Home Insurance for bikes away from & at home… my turn !

Must have raised my eyebrows every time I’ve seen this topic but now I need some advice please, so humble pie being eaten here.

Because some scum bags dipped my wife’s handbag and then someone else broke into my car in a single year we had to claim and as a result none of the cheaper companies would cover us for 3 years (be warned, it wasn’t worth claiming !) so we’ve had to use a broker to get ‘special’ insurance that also covers my bikes.

We’re now out of the magic 3 year period so I’m back in the market for some cheaper insurance. I’ve seen people have had problems with companies changing terms etc and struggling to get the bikes covered away from home etc.

So, can a get a consensus please on the best company to go with at the moment. I don’t mind some special terms because the bikes are locked in an alarmed garage and chained to a Sold Secure Gold chain & wall anchor.

Thanks

MoreThan here, not had to use them fortunately but they had decent sounding bike cover.

Thanks, they have an upper limit on the price of each bike but I won’t use them out of principle, they’re the fookers that wouldn’t insure us (well they would at a ridiculous price) after our incidents !

As a guide we’ve been quoted c£800 for the new policy by the broker.

As always, I recommend The Green Insurance Company.
£10k of bikes plus various other expensive items insured home and away, and our premiums are £68 a month for buildings and contents.

Buildings cover makes up about 65% of the total premium, what with us living in a pre-Industrial Revolution lean-to. Total premium was closer to £30 when we lived in an Edinburgh tenement.

Green Insurance = £1500 ! Probably because they wanted to list the claims in the last 5 years.

I fookin hate insurance companies !!!

MoreThan has limit of £1500 on each bike and the Green Insurance Co has an even lower limit

I went with http://www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk (allianz) after seeing it here, £5K total anywhere, adds about £35 to the policy, making it £300 for building+contents+bike for me.

thanks phead!

MoreThan has limit of £1500 on each bike

Not quite. That’s the standard limit but you cab insure named bikes above that. Either unlimited or up to £5k.

we went with the AA this year, we were with them for years then they mental, M&S for a few years now they have been at the crack pipe, and the AA “really want our business” again

not so easy as I thought – just was quoted more to insure my road bike than my entire house!

well i have just gone with AA as well. they more than halved M&S renewal figure. i queried the total of £3000 max payout for items in the garage and they confirmed that the figure doesnt include specified items, these are covered in addition to the £3000. so all bikes specified and covered at home and away, engagement ring covered, accidental damage, and legal cover, which i never usually include, all for a shade under £150. well pleased 🙂

Just changed from standard Direct Line to Direct Line Select – covers me for 10k on any single item anywhere in the world (including bikes) and was cheaper than the standard cover!

Policy docs came through today and the customer service team were great and were absolutely clear about the cover.

Just be aware about under-insuring as well. My Scalpel ‘retails’ at 6k, but I got it for a lot less than that. When I enquired about insuring it for the price I paid, I was told that in the event of a claim, I would only be able to claim for a portion of the insured value, i.e.

6k bike insured for 3k (50% of value), maximum pay out is 50% of insured value (1.5k)!!

Our policy costs £35 a month by the way, which I think is a bloody bargain considering what it includes.

Just be aware about under-insuring as well. My Scalpel ‘retails’ at 6k, but I got it for a lot less than that. When I enquired about insuring it for the price I paid, I was told that in the event of a claim, I would only be able to claim for a portion of the insured value, i.e.

I’d dispute that. If you have evidence of a valuation (ie proof of purchase) then you should get that. I’d not expect £6k, but you should get £3k.

I asked that specific question of an insurance company when shopping around (not sure who, but it may have been one of the bike specific ones) and it was confirmed that that was the case. I agree it sounds pretty crappy, but given they often try to wriggle out of any claims it didn’t completely suprise me.

I was explicitly advised to insure against rrp for that reason – which incidentally would have cost more than insuring my car

I just spoke to MoreThan – they confirmed (and I asked them to check several times) that they will not cover bikes as Specified Personal Possessions. With them, bikes can only be covered under their Bikes Insurance which does have a maximum value of £1500.