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I've always just stuck the bikes we have on the home & contents policy but giving it a bit more thought this time before renewal. The excess on the policy seems to make it a bit of a raw deal especially for the cheaper bikes we have and i don't think it covers them outside the home.
Is a separate policy the way to go that covers the bikes inside and outside the home, and does anyone have any recommendations?
Separate policies are normally an order of magnitude more expensive than adding to contents insurance, assuming your contents will cover the value of the bikes.
I've got 2 bikes insured with Bikmo (or Hiscox as the underwriter, I think) and it is £27 a month...when I was checking these on the home insurance - to add as named items, it was adding £45 to the monthly cost for the home insurance, so I figured it was better to go for the Bikmo package. Checking the spec, the Bikmo package seemed to offer better coverage than the home insurance did as well.
Other side of the world but I’m in th process of looking at getting separate insurance for exactly the same reason… the excess is way higher with house insurance.
I presume my bikes have some cover under the house insurance. They are all old and apart from an ancient 26" Kona were boight either second hand or as frames and parts. Anybody had any luck claiming for bikes bought second hand or built up from parts from Ebay etc.
separate policy or home&contents
. . . or self insure.
If you can afford to do so, this is usually cheaper than paying an insurance company.
Mine are specified items on the househd policy.
Probably not covered if nicked outside a cafe as I don’t carry a big enough lock, but not needed that in 20 odd years so far.
. . . or self insure.
Mmmm agreed. I am bit confused why the OP and another poster think a large excess is bad thing. I only insure stuff I can't afford to pay for like house rebuild, van, bikes, rescue and medical costs.
A high excess is a great way of bringing the costs down and doing a bit more self insuring....
I have been separately insuring with Barclays for a few years - they were good and cheap, around £120 a year for as many bikes as required to any value. They've moved to Aviva but buying their insurance as a new customer is wild (£500 or so for similar cover). Bikmo and Laka are also mad - around £700 a year (although the cover is very good). I'd stick them on the same policy if I were buying a new policy.
I've moved to pedalcover. It feels like a hybrid between standard house insurance, and standalone bike cover
You have the usual sections for buildings and contents, and a third section for bikes, just to make it clear what is covered, where and when.
CyclingUK peeps get a discount too.
I have a separate policy for bikes, it is a bit more expensive per month but the cover is a lot better. Cover when bikes are in or on the car, away on holiday etc. Not surprisingly, the cover on my home insurance was focused on when the bikes were at home.
The answer is, it depends.
You'll need to run the quotes for your circumstances and compare, there's no hard and fast rule on which is cheaper. I've always found separate policy to be WAY more expensive, but as others here have stated, they have not found that to be the case.
It'll depend on the value of insurance.
I've had mine insured with bikmo for a number of years - it's generally worked out cheaper/same as adding £££value of bikes to my home insurance, but more importantly it's much better cover.
I also found that as I upgraded or changed parts on bikes, sold bikes or gained bikes I can easily amend the policy online and have an instant change to the policy without incurring fees or being on hold for 30min with my home insurance firm.
You can also get a 10%? discount if you join British cycling.