll find a way to get it.

I had this dilemma, ringing round the home insurance places, most said no as the bike wasn’t locked to an immovable object, a couple said yes if its in a locked compartment out of site (i.e. the glovebox or under the parcel shelf with the rear seats up) which was possible in my Mondeo even though the parcel shelf was a soft retractable one.

M&S were the only company who said it would be insured with their away from home cover.

No car policy is going to cover this…fact!

As above, depends on the insurer and what policy cover you have. M&S with away from home cover will cover it as long as it’s not on display whilst in the car. Other policies are much less forgiving or will have a low cover amount in that situation.

even my van insurance doesnt cover it – yes i can get it covered but $$$$ more easier just to lock it to the van through the chassis/roll bars with big locks.

M&S insurance home/contents covers it for me though but i really dont want to try it

Novel idea, read the policy ?? Mine says it’s covered in a vehicle if you can’t see it from outside the vehicle.

M&S with away from home cover will cover it as long as it’s not on display whilst in the car.

does it say that it has to be ‘not on display’ ? I have had M&S Home Insurance for years and while never having had to claim for a bike was not aware of reading about covering the bike up etc.

To those who said lock it to the car inside (mine was locked through both door handles so the doors couldn’t be opened!)

So the result was armour plating much to the amusement of my mates.

Still on there 1 year later, pretty happy with it. Got the replacement glass but haven’t bothered to put it back in!

Something I’ve wondered – is it worth using a D-lock and cable inside a car? One could loop the cable around a seat mounting or similar.

This, works fine – and if they really want it…

Car insurance – no chance
House & Contents normally but only if specified in the away from home cover.

If the above photo’s aren’t enough,

bike was locked to the car through the door handles with a d lock and cable lock, so neither door could be opened. The locks were brightly coloured and visible, the bike was low down on the back seats (not visible unless next to the car), and covered with a cloth, only a handlebar and pedal maybe poking through.

The thieves came at night so probably didn’t look properly, just saw the bike and thought they’d have a go. They didn’t get my bike, but obviously there was the hassle of fixing it, and my million pound punto has now depreciated significantly due to the damage.

Lock it through the seatbelt mountings, they’re part of the chassis. The car door idea above is very good, stopping both rear doors from being opened.

If the bike is in the back, I always try to park the car with the boot hard up against a wall or tree, anything to make it difficult to open or access. I always cover it fully as well, got a massive tarp which does double duty at keeping the car boot reasonably clean.

As for the bike being covered on insurance, it depends on the policy. My home insurance has an optional extra to cover bikes away from the home, including in cars but there’s the usual disclaimers about it being locked, not visible etc.

The car door idea above is very good, stopping both rear doors from being opened.

Seems redundant to me, don’t most modern(ish) cars have deadlocking anyway?

I have never understood the whole “park the boot hard against something” I mean surely the crooks aren’t that dumb that they can’t smash a window, release the handbrake and roll the car forward ? Even with a steering lock on.

Don’t leave valuables in cars,thats what the cops keep preaching— my bike is worth more than my car, so would never leave it in there

I’m sure my policy used to be something crazy like I had to take it out of the car and lock it to something as it was not insured inside the car. I could actually lock it to the car when it was outside which confused me even more!

Anyway, I have decided that there is no safe way to secure a bike as someone will have tried it and had their bike stolen.

Personally I leave mine in the car occasionally when camping or stopping on the way somewhere. I have a big black sheet that I put over it to make it less obvious.

I do keep all my bikes relatively secure but it gets to the point where it simply becomes impossible and impractical and at that point you have to take a view on how likely it is your bike will get knicked vs. how many locks and crocodiles you want to deal with to go for a bike ride.

do all your bike rides involve a car?

Leave the bike and a hungry crocodile in the car – it’ll be fine.

Or a clown!

apparently my bikes arent insured when they are locked on the roof of the car on bike racks as to be insured they ned to be “locked to an immovable object”, and the car isnt. I would check with your insurer.

I find a couple of aggressive poisonous snakes deter most villains. We get to prosecute the survivors too!

M & S cover for bikes locked to racks on vehicles. Had mine stolen out of my van, not on display and M & S offered me a new bike of equivalent value. Of course I had to provide bike spec and a photo if possible.

If your car has deadlocked doors (which many do) then they can’t be opened even when the window’s been smashed. Now I reckon it’d be nigh on impossible to get a bike out of a car window without the door open.

I dunno how thief proof deadlocks actually are though.

I have never understood the whole “park the boot hard against something” I mean surely the crooks aren’t that dumb that they can’t smash a window, release the handbrake and roll the car forward ?

The nice thing about the Prius is the transmission lock is electronic, and won’t work without the immobiliser allowing the car to turn on.