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Does anyone insure their bikes?
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 2009-05-22 7:41 PM |
Master 1675     Kitchener |  Subject: Does anyone insure their bikes?What do you when you have a bike that costs between 5 and 10 thousand? Just hope nothing happens to it? I checked our property policy and the limit is $500 per bike, unless you 'schedule' it and then the only coverage is for theft or vanadalism. Just curious. |
| 2009-05-22 8:04 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
| Master 1468 Montgomery, Tx | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? What all does the property insurance cover on a bike? Does it cover a cracked frame? |
| 2009-05-22 8:41 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Champion 4902 Ottawa, Ontario | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Yes, I have extra insurance on my tribike and my tandem ... replacement cost! |
| 2009-05-22 9:01 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 2407 Bellevue, WA | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Yes, my bikes are insured. The bike is scheduled on a "personal articles" policy (sometimes called a floater policy because it insures your stuff even when it's not at home). This is a separate policy from my homeowners insurance (different policy number, different contract, separate premium). This is nothing to do with the contents portion of the homeowners insurance; there is no duplicate coverage. So if my bike is stolen at a race or out of my truck or driven over by a car or lost by a shipping company, it's covered. Normal usage wear and tear is not covered (just like an auto insurance policy). My wife is the family insurance expert, having worked for an insurance company for ten years in the underwriting department. I would be clueless, and since she's around I've pretty much stayed that way on the insurance front. |
| 2009-05-22 9:51 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 3479 Utah | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? How much does that separate policy cost you? And would it be worth it if your bike is worth only one or two grand? (uh, did I just say "only"? Ugh. Bitten by the tri bug!) |
| 2009-05-23 7:26 AM in reply to: #2169070 |
Expert 1207 Liberty Lake, WA | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? latestarter - 2009-05-22 4:41 PM I checked our property policy and the limit is $500 per bike, unless you 'schedule' it and then the only coverage is for theft or vanadalism. Just curious. That blows me away. It might be time to re-think your insurence policy. If they specifically limit you to $500 for a bike I would be worried about what else they have put limits on. My story - In April I crashed my bike and cracked the cabon frame. I turned it into my homeowners insurence. They sent me a check for the replacement cost. I did not have any special rider on my policy to cover the bike. |
| 2009-05-23 9:09 AM in reply to: #2169070 |
| 602 | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? I think its a wise investment. I dont know the cost and I dont have a bike worth insuring at this point. but just for sake of comparison I had my boat insured - worth bout 6k. It was like 29 bucks a year additional to my other insurance. I cant imagine a bike being much different, around here its a seasonal item. |
| 2009-05-23 9:39 AM in reply to: #2169234 |
Master 2407 Bellevue, WA | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? givemashot - 2009-05-22 7:51 PM How much does that separate policy cost you? And would it be worth it if your bike is worth only one or two grand? (uh, did I just say "only"? Ugh. Bitten by the tri bug!) Hard to say what it would be for just one bike. The personal articles policy has several scheduled items - my road bike, my tri bike, my wife's wedding & engagement rings, things like that. We pay it annually and just recently and it close to $500. I wasn't too happy with that, because I seem to recall it was much lower last year for the same schedule. My wife is going to go and debate that with the insurance company and see if she can get it lowered. You have to be careful with insurance policies; often they have automatic clauses that assume the replacement cost of the items has gone up; if that's not true then you're paying for something you don't need. Edited by brucemorgan 2009-05-23 9:40 AM |
| 2009-05-23 3:05 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Expert 1215 Austin, TX | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? My home owner's insurance covered my bike when it was stolen at the Hotter than H3LL 100 a couple years ago. I had to pay the deductable but the insurance company paid the replacement cost. Yes, the replacement cost, not the depreciated cost. When my wife called the insuarnce company, teh exchange was pretty funny. My wife:"is my husband's bike covered if it is stolen?" Insurance agent:"Yes. Now honey, yoru deductable is $1,000." My wife:"That's why I'm calling. It cost way more than that." Agent:"WHAT? I did not know bikes could cost that much!" |
| 2009-05-26 10:35 AM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 3546 Millersville, MD | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? I recently totalled a bike in a crash and have the following advice after my claim and subsequent appeals were denied: Make sure you have an "open perils" policy. I had my bike scheduled, and the policy said that bikes were covered, as scheduled, except for rust dmage and normal wear and tear (nothing about crashes not being covered). However, I had a "listed perils" policy that said that the damage to my property had to be the result of one of 15 specific bad things that could happen (fire, water dmage, theft, etc)... and crashing the bike did not really fit into any of those categories. It was a $3,000 mistake on my part, in adddition to the separate scheduling premiums I had been paying to not insure my bike against the far most likely way it would be damaged. |
| 2009-05-26 10:40 AM in reply to: #2169070 |
Champion 6962 Atlanta, Ga | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Definetly get a PAF (personal articals floater). We have one on my bikes, my wife's jewelry and our wedding bands. It costs us about $50/yr. Yes...$50! Here is what would happen: I leave my garage open while we are on vacation I come home to find my bikes are gone I make a phone call and get my bikes replace That's it. No deductible. |
| 2009-05-26 10:50 AM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 1920 Ann Arbor, MI | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Very carefully talk it over with your insurance person, and make sure you explain what you want covered, and exactly how expensive your bike is. Like the example above, most people have no clue that we're crazy enough to spend over $3k on a bike. I had a separate policy on my bike that was about $20 a month, and covered everything that could happen. My biggest concern wasn't theft, but getting in a crash. It is really important to know what is covered, though, so you don't pay your insurance only to find out they won't cover you hitting a pothole and cracking your frame. But, it was definitely worth the peace of mind for me, knowing that I could not afford to replace it. |
| 2009-05-26 12:05 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 2327 North Alabama | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Mine is a rider on the home policy. It's set at replacement cost. I simply added it in to an existing rider policy and now it's covered. Anything happens to it, it's covered and I'm not too worried.  |
| 2009-05-26 12:17 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 2477 Oceanside, California | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Wouldn't have been able to afford a replacement when my Canondale left the house with my wife's jewelry (under-insured) and my 9mm. I know have a firebox that is locked in a gun safe. I also have better coverage, all of my receipts, a good inventory with pics, and a bunch of appraisals between the home and bank safe's... LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES BEFORE IT BECOMES YOUR MISTAKE! |
| 2009-05-26 12:18 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
| Veteran 123 Cornwall, PEI | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Same here for the personal perils or something rather. 36$ a year or something to cover 4000$ bike, no deductible. Covers, crashing, theft, vandalism, all that good stuff...Just not wear and tear, something about bugs eating at it... For less then 40$ a year, can`t go wrong, you`d be crazy not to look into it. Full replacement value for whatever needs replacement, and they will get it fixed where ever I want it to get fixed...if its broken instead of replacement. |
| 2009-05-26 12:23 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 1678 Olney, MD | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? Discuss it with your insurance agent to determine the best way to insure your bikes. My homeowners insurance policy covers my bike, under the contents coverage without scheduling it, but every policy is different. Questions you'll want to ask your agent: Check to to see whether your contents coverage (for all of the items in your home) is written on an "open perils" basis, at replacement cost. If it's on a "named perils" basis, that's not good and for the loss to be covered, it has to fit within one of the named perils on the list. "Open perils" makes the carrier prove to you why something isn't covered (by citing a specific exclusion in the policy) vs. "named perils" where the cause of loss has to be on the list. Citing JoshKaptur's unfortunate example Edited by vball03umd 2009-05-26 12:27 PM |
.... If it's determined the best way to cover your bike is to schedule it, ask the agent whether scheduling the bike provides coverage on an "open perils" basis. Don't assume that it's going to be covered just because it's scheduled. "Open perils" coverage is key. You should also specifically ask your agent whether the scheduled items are covered at replacement cost.| 2009-05-26 12:32 PM in reply to: #2173334 |
Sensei Sin City | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? I may look into this as well... I had a low speed crash on my new 3k MTN bike yesterday (Less than 30 days old!), and some funny things are going on with it. My biggest fear is that I damaged the frame/head tube and now it's not safe to ride... If that's the case, other than maybe I'm out 3k after 30 days, I could get a new frame for probably $1700... Ouch. Edited by Aikidoman 2009-05-26 12:33 PM |
| 2009-05-26 2:27 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Elite 3498 Chicago | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? latestarter - 2009-05-22 7:41 PM What do you when you have a bike that costs between 5 and 10 thousand? Just hope nothing happens to it? I checked our property policy and the limit is $500 per bike, unless you 'schedule' it and then the only coverage is for theft or vanadalism. Just curious. yeah, i had to add mine on a "schedule". it was a funny conversation because when they asked me how much the bike cost when I purchased it the insurance lady paused for a moment and asked "What kind of motorcyle is that" and so I had to explain to her it was a tri bike, the material it was made out of, etc, etc, etc. She said she never even knew they made bikes out of 100% titanium. too funny,. |
| 2009-05-26 3:33 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 2407 Bellevue, WA | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? One thing to be careful about with homeowner insurance riders and the like is the difference between a "total of items" vs. the value of individual items. You can add a rider for "$8000 of sporting equipment", say, and then find out that the insurance company will balk when you say "that's one $7,000 bicycle and some assorted other things". Further, when you say "bicycle" to an insurance company, they expect a plan jane bicycle. Maybe $300 to $500 replacement cost, and that's what they think they're insuring and that's all they will want to replace. If you call your agent up one one day and say "that bicycle you're insuring for $20 a year? It's $7000 replacement cost, and it got stolen. Please replace." you might just find they want to say "no". To insure my bike for replacement cost, my agent required a photocopy of the bill of sale along with photographs. This varies from state to state, company to company. Your experience may be different. |
| 2009-05-26 3:48 PM in reply to: #2173888 |
Master 2327 North Alabama | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? brucemorgan - 2009-05-26 3:33 PM ..... To insure my bike for replacement cost, my agent required a photocopy of the bill of sale along with photographs. ..... I know for certain, that my insurance company requested a bill of sale, a copy of the manufacturers magazine, and a photo of the bike along with any add-ons that aren't standard equipment. Mine's covered for the pedals, shoes, and aerobars as well since they are add-ons. For the coverage, the $20/yr is a very small price to pay. |
| 2009-07-01 12:24 PM in reply to: #2169070 |
Master 1467 Small Town | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? My insurance doesn't offer 'bike insurance' as a rider or anything. But they said that they would put a note in my file about the bike. It is covered under my property and contents / home owners, but they said they have not had to deal with issues such as if I were to get hit by a car and the driver left the scene. Hmpf. |
| 2009-07-08 11:10 AM in reply to: #2169070 |
Veteran 458 , Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Does anyone insure their bikes? I'm going to insure my bike so this topic is timely. I contacted my homeowners insurance company (Ameriprise) and they quoted me $200/yr for an additional policy to cover the bike up to $10,000. This seems like a lot compared to what others pay. If I don't purchase the special policy, they will only cover $1000 for the bike (and that's after we pay the deductible). Another caveat is....I won this bike at our local triathlon expo so I don't have a receipt for it (other than my half of the raffle ticket). It's a Specialized S-Works Transition - I'm so not worthy but it's really freakin amazing. Anyway, I'm planning to contact the bike store that donated it , ordered it, and fitted it for me, to see if they can do some sort of written appraisal. Otherwise, do any of you know if any old LBS will do a written appraisal? Thanks. |
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