Bike Property Insurance

Does anyone have insurance just for their bike?

I called one insuance agent and was told that a bike is treated like any other possesion in your
household, rather than separately like a car or boat. I wanted to insure just my bike (with
essentially full coverage) and was told that personal property insurance doesn't work that way.

For instance, if I own $10k in personal belongings, and my bike is worth $2k, and I get $2k worth of
coverage (to cover the bike), then if my bike is stolen the insurance company will only reimburse me
1/5th of my loss (less any deductible) because the bike only represents 1/5th of my total
possessions. The agent gave a term for this which I don't recall, but I was given the impression
that this is standard insurance industry practice.

 

On Mon, 17 Mar 2003 00:01:05 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, [email protected] (Tom McIntire) wrote:

> I called one insuance agent and was told that a bike is treated like any other possesion in your
> household, rather than separately like a car or boat. I wanted to insure just my bike (with
> essentially full coverage) and was told that personal property insurance doesn't work that way.
>
it does --- i used to insure my cameras with no deductible (or maybe $100, it was so long ago).
because i was still in college and living at home during the summers, i had no homeowners
insurance, but i got a "personal articles floater" from fireman's fund through a local independent
insurance agent.

i suggest you call around and tell independent agencies that you'd like to get a personal articles
floater on your bicycles, and ask for rates with no deductible as well as whatever levels of loss
you think you could afford ($100, $500, etc). the difference in premiums might amaze you.

you just need an independent agent that knows enough.

 

What you may want is commonly called a "renter's policy", that insures your personal property when
you don't own your residence and aren't covered for it by the landlord's insurance for the
structure. It's not usually expensive and it's a good idea to cover all your possessions. If you had
a very expensive bike, you might want to give it itemized special coverage, but for anything under
$2,000. or so, a blanket policy for everything would likely be adequate.

Steve McDonald

 

>[email protected] (Tom McIntire

wrote:

>For instance, if I own $10k in personal belongings, and my bike is worth $2k, and I get $2k worth
>of coverage (to cover the bike), then if my bike is stolen the insurance company will only
>reimburse me
>1/5th of my loss (less any deductible) because the bike only represents 1/5th of my total
> possessions. The agent gave a term for this which I don't recall, but I was given the impression
> that this is standard insurance industry practice.

Your agent is full of it. If you have $2k coverage and suffer a $2k loss on any but specifically
excluded items you receive a $2k check from the insurance company. That's $2k minus deductible and
depreciation of course. The real question is why insure *just* your bike? Homeowners' or renters'
insurance will cover your bike plus all your other property too.

Regards, Bob Hunt

 

This is just a little off topic, but as well as property insurance you may want to look for
liability insurance, too.

I'm not sure of other bicycling clubs, but the Saskatchewan Cycling Association (
http://www.saskcycling.ca ) provides medical & dental coverage for its members, as well as general
liability coverage.

Something to think about.

David. David's Cycling Journal http://www.virtualsky.net/cycling

[email protected] (Tom McIntire) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Does anyone have insurance just for their bike?
>
> I called one insuance agent and was told that a bike is treated like any other possesion in your
> household, rather than separately like a car or boat. I wanted to insure just my bike (with
> essentially full coverage) and was told that personal property insurance doesn't work that way.
>
> For instance, if I own $10k in personal belongings, and my bike is worth $2k, and I get $2k worth
> of coverage (to cover the bike), then if my bike is stolen the insurance company will only
> reimburse me
> 1/5th of my loss (less any deductible) because the bike only represents 1/5th of my total
> possessions. The agent gave a term for this which I don't recall, but I was given the impression
> that this is standard insurance industry practice.