Cyclists warned to check their insurance before taking to the saddle
At the weekend Chris Froome became the second consecutive British winner of the Tour de France - continuing the UK's dominance of the cycling world. But, as many home insurance policies exclude bicycles or restrict cover to theft from your home, Gocompare.com warns people inspired by British cycling's successes to check their insurance before pedalling off.
Cover for bikes stolen away from home is usually included under the personal possessions section of home insurance policies. This provides an additional level of protection for your belongings outside your home - such as bikes, cameras, purses. Most home insurers (84%) don't include personal possessions cover as standard, but offer it as an option, for which an additional premium is charged. But not all insurers include cycles within this section, requiring cyclists to buy additional bike cover.
A comparison of over 300 home insurance policies by Gocompare.com revealed that:
32% of policies cover bikes away from the home as an optional extra
56% of policies provide cover for cycles away from home under personal possessions
47% of policies have a minimum personal possessions excess of £100 or more
For cycles stolen away from home, 42% of polices will only pay out up to £500 per bike
Mark Greening, head of home insurance at Gocompare.com, said, "Recent British cycling successes, like Chris Froome and Sir Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France wins have given the sport a real boost. But, with more than 500,000 bikes stolen each year, we urge people to check whether their bike is covered by their home insurance. Cyclists also need to check the level of their sum insured against the policy excess to check that they have sufficient insurance to replace their bike if it gets stolen. And we recommend that owners of expensive, high performance bikes speak to their insurer to arrange specific cover."
"Bike theft is a common crime so insurers expect cyclist to take reasonable steps to secure their bikes at home and away. At home, we advise cyclists to keep their bike in a securely locked shed or garage and not leave it lying around in the open. Some insurance policies stipulate that particularly valuable bikes will only be insured against theft if they are secured to an immovable object inside a locked shed or garage.
"When out and about always lock up your bike when leaving it unattended, even if it's only for a couple of minutes. Use a robust, good-quality lock and secure the cycle through the frame and both the wheels to an immovable object. Remove small parts and accessories that can't be secured, especially lights, pumps and quick release saddles."
