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Things we consider when choosing a cycle insurance policy

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Diary date

We've learnt to put a date in our diary a few weeks before the renewal date, to give us time to shop around.

Is cycle insurance worth it? Perhaps the first question!

1. For budget bikes

We've got old basic bikes as spares that we don't insure - they are not worth it. The price of the premium over a year or so would easily be enough to replace them, so we just lock 'em up and hope for the best. If they are stolen, it's inconvenient and irritating, and there's the lock to replace too, but getting another bike reasonably cheaply is a realistic option. Apart from the classified ads in local newspapers and online, there's Argos, Amazon , eBay or Halfords, and even free bikes on offer from recycling groups (such as Freecycle Network (UK) , which is for all sorts of items, not just cycles, and Freegle).

2. For more valuable bikes

We've found comparing insurance premiums quite difficult, as every policy varies according to the postcode, and then covers slightly different things with different details (as you can see in those comparison tables above). There are various risks to insure - complete loss (theft or a bad accident) plus less dramatic damage or vandalism . And individuals qualify for different discounts depending on their age, occupation, club or trade union membership. The list is endless. About the only general conclusion we've come to is that insurance offered by building societies and holiday companies seems to be more expensive than others when it comes to bicycles.

With general content insurance, we try to get the premium described in terms of the price for each £100 of bike value, to help us compare. We explore possible policies thoroughly, make specific enquiries, and double-check the policy wording to make sure the bicycles are covered correctly. Insurance comparison websites (e.g.Beat that Quote, Compare the Market, Confused, GoCompare, Money Supermarket,Only, Tesco,USwitch, Yes can save time initially, sorting out the cheapest and most expensive, but then the work begins on delving into the detail to be sure they do cover what we need. Also, although they compare most of the big names, there is some duplication of comparisons, and at least a couple of companies are not included (i.e. Direct Line, Aviva ). Not sure if Saga (for over 50s) is another one.

Once we've decided on a policy, if the wording is a bit too obscure for us, we like to put our queries in writing so we can keep the written response with our policy to avoid any disputes later if we do need to claim.

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Excess

We look at the excess (the first amount of the claim that will not be paid out) - the higher the excess, the lower the premium, so we sometimes decide to go for the maximum excess, and then compare again. Sometimes the excess is already set to maximum on simple website calculators to make the premium look good.

Postcode

We can't do much about this, but if we were planning to move, part of our housebuying strategy would be to compare various postcodes for one insurance company to find out which areas they considered a higher or lower risk.

We once had the surprising situation of an insurer cancelling our cover when we moved house, as they did not insure addresses at our new postcode. Fortunately we didn't have any trouble finding another company, but the premiums were higher.

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New for old

The small print is revealing. If the bike is stolen or damaged beyond repair, but is a few years old, the company might decide to pay out less after deducting a percentage for wear and tear. Often this is 10% off the price each year, so an 11-year-old bike will not be covered at all. Which brings us back to 'Is it worth it?'.

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Security requirements

A lot of policies specify exactly what type of lock to use for outbuildings, and what type of lock to use to secure bikes when out and about. Unfortunately, in the light of research done on these A-listed cycle-specific locks (read our tips on reducing the risk of cycle theft), this could just give a false sense of security. Some insurers may consider approving other locks if you ask.

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What's covered?

Or perhaps we should say, what's not covered?

What risks are covered to the bike itself? Theft? Damage as the result of an accident? Damage to an unattended bike (hit by a vehicle when left locked up somewhere, or damaged by careless baggage handling in transit)?

What about accessories and panniers plus contents? The policies we've seen usually only include accessories (ie removable bits - pump, lights, saddle, wheels...) if the whole bike is stolen or damaged. Pannier contents are usually already covered if you've got a home contents insurance.

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Breakdown help

Just as there is car breakdown cover, there's also roadside rescue and get you home help from various specialist cycle insurers (see above). There's also a stand-alone roadside rescue from Cycleguard Road Rescue and ETA Cycle Rescue.

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Personal accident and public liability

A payout for different types of injuries, and death, plus cover for third party damage is often included or an optional extra with specialist cycling insurance (above). However, it's also possible to buy this cover separately.

So if you don't want to insure your bike and aren't a club member who might have this cover as a benefit, you could consider Cycleguard Roadcare or Evans; both of these have optional cover for competitive riding too.

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Triathlon and other competitive riding/racing cover

Apart from being available as an option with specialist cycling policies (above) there are also a couple of insurances specifically for competitors in cycling and triathlon events. See above for a summary of their main features.

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Professional riders?

None of the insurances on this page are available for those earning their living from cycling.

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Which country?

Most of the time our bikes are in the UK, so territorial restrictions are not a problem. If we have UK-only cover but want to take the cycles abroad, we contact our existing insurer to see if we can extend cover to our destination, or look at stand-alone holiday cover for travel plus cycles, as we usually have the camping gear to insure too, or stand-alone specialist cycle cover with holiday coverage.

The camping gear cover is getting prohibitively expensive as it is considered a high risk, so on our last trip (to France/Germany/Luxembourg) we tempted fate and didn't insure the cycles or the camping equipment. Fortunately, we've never had to claim (touch wood). Perhaps we pick the right places to go, or are we just lucky?

Of course, this doesn't help getting our bikes home if one or both of us have a medical emergency. Having folding bikes is useful in this situation, and there's also travel insurance available via the Cyclists' Touring Club (not sure if you need to be a member) that repatriates you and your bike.

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In addition to the high premium, the list of exclusionscan be as long as your arm, or your street, which is another reason why we've not always insured. OK if you're with the bike all the time, cycle camping, and travelling on the European Bike Express, or a ferry (e.g.Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Norfolk Line,Sea France, P&O). Eurostar is another possibility, as is the Eurotunnel but we've yet to use either with bicycles. Taking the bike on a plane means some careful reading of the insurance policy fine print to check if/how it's covered.

Of course, once in mainland Europe it's common to find secure cycle parking areas in cities, so we've been able to leave the bikes and do the sights on foot without worrying about theft.

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Stand-alone cycling holiday insurance

For a cycling holiday, we've looked at insuring ourselves (for accident and liability), and our bikes (as we take our own rather than hiring at our destination).

Upper age limits start to kick in earlier with adventure-type holiday insurance, so check this first.

Activity insurance that includes cycling

Lots of holiday insurers offer single or multi-trip cover that include cycling cover, with or without frills. Sometimes you can opt out of some parts of cover (eg baggage) that you might already have under another insurance (under all risks). Whether your bike is itself considered baggage is probably a good question to ask the company before buying its policy!

For activities in remote or sparsely populated areas of many parts of the world (that includes the continent), rescue insurance is vital as there's no friendly RAF helicopter that will be scrambled to find you and whisk you off to hospital free of charge. No money means you're on your own.

For activity holiday cover that includes cycling (sometimes including off-roading), there are quite a few options, although it's important to check exactly what, if any, cover there is for accident and liability (and, if appropriate, rescue from places with little infrastructure). Columbus is one we've used (they also give you discount if you're a Youth Hostelling Association member). Other insurers we've found that offer cover when cycling (but don't insure the bike itself) are Direct Travel, eTravel, Flexicover, Gotravel, and Insurefor.

Travel insurance that covers cycles

Not many travel insurance companies insure your bike as part of the package - for this you need the specialist cycle insurers above that extend their all-year cover to limited periods abroad, or the Cyclists Touring Club's (CTC) travel insurance (CycleCover offered by Citybond Suretravel) that includes repatriation of your bike in medical emergencies. Check this in case it's changed, but we don't think you have to be a CTC member to buy this insurance either. (will update once we hear from the insurer).

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Extra-long trips

For gap years, round the world tours, and other extended cycle trips, it's a bit more tricky to insure yourself, let alone your bike. You may have to forgo the bike cover altogether, take a good lock or sleep with your bike.

CTC travel insurance (CycleCover) can be extended to 180 days and you can extend this to cover your bike.

The British Mountaineering Council offer their members various world-wide policies (up to 93 days; baggage option to £3000 but not clear if that covers a bike): Trek includes cycle-touring, Rock includes cycle-touring and mountain biking, Alpine & Ski covers both and cycle racing, as does Expedition. Don't forget to add BMC membership to the cost when comparing with other cover.

For longer trips and those where you don't know when you'll return, both Lonely Planet and Rough Guides recommend World Nomads . They provide ideal cover as you take out a single trip insurance for up to 18 months, and then just keep extending it while you're away. They cover lots of activities including cycle touring, mountain biking, downhill biking but exclude cycles themselves.

Online insurance details

The great thing about online insurance is that it's quick to get quotes, read the policy documents, make a decision and set up cover.

Tip: The downside is the pdf files that can freeze the computer, so once you've accessed these documents, save them on your computer as they are then easier to scroll up and down. Just beware of updates.

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Please note:

We're not insurance advisors or brokers and are merely sharing the relevant information from personal experience and our reading of insurers' brochures etc.

Tips on printing this page

3rd Feb 10: These pages appear best in print if you use Mozilla Firefox - set the browser to print landscape - adjust the margins to make the pages higher and wider if necessary. They do not print out well using Internet Explorer 8.0 or Google Chrome.

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This page includes links to insurance web sites (Aviva, Beat that Quote, Columbus, Compare the Market, Confused, Direct Line, Direct Travel, eTravel, Flexicover, Gotravel, Insurefor, Go Compare, Money Supermarket, Only, Yes, RIAS, Tesco, USwitch, Saga, World Nomads), cycle insurance websites for cyclists, cycling, competition and triathlon cover for theft, damage, liability, accident (British Cycling Federation, Cyclecover, Butterworth, Cycleguard, Cycleguard 4 Kids, Cyclesure, Evans Cycles insurance, ETA, Endsleigh, iLoveMyBike.co.uk, Urban Cycling, Ecoinsure, BTF triCycle, Cycleguard Triathlon, Cycleguard Roadcare, Evans Roadcare, Cycleguard Road Rescue, ETA Cycle Rescue, BTF triCycle, ETA) and Argos, eBay, Amazon, Halfords, Freecycle, and travel by Eurostar, Europan Bike Express, Eurostar, Eurotunnel, P & O Ferries, DFDS Seaways Ferries, Nofolk Line, Sea France, Brittany Ferries.