Hoping someone can help..
I recently damaged the frame on my carbon road bike after someone mentioned I might be covered under my M&S home insurance I checked it out. Anyway it turned out I was and I made a claim. To cut a long story short….bike bought in 2009 for £1500. M&S referred me to wheelies direct who are there bike people. They’ve said it’s more cost effective to replace the whole bike and have offered me a bike to the value of £1500 of which their choice is poor couple with the fact that I can’t get an equivalent bike for that price. It’s a new for old policy so surely I should get an equivalent bike?

I took it up with M&S direct about getting the cash to allow me to get a bike I can try first and be happy with they said that’s possible but it would be wheelies estimate minus 20% which I certainly wouldn’t get a replacement bike.

Anyone know what I’m eligible to claim? I seem to be forced down the route of getting from their supplier a bike that a) I can’t try first and b) I don’t like.

All they need to do is give you the cost of your original bike, so £1500 is fair, they cannot force you to go to anyone, and you can just ask for a cheque for the total amount and you then take it anywhere you want.
You can’t expect them to pay you out more than you paid as the exchange rate has gone against us

I do see you’re point but it does make me worse off. I end up with a bike that’s no where near the same. To be honest I am willing to accept the £1500 but not less the 20% if I don’t go with their supplier.

If you push it on the basis that wheelies can’t give you an equivalent you should get the full amount.

Try giving them a breakdown of where the bike they are offering you is not equivalent to the one you are claiming against and see if they come back with a better offer.

Given I’m with M&S I’m a bit concerned that I have to to this “Wheelies” place. I’ll bet they don’t sell Ventana’s, Niner’s, Kona Ute’s or Islabikes. The wifes Spesh Hotrock is probably ok.

How about if you take the cash and buy a frame?

They are not taking all your kit away are they?

I’m supposed to dispose of the bike.
Take the cash minus the 20% for not going with wheelies?

Hmmm, another dimension…

I recently made a claim for damage to my carbon bike after falling on black ice. I wanted the scuffed bits replacing to reinstate original condition. Wheelies were quite keen to replace the whole lot even though the frame had only taken a small biff to the derailleur mount on the basis of ‘unseen nasties’.

They were going to give me a brand new Scott CR1. I declined and had them replace the scuffed bits only. They tried the 20% trick as I didn’t want to buy from Wheelies. I told them I’d go for the full ~£3k replacement claim if they did this.

M&S paid my claim in full, about £600. Still not sure if I shouldn’t have looked this particular gift horse in the mouth.

When m-s paid out on mine they didn’t take the 20% off on the bits they couldn’t source. ie on ones and an identity that was not replaceable. They did take it off stuff they could get though.

Take the cash minus the 20% for not going with wheelies?

I went with them, but I wouldn’t do so again for several reasons.

I can still get an updated version of the bike from another supplier. It’s more expensive but I’m willing to add that myself to get a bike that I know fits.
It does worry me that say my brand new Yeti SB66c which cost me quite a bit of money was updated next year and wheelies can’t supply it if it were stolen that I wouldn’t be able to get a direct replacement. Unless I forfeit 20% of it’s value.

did same with daughters bike offering cash minus 20% i discussed forcibly and politley that that i could not get the same with the reduction given the rarity of the bike, M S very supportive Wheelies dire but got full pay out.

Hold out and good luck

Tell them you want the same make/model (obviously though this years version). It’s up to them to source it. If they can’t, they need to give you enough money for you to buy it.

Get a quote from the company that has it get onto M&S. They can’t penalise you if their (Wheelies) nominated supplier can’t supply can they?

It’s in there terms and conditions, they get discount from suppliers so if you ask for cash then they minus the discount. Also your claiming for £1500 which is the cost of the bike not the frame which is why they’re asking you dispose of the bike as a whole.

But he’s not asking for cash. He’s asking for the same bike under his new for old policy. They’ve offered somthing ‘a bit similar’ cos they don’t stock the one he has.

It’s up to them to provide the correct replacement or the means to secure it if they can’t.

if they cannot provide same or equvilant there lies the issue

That’s fair enough but every part of the bike has been upgraded. There’s a pair of Ksyrium SL’s on it for a start so I have to dispose of them?
It’s almost worth not claiming…

I got the full cash settlement less my excess when they couldn’t give me a like for like replacement as per my policy.

Kept offering me various options none were the same as my bike that was stolen. Kept refusing them after about 3wks of this I was asked if I’d accept a cash settlement.

stick it out for a like for like or full cash, if that is what your policy covers you for.

So list the bits and their replacement value in addition to the bike price. That’s why mine ended up well north of £3k.

It’s like for like, new for old. However if it’s just the frame damaged, that’s what you should be claiming for really (not havung a dig, I know Wheelies encourage you to get a complete new one…).

That’s all I am claiming for…but they can’t supply it.
Unfortunately the frame can’t be bought anywhere.

Well yes you have to tell them the full value as you claimned for £1500 so that’s what they’re offering. You now need to tell them as they can’t offer like for like you will need to claim for the whole bike, unless you tell them they don’t know.

geordiepaul – Member

I recently damaged the frame on my carbon road bike after someone mentioned I might be covered under my M&S home insurance

Fraud is a very serious offence…

There’s no wonder that M&S have pulled the plug on insuring bikes over £1k for free, if people are claiming for accident damage for falling off their bikes…

It’s house contents insurance.

Accidental damage cover that you pay extra for no ?

Falling is accidental damage no ? I dont go out planning to fall.

It’s no wonder M&S have pulled the plug if people have been claiming for their bikes being nicked… Who’d have thunk it, insuring against specific events and then claiming should one of those insured events occurs.

What wallies…..

The main issue is not the claiming, it’s the treatment of those claims i.e. defaulting to full replacement. Makes minor claims many times more costly than they need be.

“There’s no wonder that M&S have pulled the plug on insuring bikes over £1k for free, if people are claiming for accident damage for falling off their bikes… It’s house contents insurance.“

Yeah, insurance that covers accidental damage.

There’s no wonder that M&S have pulled the plug on insuring bikes over £1k for free, if people are claiming for accident damage for falling off their bikes…

It’s house contents insurance.

That covers bikes under valuables which covers accidental damage, so exactly what people were paying for.

The basis of the policy is to put you in the same position you were prior othe incident therefore they should be replacing the damaged frame – either the exact one or the current model/version. If they opt to replace the entire bike then this still applies.

If their nominated supplier is unable to provide it then a cash settlement is due (less any excess) so, if you haven’t already, provide them with a quote to do so. If it’s more than you paid originally then they are still liable for the full cost (assuming you are insured up to the amount in question).

Thanks for the constructive replies.
Not sure how it went down the route of fraud!?
I pay a specific premium to have items covered away from the home and for accidental damage. So the policy specifically covers it.
It is buildings and contents insurance after all.

Few years ago but when I smashed my Santa Cruz vp free up m&s agreed to send me a cheque for the full value in the name of my LBS so I had to spend it on a bike. If I chose cash it would have been 20% less

Recently been through a claim with Wheelies/M&S and had the same offer of 20% reduction for the cash settlement. When I discussed with M&S that I couldn’t get the same “new for old” bike they gave me a much more generous cash settlement. They did take 20% off the value of the parts I’d upgraded that I could have got from Wheelies, which I thought was fair enough. The point is I found them very helpful to deal with so just pick up the phone and make your case. You might be pleasantly surprised.

From memory from 5+ years ago when I worked for a big insurer if wheelies couldn’t replace it with a new equivalent then we would usually pay out to the full value less xs.
Our preferred route was to get a quote from an lbs then see if we could get a discount from them and pay the cheque to them- everyone’s happy.
In saying that I’m not sure what m+s’ policy wording is regarding sports equipment being replaced- should be available on their website.
?

Standard policy wording-
through a preferred supplier, but we agree to pay a cash settlement instead the amount we pay will reflect:-
• any discounts we may have received had we replaced your contents or
• the amount it would have cost us
had we repaired or reinstated your buildings and contents based on their current energy ratings.
If no equivalent replacement is available then we will pay the full replacement cost of the item with no discount applied.

Suppose you could argue that wheelies cannot offer an equivalent replacement- ie, an on-one etc..

I was insured through Barclays and Wheelies is their supplier – I had a damaged Trek and I could have got one of those but I decided to get a Giant from Wheelies and did better as a result. I reckon from my claim that Wheelies give a 30% discount to the insurance companies. I was able to add to the payout agreed to get a better bike from Wheelies at a 23% discount – I was very happy with they way it worked out.

Good luck getting the full value. From their standpoint why would they pay you 20% more to settle the claim than they can by using Wheelies?

I used to manage a claims dept for a large household insurer, we used a lot of suppliers to settle claims, we saved a lot of money that way. We would never give out the full cash equivalent, we would offer equivalents less the discount regularly.

Its the way of the world, read your policy.

Ignore all the above advice except the advice – mine included – that recommends you ring M&S and talk to them. I have very recent and positive experience of them sorting out my bike thefts (3 of them!). They agreed they could not replace like for like and offered a cash settlement I was happy with.

To be fair to Wheelies they were great to deal with, but I’m glad I negotiated cash.

I recently made a claim for damage to my carbon bike after falling on black ice. I wanted the scuffed bits replacing to reinstate original condition. Wheelies were quite keen to replace the whole lot even though the frame had only taken a small biff to the derailleur moun

And we wonder why insurance is expensive.

Scuffed parts? FFS

Simons

At least its not just me that thinks the same, I was beginning to wonder.

+ 1 br & simons

‘scuffed bits’ FFS! no wonder m&s changed there terms is it 🙁