I’ve just moved from an 9th floor block of flats In central Manchester, where I kept my bike chained to the balcony, to a house outside Kendal and I have to keep it in the outhouse.

You could argue that my bike is safer at the new place than the old! But I’d like to get it insured.

It’s a Tracer with Lyriks and XT so not uber rare but still not exactly something that can be like for like replaced easily.

Who’s good and who’s bad?

i had the same problem last year and had a look at a number of different insureres for my bikes.
i wouldnt recommend endsleigh as they probably wont cover the value of your bike.
i did get some reasonable quotes from ETA,Cycleguard, Cyclecover, Pedalpower and protect your bubble.com.
of all of these companies the best quotes came from prtect you bubble, pedalpower and ETA. however having said that you have to ensure that you meet their minimum requirements regarding the use of approved locks in order to validate the cover.
regarding the cost i compared this to the cost of adding the bikes to my home insurance and found that my house insurer would be happy to insure both the bikes for a very reasonable price that was less than half of the cheapest quote. you still have to make sure you use the approved locks and they also gave me cover away from the house.
it would be worth speaking to your home insurance provider to see what they can offer.
hope this helps

So better to add to home insurance than get bike specific insurance? I’ll try that.

Bump, for any more?

So better to add to home insurance than get bike specific insurance? I’ll try that.

Bump, for any more?

Hello Wozza,

There is a good chance that your insurer will not cover the full replacement cost of your Tracer. Many household policies have a limit of £1,500 on a bike so be careful that you don’t under insure yourself.

The consequence would be that your insurer would calculate to what % you were underinsured and deduct that percentage from any payout; or they would simply not payout and point out the exclusions.

We work with Velosure. As with any insurer, you’ll need to use an approved lock, but you’ll probably already have one of those.

Velosure will cover you for theft and accidental damage and give you a number of options with other levels of cover.

Might be worth giving them a try?

Cheers, i’ll look at that.

Edit: “A receipt will be needed”

Bit difficult since it’s made out of parts from just about everywhere!

I had this with Zurich on my parts built Kona – all they asked for was a proper quote from the LBS on what it would cost to rebuild and they paid out from there.
The new one has to be specified though as an additional or they will only pay out a max of £500.

Bit difficult since it’s made out of parts from just about everywhere!

Yeah exactly! I’m with M and S and still have their old policy of no limits and new for old but the quote just came through and think I might change provider. Think they’re trying to price me out (and it’s working) but it does give me piece of mind having it.

Sainsburys are ok.

Going through a claim with M & S at the moment. A photo and a few Chain Reaction email confirmations validated my custom build with no fuss. Not sure what my renewal premium will be but otherwise recommended.

Stilltortoise, how long have you been with them? Think they changed their policy so only existing customers get that level of service/cover? Could be wrong though

Wozza – sorry i should have mentioned i’m insured through Halifax and i’ve insured the bikes to the value of £3.5k and it only cost me an extra £70 on top of my household insurance premium. and thats for a property in manchester…seeing as you’ve gone out of manchester to a quieter neck of the woods the crime rate should be lower thus placing you at a lower risk so your premium should not be that high.

Think they changed their policy so only existing customers get that level of service/cover? Could be wrong though

Correct, used to be £4k limit on individual items without them being named (not exactly unlimited!), now it’s £1500.

IME none of the ‘specialist’ insurers are close to even the most extortionate home insurance quote! Protect Your Bubble wanted something like £700 for my MTB alone!