Bicycle Cover (added onto Home Insurance)

Andy7856

Hi All

Just a bit of general opinion and thoughts.

I am considering insuring my £250 & £700 mountain bikes through my insurance company (AA). They have stated that a wear and tear will be taken into account in the event of a claim. So basically by the time i have paid excess, lost the NCB it may not be even worth claiming in the case of the £250 bike.

Even companies that offer full new for old, (Esure) I would lose the NCB, have to pay the excess.

My question is really, do you bother with cycle cover and is it really worth claiming (esp on cheaper bikes). If you have claimed how easy is it to minimise the wear and tear reduction?

Cheers

Andy:rotfl:

geri1965_2

I had an insurance claim with Aviva and they paid for a new bike, less the excess. It was only worth £300 or so though so I got back £200. I insure it now with Cycleguard as there is no excess.

TSx

Andy7856 wrote: »

Hi All

Just a bit of general opinion and thoughts.

I am considering insuring my £250 & £700 mountain bikes through my insurance company (AA). They have stated that a wear and tear will be taken into account in the event of a claim. So basically by the time i have paid excess, lost the NCB it may not be even worth claiming in the case of the £250 bike.

Even companies that offer full new for old, (Esure) I would lose the NCB, have to pay the excess.

My question is really, do you bother with cycle cover and is it really worth claiming (esp on cheaper bikes). If you have claimed how easy is it to minimise the wear and tear reduction?

Cheers

Andy:rotfl:

I would imagine that they will use a sliding scale... from experience applying w&t deductions, we deducted 5% after 6 months and then 10% after a year and a further 10% for every year after that, so a bike 4 years old would lose 40% of value, excess on top of that...

in addition, rather than specifying the bikes, you could just add personal possessions cover and they would be included under that...

Sponge

I don't think I would claim for the cheaper bike, for the reasons you highlighted.

I maintain my bikes on a regular basis. Frequently replacing, and usually at the same time upgrading, parts. My bike is probably worth more now than when I bought it (£2700). As far as wear & tear, it might be 7 years old, but it's as good as it was the day I bought it. If, in the event of total loss, my Insurance Company only paid out 30% of the original purchase price I'd be seriously annoyed.

It was my understanding that bicycles had to be declared as such and couldn't be 'hidden' in the category of personal possessions?

TSx

Sponge wrote: »

I don't think I would claim for the cheaper bike, for the reasons you highlighted.

I maintain my bikes on a regular basis. Frequently replacing, and usually at the same time upgrading, parts. My bike is probably worth more now than when I bought it (£2700). As far as wear & tear, it might be 7 years old, but it's as good as it was the day I bought it. If, in the event of total loss, my Insurance Company only paid out 30% of the original purchase price I'd be seriously annoyed.

It was my understanding that bicycles had to be declared as such and couldn't be 'hidden' in the category of personal possessions?

Depends on the policy, but AA define "personal belongings" as including pedal cycles and have no relevant exclusions (other than excluding "theft of unattended pedal cycle(s) unless the bicycle is locked in a building or attached by a security device between the cycle frame or back wheel to a permanently fixed structure.").

Policy booklet here. This is how most schemes (but not all) I have dealt with have worked.

TSx

Sponge wrote: »

I don't think I would claim for the cheaper bike, for the reasons you highlighted.

I maintain my bikes on a regular basis. Frequently replacing, and usually at the same time upgrading, parts. My bike is probably worth more now than when I bought it (£2700). As far as wear & tear, it might be 7 years old, but it's as good as it was the day I bought it. If, in the event of total loss, my Insurance Company only paid out 30% of the original purchase price I'd be seriously annoyed.

It was my understanding that bicycles had to be declared as such and couldn't be 'hidden' in the category of personal possessions?

For a bike of that value, I suspect they wouldn't be as blunt as that, they would take into consideration the additional upgraded parts and so on.

In the majority of claims though, applying a 40% wear & tear deduction to a £400 bike purchased 4 years ago is reasonable.