House insurance with bike cover-suggestions of good companies!

What if you bought a frame 2nd hand and put all new parts on it?

Just what I was about to ask, since 2 of my bikes fit this description.

Re. pedalcover.co.uk dos anyone have experience of processing a claim with this company? Cheap is great so long as they pay up when you need them to.

matt, have you looked at joining bcu/sca which provide insurance as part of the membership?

Yes, member already to get third party insurance.
It is their policy that is the expensive and lots of exclusions….and other insurers are more…

I’ve just signed up with Pedalcover. The premiums are low because the excess’s are high. You pay an extra £50 for excess protection cover which covers any policies you may have(including car)but only one claim per year. Even with this extra cost, it’s still cheaper than the others and also cheaper than my house premium for last year which wouldn’t cover my expensive tandem.

Get cheaper car insurance by having a £500 excess and use the protection policy if you have a claim, includes windscreens.

I paid around £400 to cover the house and tandem/bikes. With separate policies it would have been over £800.

You need to phone them as the policy will be tailored to your needs, underwritten by AXA.

M+S (AXA underwritten)- why? 2K is the limit to unspecified bikes and when ever I ring up I get answered straight away by a real human who sorts me out within seconds. Excellent service is worth money. Photos and receipt file is not a bad idea either.

What if you bought a frame 2nd hand and put all new parts on it?

I asked M&S this question as their cover is new for old. Pretty sure the email said to work out the value of the bike by using the price paid for 2nd hand frame plus the new parts. Obviously as many receipts as poss and photos help.

This place is crazy – do you fellas like throwing away money on insurance (of all things!)??

My policy has a “Specified All Risks” items: cover inside and outside the home, including loss, destruction or damage”. 7.5K worth of bikes are specified.
Insurance is under £100.
Yeah, I paid more when I was with Zurich, but the cover was no better, I was just being stupid and not checking what I could pay.
Ah well. Enjoy your nice policy folder, I bet it has a lovely photo on the cover.

DezB – Member
Was with Zurich for a few years until I went to price-comparison and found out I was paying £200 too much!

Cheapest doesn’t mean best. Remember, when you buy insurance it’s not just the ‘cover’ you are paying for it’s the claims process. A cheap policy provider that refuses to pay out and makes you fight tooth and nail for months and months isn’t good value. Not saying this is the case with your Hastings lot Dez but this is a reason why it’s always good to try to get feedback from people who’ve had cause to make a claim.

do you fellas like throwing away money on insurance (of all things!)??

You don’t have to buy insurance, you know.

anyone any experiences with Home Protect (underwritten by AXA)
currently coming out within a couple ££ of AA for me so wondering which might be best (cycle cover away from home only really needs to be when locked INSIDE a car)
but
Home protect have £52.20-£78.75 topcashback and AA £39.90

Been with Sheila’s Wheels (esure) for a couple of years but they are getting beaten by around £40 this time, which is around £100 by the time I take topcashback/quidco into account

(will also call NFU and Pedalcover when they open tomorrow)

Iain, AA no good for you in that case they specifically won’t cover bikes inside the car even if locked.

I’ve just used Darren @ Pedal cover, top service and policy does pretty much everything the M&S one did but £300 instead of over £500.

Best I could find online was the AA at about £250 but their exclusions made it a no go really. Not sure where anybody is getting that level of cover for £100….

Cheapest doesn’t mean best. Remember, when you buy insurance it’s not just the ‘cover’ you are paying for it’s the claims process. A cheap policy provider that refuses to pay out and makes you fight tooth and nail for months and months isn’t good value. Not saying this is the case with your Hastings lot Dez but this is a reason why it’s always good to try to get feedback from people who’ve had cause to make a claim.

We are talking about insurance companies here. You do realise that NONE of them will pay out if they don’t have to. HomeProtect (mentioned above) – never heard of them, but was insured through them (via confused) for 1 year. Crashed carbon roadbike, paid up, no problems – just had to get a valuation. Zurich – paid shitloads to them for years (via a broker) and NEVER claimed. I know which the best deal was.
You did notice my bikes are covered under ALL RISKS items?
Policy is underwritten by AXA.
Enough from me.
ps.most problems I had were from Legal & General, one of the biggest insurance providers out there.

Insurance polices don’t come with pictures so I strongly suggest you read the policy wording and make sure its what you think it is before you buy.

Thats the actually policy btw not the blurb on a website or salesman’s pitch.

You did notice my bikes are covered under ALL RISKS items?

No they’re not… From the Hastings Direct website:

Do you require cover for any of the following items that are normally taken away from the property?
– Any items individually valued over £1,000?
– Any pedal cycles, mobile phones, laptops, sports equipment, musical instruments, video cameras or contact lenses regardless of their value?

Please enter the amount of cover you require for items that are normally taken away from the property, but do not individually exceed £1,000 in value or detailed in the list above.

The ‘all risks’ is for items not specified above, but under £1000 individually. You have to name all your bikes, phones etc if you want cover away from home. I was going to get a quote, and may do so when mine’s up for renewal, but having to name every phone, laptop and thing you may conceivably ever take with you is a massive faff, and I CBA at the moment!

just spoken to Darren at Pedalcover, seems like a good bloke
Underwritten by Axa
seems too good to be true….

What happens if Pedalcover go under I presume any claim is direct with AXA

No they’re not… From the Hastings Direct website:

Oh, wow, the Hastings website is the same as MY individual policy is it??
Duh.
My bikes are listed as individual items. Got no other all risk items.

Insurance polices don’t come with pictures so I strongly suggest you read the policy wording

Oh, clever. So this is your way of calling me thick? When I’m not the one who chooses their insurance by the nice middle class name of the provider. Good one.

No they’re not… From the Hastings Direct website:

Oh, wow, the Hastings website is the same as MY individual policy is it??
Duh.
My bikes are listed as individual items. Got no other all risk items.

Not sure why you’re being so defensive. You said your bikes were covered as “all risk” items. They aren’t, that’s misleading. You’ve named them. If you have a bike worth £3.60 you need to name it, or it’s not covered. Likewise every phone you have and so on. All risk items are those not specified in the list I quoted. I sincerely doubt they’ve written a bespoke policy wording just for you, whilst the thousands of other customers have the default wording. Happy to be proven wrong of course.

Can’t be arsed. Just trying to save people money and getting called stupid for it! “Stupid” is paying too much for insurance (of any type) in my book.

Who’s called you stupid? There isn’t one cheapest insurance company, or everyone would use them and all others would either have to follow suit, or would go out of business. Simple.

As Hastings Direct are a well known company who use aggregators, that’s clearly not the case, perhaps you’re their target market, perhaps they’re having a new business drive. Could be anything, but they’re not an insurance panacea as you’re making out.

@DezB. the post wasn’t directed at you.

It was a suggestion to anyone considering buying insurance they read and understand the policy and its exclusions.

Its very easy to put together a financial product like insurance and even suggest it covers certain risks but stipulate such conditions or apply exclusion that make the product of little value.

Often thats not discovered until you make a claim and you find what you thought was covered is not.

for the benefit of others who may be considering similar companies I have just questioned Home Protect (Axa), AA and Hastings Direct
Despite HP initially telling me bikes where covered if inside a car it then turned out when pressed on finer details that they are not, same with AA & HD
The only ones that seem to cover bikes inside cars is PedalCover who apparently negotiate different terms with Axa
standard ‘AXA Extra’ terms will not cover inside the car
generally my (limited) experiences of dealing with Axa have been okay

In my case Pedalcover quote was approx. £360, Home Protect initially £190 but this rose to £300 when I added in all the extras that come with the standard Pedalcover policy, there is £65 topcashback off this so £240.
So for me, Pedalcover is 1/3rd (£120) more expensive but far superior cover, zero excess instead of £100 and (as far as you can be with insurance companies) almost complete peace of mind
Given I work away and quite often take my bike with me, and leave it in the boot, under cover, and locked to the car chassis, sometimes overnight in hotel carparks I think the extra £10 a month is worth it especially when considering all the extra cover and lack of faff when bieks are changed or upgraded etc you get with Pedalcover

Of course some people (DezB) may be less risk adverse and happy to pay less for less coverage

Thanks for extra info iain.

Does anyone have an actual policy document from pedalcover?

The absence of a policy terms available to view online( all the other companies mentioned here publish them on their websites) and their affinity with marketing companies who offer amongst their services social media advocacy raise a few concerns.

I’m sure the proprietor is reading this, perhaps given the interest he would post a link?

You could always drop him a mail and ask for a copy? I don’t see the relevance tbh, the basic axa policy document is going to be the same as any of them I’d have thought, then he’s tweaking a policy to suit the customer. I’ll go through mine when it turns up and post if anything obvious seems bad.

The cover itself is broadly the same as my m&s policy, just differs in price id say mainly because the bikes are unspecified – like m&s used to be. I’m paying the same now as I was 3 years ago, it’s only being forced to specify each bike that made m&s a daft price.

You could always drop him a mail and ask for a copy? I don’t see the relevance tbh,

I suggested you do this in the last thread you questioned the policy offered by Pedalcover, if they have piqued your interest as to their integrity then maybe you should email them for a copy of the T&C’s?

You could always drop him a mail and ask for a copy?

having to ask is an indication of a problem.

don’t see the relevance tbh

you don’t see the relevance of a product description?

then he’s tweaking he policy to suit the customer

do you think AXA spend millions on putting a policy together so a broker with WordPress page can change as he wants?

and post if anything obvious seems bad

What you’ve written so far doesn’t suggest you would know what to look for and it’s the non obvious stuff that’ll stop you getting paid out in a claim.

There is a reason reputable companies put their policies on view, it’s easy to do and helps customers make informed choices. Not doing so raises suspicions, I could ask for a copy of the policy and I would know if it’s any good, if he put it on his website( like every other company) all his prospective customers would know.

🙄

That’s the only thing holding me back at the mo
The house and contents cover is exactly the same as an AXA Extra policy except the apparent extra cover for bikes away from home, not being specified items and increased cover inside cars (Standard AXA Extra policy £1000 limit and have to be locked to the car chasis and concealed – page 33)
The only info I’ve seen so far concerning variations to the standard AXA Extra policy is a statement covering bikes if kept overnight in a secure triathlon compound
I would have expected a similar statement from AXA concerning the other deviations that where outlined to me over the phone and I’ll be asking for that, and if required checking with AXA as well, before I take out a policy with them
Can’t find anything yet in the Extra policy about new for old or not being tied to any particular supplier for a replacement but that is as per the old M&S policy so I suspect it’s fine (did M&S shift from AXA Extra to AXA standard cover?)

Incidentally my current insurer couldn’t comfirm over phone this evening if bikes where covered when left locked in a locked car and are going to phone me back on Friday
Possible issue with definition of an immovable object in the clause for cycles, against the max cover of £750 for specified items kept concealed in a locked car
I already know Most likely answer from speaking with other companies that use same underwriter
Isn’t insurance great!

did M&S shift from AXA Extra to AXA standard cover?

Someone like M&S will have their own terms agreed with Axa, they won’t have to be the same as an existing Axa product. I suspect it was as simple as M&S became known for being good for people with expensive bikes. They got nailed for a load of high value claims, so changed their terms.

Response from Darren ref policy documents
(I asked for a copy showing the differences to the standard AXA Extra policy (available online)

I fully understand your concern query regarding the policy booklet which is the standard Axa Extra policy and indeed a point we raised with Axa when developing Pedalcover as the main frame of the Pedalcover policy is indeed the Axa Extra policy.

We are waiting on supplementary documentation to go with the standard policy wording similar to the added transition cover as per the attached. Hence at this stage we do not have the policy summary available for perusal on our website.

Our intention is to go quote & buy (although personally I find the personal contact far more preferable in discussing clients needs) over the coming months and thus all documentation at that point will be available.

Axa will not restrict cover under the Personal Possessions section for Pedalcover clients when the bike is either attached to the vehicle or locked inside (when it is in reality even more secure).

The terms of the wording will be that you must have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure the bike is secure e.g. the car doors are locked and the windows closed.

As we are of course regulated by the FCA I hope this statement above provides you with peace of mind and our assurances in respect of cover until we are in receipt of full wording .

wilburt – Member
Does anyone have an actual policy document from pedalcover?

Yes, it came this morning. All looks fine to me. You have to sign and return it with the payment, so if you find something you don’t understand and Darren can’t give you the answer you want then don’t sign and return it………Simples.

Pedalcover seem like the old type of high street broker where you can walk in and talk about stuff rather than a call-centre type of operation. He answers the phone and calls back at any time that’s convenient to you including evenings. Even the return envelope was hand written.

So does the policy state bikes covered in car to limit of personal possessions cover, or is the standard AXA policy (look on pages 33/34)?

The AXA Extra policy is a broker policy( widely available) that’s pretty generous in regards bike cover, probably because it hasnt gone through the revision most direct policies have gone through due to all the high end bikes in average joe’s garage.

Iain’s question is valid as the standard policy in car limit is 1k and on condition the bike is out of site which may not work for you if that’s something you consider a risk.

I’m still not sold as I don’t use a lock away from home with any of my expensive bikes and cover within the house is just within “sum insured” as it is with most policies.

The policies not clear IMO on garage/outbuilding cover which I think is more likely the risk that needs covering for most people.

Tbc though it’s no worse than the average policy and probably better in some areas.

* all the above subject to the endorsements you can apply to those kind of policies.

Thanks guys keep us updated with the info when you get it ta.

My insurance is due for renewal so I thought I’d give Pedalcover a call. The cover seems as good as M&S, quote more than competitive and Darren seems professional and approachable. I’m waiting for the policy docs and if everything is in order then I’m happy take the cover.

Had a good chat with Darren at pedalcover thanks to this thread. The cover looks very good and my bikes are now covered (have never bothered insuring them before because of prohibitive costs).

Might give them a look in, can’t be any worse than the hilarious prices M&S have been charging (been with Aviva for a few years now).

FWIW I’m with Hastings on my car insurance this year and won’t be going back with them. Cheapest of the cheap but having cracked my windscreen on Sat 10th I’m still waiting on it getting replaced after having to harrass someone to finally get me in touch with the booking team. Guy came out to fit it on Wed 14th only to find it was the wrong screen version they ordered so now going to be waiting in this Saturday for him to fit it, hoping that it doesn’t rain that day (no, they don’t carry something as crazy as a tent to put your car in whilst they change the glass). Oh and they don’t have workshops I could just drive it to in order to get it done.

TL:DR 2 weeks later and I’m still driving about with an ever increasing crack.

iain1775 – Member
So does the policy state bikes covered in car to limit of personal possessions cover, or is the standard AXA policy (look on pages 33/34)?

Yes…………….Max £10,000. OK for me as mine are on a rack and I’ve got privacy glass in the rear windows if I have one inside.

Plus……………

Axa will not restrict cover under the Personal Possessions section for Pedalcover clients when the bike is either attached to the vehicle or locked inside (when it is in reality even more secure).

The terms of the wording will be that you must have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure the bike is secure e.g. the car doors are locked and the windows closed.

Interestingly just got settlement today From Natwest …. Probably not the cheapest but coughed up a fair amount without any drama….(2 bikes nicked from inside house ).

Just spoke to Darren at Pedalcover. Got all my bikes insured along with the house stuff. Cheaper than Nationwide by a long shot