Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • Insuring a bike for flights
  • franksinatra
    Full Member

    I’m heading away shorlty and taking my road bike with me, first time I’ve taken a bike on a plane.

    I have a bike bag and packing plan sorted. Happy about all of that but I have just realised that my travel insurance does not cover damage to the bike in tansit, and I’m not convinced my home contents will cover it either.

    I assume insurance cover is a sensible way forward but I do not want to pay through the roof for one trip, what options have I got? FWIW, it is a £1k carbon road bike.

    Thanks

    sandwicheater
    Full Member

    I’m not convinced my home contents will cover it either

    It should do if you have cover away from the home, can you not just check? Cover via your home insurance will be the most cost effective way of covering it.

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    I’m with esure for home contants and under contents away from home it states.

    Significant exclusions or limitations
    • covers you up to £1,499 for any one item, and any pedal cycle up to £500
    • loss or damage to any pedal cycle, which is left unattended away from the home, unless locked to a fixed object

    Looks like I need to speak to them.

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    emyr
    Full Member

    I and a friend have used Snowcard previously but only had a claim for medical treatment so no idea how they are on equipment.

    sandwicheater
    Full Member

    OP, think the section you’re looking at is personnel possessions/unspecified all risks. As you bike is over £500, you’ll need to specify it to get cover. Give them a bell.

    spacehopper
    Full Member

    i was in a similar boat with no home insurance cover..

    none of the normal travel insurance companies i found would cover my bike over more than a couple of hundred quid as a normal piece of luggage… and most of the ‘extreme sports’ type cover doesnt cover equipment either.. i phoned round and asked loads of places..

    the options i found where either..

    a year long cycle specific insurance policy with cover abroad.. which is quite expensive!
    Or
    use snowcard and whack the equipment cover right up..

    as i was travelling to New zealand for about a month or so..
    the snowcard was mega expensive to cover the bike for the whole trip..

    so i got two seperate periods of cover that insured me and the bike around the times of the flights..

    and then a general insurance policy with a normal travel insurance company and extreme sports cover in the middle of the trip that just covered me.

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Does anyone get anything out of their British Cycling membership that might cover this?

    Currently on hold for esure….

    lobby_dosser
    Free Member

    check the wording of the policy carefully. As you are ‘handing over’ your bike to the carrier, there’s a bit of a grey area there. Some insurance policies will have exclusions such as leaving unattended. By handing it over to a carrier you may not be covered. The carrier will only pay out up to approx £1000 unless you have declared its value and pay a supplement.

    From the BA webite, I think most carriers are the same.

    ‘Whilst we will make every attempt to ensure your baggage is handled with care, you should know that British Airways’ liability for loss, delay or damage to baggage is limited unless a higher value is declared in advance and additional charges paid.

    The extent of airline liability is not based on the weight of the bag nor its value. British Airways does not accept liability for fragile, valuable, perishable articles or baggage which is packed in damaged or unsuitable containers.

    Under the Conditions of Carriage we accept no liability for the loss of jewellery, other valuables and money contained in checked baggage. You are advised to keep valuables, important documents and money either on your person or in your hand baggage.

    We strongly recommend that you obtain adequate travel insurance cover prior to your journey. Use the following links for further information:’

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Got some clarity from esure. They cover the full value of the bike away from home as it is a listed item but this does not cover it in transit as that needs to come under travel insurance.

    Need to get back on to travel insurers.

    This is complicated.

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Just spoken to RBS and the policy I quoted above i snow out of date, under the new one damage to pedal cycles during airline transit is listed as an explicit exclusion.

    Back to square one.

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    JEt2, the airline I am flying with have just confirmed that they accept no liability at all for sporting goods including bikes or golfclubs.

    So far managed to establish that travel, home contents and airline are all useless in this area.

    I’m coming round to the idea that if it is damaged, then perhaps the damage may have been caused falling off the car, rather than on the flight…….

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    So been looking at the snowcard option.

    2 days fo cover (outbound and return flight), covering nothing else but £1500 of sporting goods (to cover bike, back, shoes etc) will be £15 each day.

    I reckon this is the best / only option.

    DanW
    Free Member

    Thanks for looking in to this and please keep us all updated if you find any other gems 🙂

    legend
    Free Member

    so i got two seperate periods of cover that insured me and the bike around the times of the flights..

    2 days fo cover (outbound and return flight), covering nothing else but £1500 of sporting goods (to cover bike, back, shoes etc) will be £15 each day.

    This idea is almost certainly excluded. A general exclusion for travel policies is that the cover must being and end within the UK. Snowcard might be different but I’d be surprised

    Hareydan
    Free Member

    Anyone got any updates on this? I’m off to Morzine in a couple of weeks (flying easyjet) and am a bit confused over what insurance covers/does not cover…

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