Got my RBS home insurance renewal through and the T&Cs appear to have changed so that my bike (£5600 new) is no longer insured either in outbuildings (where i store it in my Asguard bike shed) or even if stored in the house. They have a £2.5k limit on outbuildings and a £5k limit in the house for bikes.

Here is where it gets awkward… In the last 3 years I’ve had 2 bike theft claims totalling £12.5k 😯 (hence the purchase of the Asguard shed) so no-one else will insure me and i’m stuck with RBS. This wasn’t an issue previously (other than the eye-watering premiums) as they covered the full value of the bikes even in the outbuildings. Now I’ve no cover at all for my good bike…! I’m also on the verge of being out of work so can’t afford to replace it if the worst happens and it disappears.

I’ve tried in the recent past to get separate cycle cover but because of the 2 claims in the last 3 years I haven’t been able to get sorted out.

Anyone any suggestions as to how i can get cover? And no, selling the bike for a cheaper one is not going to happen (not yet anyway).

Now I’ve no cover at all for my good bike…!

well, you have but for 5k max. iiwy I’d just keep the expensive one in the house. but I have to add …. 5.6k on a bike?!

well, you have but for 5k max. iiwy I’d just keep the expensive one in the house. but I have to add …. 5.6k on a bike?!

a 5.6k bike in a shed!!

I think we’ve established quite quickly that this forum is ‘the hard place’ 🙂

Had a chat with pedalcover?

I’ll chip in with the thought – if it’s not insured either in the shed or house (for full value) and you’re about to be out of work – and it’s clear that thieves may be targeting you — have you considered selling it for the short to medium term ??

/sorry/

Just got new insurance with pedalcover and cant recommend the service highly enough. Darren seems a knowledgeable guy, why not ring up and pick his brains if they cant offer cover themselves?

keep half of it in the shed and half in the house? being serious, if you have expensive wheels and forks remove them and shove them under the bed or in a cupboard and lock the frame in the shed.

well, you have but for 5k max.

Well no – they won’t pay out £5k on a bike worth £5.6k. They will tell you it is uninsured because the value was more than £5k

(I have just had this conversation with Sheila’s Wheels when arranging insurance on my old Specialized Enduro S-Works – new price was around £4k but now only worth about £600 – but I have to insure it at it’s *NEW* value.

I can see their point – it isn’t how much I want to get for it in the event of a claim, it is a bigger risk because it is a perceived more valuable bike.

what Kcal said is the logical explanation for the short term.

If you cant afford to insure it – and you cant afford to replace it if it got stolen or broken – well …..

Oh and another vote for pedal cover – top folks.

a 5.6k bike in a shed!!

A 5.6k Bike !!!!!

Well no – they won’t pay out £5k on a bike worth £5.6k. They will tell you it is uninsured because the value was more than £5k

+1, this is crucial

It sounds like you are minted, so you might try Barclays Premier insurance – they put your bikes on your home policy, no limit, no stipulations on the policy, no questions asked. It’s pretty good.

Only downer is £250 excess, and the premiums are a bit more. But less than normal home insurance + specialist bike cover – at least when I checked last.

I had a look at the terms of Santander insurance the other day after it was mentioned on here. I couldn’t see an outbuildings limit and I think all you had to do for bikes was give the price of the most expensive one, all cheaper bikes were then covered. I don’t know if you already need to be a Santander customer though.

Seems like you should be expecting a premium of about £5k per year, based on your typical losses.

Well no – they won’t pay out £5k on a bike worth £5.6k. They will tell you it is uninsured because the value was more than £5k

yes, normally if you under-insure (deliberately or accidentally) and you have a loss, the insurer will apply condition of average to give a pay out relative to the insured value you have actually been paying the premiums for (calculated as sum insured / actual value of the item x value of the loss). this is to ensure your premium contribution to the pool of risk is fair & equitable

however i’m not sure in this case it would count as under-insurance as it is the insurer that is limiting the value that you can insure ie not letting you insure full value by having a 5k limit.

i would speak to them and see what they say, but i suspect you might be ok as they have set a limit of indemnity of 5K and you are paying premium proportionate to that, so in the event of a total loss (ie your bike getting nicked) your premium contribution has been fair & equitable (ie you’ve not been underpaying). average might get applied in the case of a partial loss (ie damage to the bike) but as theft is the big issue that shouldn’t come into play.

even if average was applied you should still get a pay out of c £4,400 which while not the full amount, is not disastrous

of course i could be completely wrong as it’s been a while since i did my claims practice exams

Don’t the likes of BC and CTC offer insurance. Maybe see if they will cover it on its own. Personally I’d be keeping it in the house to make sure you never need to make a claim.

Would YOU insure someone who’d claimed twice recently for over £10k, on bikes?

Out of interest, how much was last years house contents premium, ie are you in a real 5h1t area?

well, you have but for 5k max

Nope – risk is higher if its worth more so they won’t pay a penny.

a 5.6k bike in a shed!!

An asguard bike storage shed – hard as nails!

I think we’ve established quite quickly that this forum is ‘the hard place’

No change there then.

Had a chat with pedalcover?

Yes, they wouldn’t insure due to the 2 claims and couldn’t suggest an alternative…

have you considered selling it for the short to medium term ??

Yes, but was hoping the STW collective would come up with an alternative insurance option. Would only get half the value if i sold it and besides – if i’m out of work then i’d have loads of time to ride it!

A 5.6k Bike !!!!!

Yep, you’d be surprised.

It sounds like you are minted

If i was i wouldn’t be worried about insurance!

Would YOU insure someone who’d claimed twice recently for over £10k, on bikes?
Out of interest, how much was last years house contents premium, ie are you in a real 5h1t area?

Probably not. No, good area, just in a city where a bad area is never far away.
Thanks to those who’ve tried to help…. I’ll sort something out!

Well if your new shed is so good why do you need insurance?

What if they nicked your shed?

I’ve seen Asgard sheds. Solid to try and pry your way in, however if bolted down I reckon a rope around the lid attached to a tow bar and you’d have it torn in half in 5 seconds, so placement is a key to make sure thieves can’t get at the shed too.

…and another vote for Pedalcover

well, you have but for 5k max
Nope – risk is higher if its worth more so they won’t pay a penny.

sorry, but your wrong on this, see my post above. as long you have declared the value of the bike and it’s the insurer that is limiting the indemnity, they are extremely unlikely to deny the claim. at worst they apply average, but as it’s not really under-insurance they will treat it as misrepresentation (at worst) and under the consumer insurance (disclosure and representations) act 2012, because the insurance companies situation hasn’t been prejudiced, they’ll pay out to the limit of indemnity. and even if they don’t it will cost them £600 for you to take them to the financial ombudsman so they would settle at £5K

1st thing is speak to them in person and get some more info, can they do something, what’s the implications of declared value being over the max. If your happy with what they say get it in writing and get cover.

I can’t remember who it is off the top of my head but we’ve got cover with 2 losses totalling £14k in 6 months. Phone round the specialist places, they will do it.

And sofaboy they will just refuse to provide a quote if you tell them the value.

Hmmm interesting posts ref under insuring.
I wanted to add a bike to mine but the Max they would insure on my level of cover was below the new value of the bike.

I could have gone up to the highest level of insurance but for significantly more.
I told them to just insure for the highest value on the current level and there didn’t seem to be any problem with that.

Could they try and screw me on a claim or am I OK because I’m paying a fair & equitable value?

And another +1 for pedalcover. Hugh is great!

So it turns out after a 3rd phone call to RBS home insurance that I am fully covered after all. Shame I couldn’t get that info the first time I called!
Whilst I had someone decent on the phone I also managed to get a 10% discount on the renewal price which was already cheaper than last year. Result!
Thanks again to those who helped.