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I know this comes up regularly but things change quickly and I have not seen any updates for a while. I have just bought a new bike and my home insurance renewal has just come so I am looking for a good deal. The wife has been moaning about the extra we pay on house insurance because of the bikes so I investigated cycle only insurance, the cheapest was double my house insurance!
So , what's a reasonable deal for ordinary house insurance plus about 8 grandsworth {new prices} of bikes kept in an alarmed garage?
Depends on size of house, where you live and so on. Not much point in comparing to others ime (e.g. I pay £380, but not a clue how that compares to your setup). Alarmed garage might not do much to help, you'll possibly get some discount if it's on a maintenance dealthough
Pedal Cover all the way
I just renewed with Halifax after John Lewis hiked up their quote by 25%. To be fair in the end JL were offered us 30 quid in vouchers for being with them for 3 years but it was still 50 quid dearer.
I know this doesn't quite answer your question but consider the following before buying special bike insurance or adding your bike to your home insurance.
From personal experience, i.e. having had my bike nicked out of my back garden 30 seconds after returning home from a ride, I realised the value of reading the small print BEFORE taking out dedicated bike insurance.
The things to consider are:
-Is your bike covered when it is stolen from outside of your alarmed garage. For example, if you wash it in the back garden but need to go inside briefly (toilet, cuppa, etc.) and leave it unattended and crucially not chained to an immovable object.
-is it covered when it is stolen from your car's bike rack or the inside of your car whilst travelling with it?
-is it covered when you take it abroad? What are the conditions for a payout in case of theft abroad? For example, my old Cycleplan policy stated that it had to be chained to a caravan if I went camping with it. In the event that I chained it to a tree or lamp post onside the campsite and it got nicked, then they would refuse my claim.
I had theft insurance with Cycleplan when my bike got nicked earlier in the year. They refuse my claim despite the thief jumping over my garden wall and lifting the bike over the fence when I was on the other side of my garden opening the garage to put the bike away.
Their reason for denial was:
-no forcible sign of entry;
-The bike was not chained to an immovable object;
-I left my bike unattended.
Even though I argued that this was inside my private property and I had to turn my back on my bike to open the bloody garage door, and there will never be any forcible sign of entry if a little weasel climbs over your fence/gate.
Since then I have bought a new bike and insured it on my home insurance with AA. The premium on a £3000 bike was £70. Having read the small print I am covered for all of the above and have less restrictive conditions for theft away from home than Cycleplan.
So there you have it. Think in which ways your bike can get nicked and then check if you are covered.