Couple of bikes nicked out the shed last night. Its covered under the house insurance with legal and general via AA.

My question is whether they will make me replace bike and each accessory etc I’m claiming for, or give me a “voucher” up to the value of? I want to take the opportunity to upgrade the bike rather than replace with something similar….

Depends which insurer you’re with. I’m going through a claim right now which is complicated as my mtb is a custom build. They are seeing whether they can offer a suitable replacement through wheelies direct or if they will have to go for a cash settlement.

I’m hoping for the cash otherwise I will see if wheelies can source all the components for me to build it myself.

Don’t be bullied into accepting a less suitable off the peg bike from wheelies though.

Generally they will go for a voucher at a specific seller first.

You can decide to take this or push for a cash settlement. You might get less in cash and it could take longer for the cash to arrive (In my unfortunate experience.)

sorry op to hijack, but its kind off on topic. with regards the voucher “value off” and “suitable replacment”

to me this is too different things. i have a canyon, now say that gets nicked. would i get the value of the bike or a suitable replacement. as the value of the bike , i couldnt get the same spec with a voucher from wheelies for example, so would they give you a bike more value of what my bike is worth ?? i cant see that tbh.
im just curious if it ever happens.

Generally its what they could obtain the replacement item for that they settle with you in cash – so if you XYZ Custom is deemed to be equivalent to a £1500 Genesis that they get through Wheelies direct or Evans etc with a 20% discount then the cash settlement would be £1200 by my reckoning.

It will be down to you arguing the toss.

I am about to go through this process myself and will see how it goes…I want the cash to buy a YT Industries Wicked and really haven’t got excited by any of the bikes on sale through Wheelies, at least not at the price they sell them at.

The issue I have is that similar to the Canyon situation my bike was built up with parts as and when they were on offer and you would need to be patient to achieve the spec for the price paid. Insurance companies view value and risk together so if you have a custom bike that was a £1500 to build but to replace would be north of £2000 then they may feel you were under-insured and that gets you into some complicated clauses. They would argue that the higher value brings a higher risk that they may not of insured for (depends on what you specified and the wording of their clauses).

Ultimately its down to interpretation. What is an equivalent and that is probably wha will be discussed at length with the specialist claims handler. Sometimes this is done by their nominated bike shop or inhouse or by the company they sub-contract the claims valuations to.

I’m in the position now where I have sent the validation company a complete spec of my stolen bike. I totalled this all up and I can buy current replacements for £2,200. I had the bike named on my insurance with a value of £2k, so I am hopeful that one of the following happens:

1) I get offered the cash (which they readily hinted may be the best option
2) The supply company source the components that I need to buy to replace the bike to a similar standard that was stolen (i.e. they purchase stock to the value of £2k but buy from the distributors at their trade discounts).

I am concerned though that I will be offered a smaller cash settlement.

They are currently investigating whether wheelies can source a suitable replacement – the answer is going to be “no they can’t”, and I have suggested that they not waste any time on the that process and let me tell them what I want to replace it with so we can begin talking about it.

It is just a waiting game at the moment – slightly frustrating for a mountain biker with one eye on the promising weather forecast that is on the horizon.

You can argue it had Xt Gears or whatever upgrades and subject to somekind of proof youll be on IME.

As with any claim though I would read terms and understand what exactly you are entitled to before you contact the insurer.