Does anyone have experience claiming from John Lewis? My flux has what I think is a terminal crack in the top tube from normal use. Seeing as I pay handsomely to insure the bikes, which includes damage, it seems sensible to investigate this avenue.

Please excuse the manky looking copter tape.

If it’s normal wear and tear then they probably won’t cover it. if it’s an inherant fault then I would take it up with the manufacturer

Can’t see accidental damage covering that unless you hit a tree?

It’s beyond warranty, but I’ll definitely ask.
Does cracking under use count as wear and tear? Or has it suffered damage during use? Well, I can guess the default answer from the insurance company 🙁

Jesus wept. When your washing machine wears out will you be giving JL a shout?

You’ll either need to get it nicked or invent a story of accidental damage to pull this fruad claim off.

Funny, my bikes are covered for accidental damage but if I crashed one and wrote it off, it wouldn’t cross my mind to try and claim.

However, if a roof truss in the garage collapsed and bent it, I would.

Agree above, if it’s new-ish, ask Turner, if it’s old ish, time for a new bike. I’d not expect insurance to cover a carpet that had become worn or a telly that stopped working.

I’m not intending to claim for something that isn’t covered in a policy, don’t get me wrong.
Just thinking that 4.5 years of use and a crack isn’t necessarily just wear and tear and it’s therefore worn out. Seems like you guys think that’s in the normal bracket. New frame time then, which means, “all change” as it’s old school straight steerer, 26″ wheels.

I find the attitude of some on here towards failures like the OP’s quite odd. I don’t think a 3 grand plus bike should be failing in under five years, whereas many seem to be of the opinion that if you’re expecting more than two years out of a frame than you’ve got your head in the clouds. Personally I think that view is ludicrous, but everyone’s entitled………

As for the claiming question I think you’d be extremely lucky if the insurance company agreed a claim OP, but there’s no harm in being honest and asking.

You also need to consider whether the fact you will have a claim against house insurance on record for 3 or 5 years (can’t remember how long it is for), will lose any no claims bonus etc will actually cost you enough that the gains from the claim are actually far less than they appear at first sight. And if you have had a claim, does that reduce companies that will quote over those following years resulting in you missing out on lower premiums etc.

I claimed on M&S for accidental damage when a rock cracked my Yeti ASR when I was out with Bike Verbier and I wish I hadn’t claimed personally and just taken the hit (which I was lucky enough to be able to have afforded)

Unless you can pin the crack down to crash damage I doubt they will pay. Either wear n tear or faulty design. Neither is covered.

If you make a claim that is refused you will still need to declare it when applying for insurance and can expect higher premiums.

So if the crack appeared in normal use – too bad. If it was a crash they might argue that MTBS should withstand crashes as they are expected in normal use.

If you think it worth a go claim and take a refusal to the ombudsman.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/accidental-damage.html