Recommend some Insurance



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Ian G Batten

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I've just gone a bit silly and laid out what I euphemistically told my wife was ``two'' on a bike.
The penny has finally dropped with her that I didn't mean hundreds, and she quite rightly reminds me
that some insurance might be a nice idea.

We could put it on the all risks sections of the house and contents policy, which has new for old
and all that sort of good stuff, but (a) the required levels of security may not become explicit
until they're rejecting my claim and (b) as a good citizen it's been bugging me all year that
I've not got any meaningful third party cover, and as a legitimate user of mixed-use towpaths I
think I should.

Marin (it's a Mount Vision) offer a policy themselves, but it contains a load of things I don't need
(trivial amounts of death and disability for which I have other cover). It also has a broken website
from which I can't get a quote with Mozilla.

I believe that the CTC offer cover, and joining them would be a good idea anyway.

What's peoples' experience been?

ian
 
"Ian G Batten" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I believe that the CTC offer cover, and joining them would be a good idea anyway.

I would always recommend joining the CTC anyway :)

I found their insurance OK, others think it a bit dear. I think it depends on how many bikes you
have - the price per additional bike seems small, presumably on the wholly logical grounds that
you can only ride one at a time. Check your house contents insurer and see if you can get it on as
a named item (many insurers refuse to accept that a bike could possibly be worth more than a
trivial sum).

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
 
"Ian G Batten" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> We could put it on the all risks sections of the house and contents policy, which has new for old
> and all that sort of good stuff, but (a) the required levels of security may not become explicit
> until they're rejecting my claim and (b) as a good citizen it's been bugging me all year that
> I've not got any meaningful third party cover, and as a legitimate user of mixed-use towpaths I
> think I should.

You may well have third-party cover through your household insurance - my parents discovered I did
as a teenager. I would go for the house contents option if they'll have it for a not unreasonable
sum. You can always ask them in writing what the required levels of security are. And joining the
CTC is a good thing anyway - not only do you get another set of 3rd party insurance, you also get an
interesting magazine and other stuff.

cheers, clive
 
Ian G Batten wrote:
>
>
> I believe that the CTC offer cover, and joining them would be a good idea anyway.
>
> What's peoples' experience been?
>

Join the CTC, they do a good job representing cyclists and deserve your support. Don't bother with
their insurance - it will cost you close to £200 a year to insure your bike from my past experience.
Either try your house contants insurer or otherwise phone Fern Insurance (ad in the back of the CTC
mag - available to non-members in WHS usually) and they will set you up with a specific household
with bikes insurance with a big name insurer at a good price. They even arrange the termination and
premium refund on my previous insurance. The insurance they offered was totally practical in the
coverage - included overseas touring - and restrictions.

Tony
 
In article <[email protected]>,

> "Ian G Batten" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:bvqj24$uuf$1@news-
> out.ftel.co.uk...
>
> > We could put it on the all risks sections of the house and contents policy, which has new for
> > old and all that sort of good stuff, but (a) the required levels of security may not become
> > explicit until they're rejecting my claim and (b) as a good citizen it's been bugging me all
> > year that I've not got any meaningful third party cover, and as a legitimate user of mixed-use
> > towpaths I think I should.
>
> You may well have third-party cover through your household insurance - my parents discovered I did
> as a teenager.

I do have third-party cover, but last time I checked I think it was associated with the house and
not with me. Which means that remote from the house I'm not covered. I'll have to read the Ts&Cs in
more detail.

ian
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Tony Raven <[email protected]> wrote:
> price. They even arrange the termination and premium refund on my previous insurance.

Thanks for the advice, although this option may not fly for me: the house and contents policy is a
staff policy via my wife at a significant discount.

ian
 
"Ian G Batten" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> > You may well have third-party cover through your household insurance -
my
> > parents discovered I did as a teenager.

> I do have third-party cover, but last time I checked I think it was associated with the house and
> not with me. Which means that remote from the house I'm not covered. I'll have to read the Ts&Cs
> in more detail.

Two separate issues: third party cover & theft cover. Third party cover you get automatically with
CTC membership, £5m worth. You might also get a discount at your bike shop (I do). Theft insurance
is a shop-around job.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
 
Ian G Batten wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, Tony Raven <junk@raven-
> family.com> wrote:
>> price. They even arrange the termination and premium refund on my previous insurance.
>
> Thanks for the advice, although this option may not fly for me: the house and contents policy is a
> staff policy via my wife at a significant discount.
>

Maybe but staff policy plus separate bike policy may be more than new policy including bikes.
Worth a try

Tony
 
Ian G Batten wrote:

> I've just gone a bit silly and laid out what I euphemistically told my wife was ``two'' on a bike.
> The penny has finally dropped with her that I didn't mean hundreds, and she quite rightly reminds
> me that some insurance might be a nice idea.
>
> We could put it on the all risks sections of the house and contents policy, which has new for old
> and all that sort of good stuff, but (a) the required levels of security may not become explicit
> until they're rejecting my claim and (b) as a good citizen it's been bugging me all year that
> I've not got any meaningful third party cover, and as a legitimate user of mixed-use towpaths I
> think I should.
>
> Marin (it's a Mount Vision) offer a policy themselves, but it contains a load of things I don't
> need (trivial amounts of death and disability for which I have other cover). It also has a broken
> website from which I can't get a quote with Mozilla.
>
> I believe that the CTC offer cover, and joining them would be a good idea anyway.
>
> What's peoples' experience been?
>
> ian
>
>
Insurance companies no longer insure bikes out of the home for a sensible sum. Bikes up to a
couple of hundred quid can be insured economically - more expensive ones can't, unless you find a
real bargain.

For example, a major building society's home contents insurance covers bikes in the home for no
additional fee, but if you want cover when you're out for a 2 grand bike, you can't have it *at
all*. Cover for a £1,500 bike will double the contents premium for an average house, so own a
couple of nice bikes and self-insurance seems the way to go. £1,500 really isn't much for a bike if
you read C+!

Buy a big lock and keep it at work if you commute. Otherwise don't let the bike out of your (or your
riding buddies') sight. If you have to go shopping by bike, buy an old 10-speed racer for twenty
quid, spray it with black Hammerite and get the brakes and gears working as best you can.

Even good road bikes used to be practically invisible to thieves and I never worried about locking
mine, but they're becoming fashionable again :-(
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> In article <[email protected]>,

> > "Ian G Batten" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:bvqj24$uuf$1@news-
> > out.ftel.co.uk...
> >
> > You may well have third-party cover through your household insurance - my parents discovered I
> > did as a teenager.
>
> I do have third-party cover, but last time I checked I think it was associated with the house and
> not with me. Which means that remote from the house I'm not covered. I'll have to read the Ts&Cs
> in more detail.
>
Check the contents section of the policy.

Buildings covers 3rd party cover is libaility associated with the building.

The contents policy libility insurance covers personal libility.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Zog The Undeniable <[email protected]> wrote:
> Insurance companies no longer insure bikes out of the home for a sensible sum. Bikes up to a
> couple of hundred quid can be insured economically - more expensive ones can't, unless you find a
> real bargain.

LloydsTSB want a couple of quid a month for two grand (quote got this afternoon). There's a staff
discount in there, but on past experience that'll not be huge and the terms and conditions are the
same. My experience with their contents insurance has been fairly positive over the years.

ian
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Tony Raven <[email protected]> wrote:
> Maybe but staff policy plus separate bike policy may be more than new policy including bikes.
> Worth a try

Two quid a month for a two grand bike. I doubt anyone's going to offer it to me cheaper.

ian
 
Ian G Batten <[email protected]> writes:
>In article <[email protected]>, Tony Raven <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Maybe but staff policy plus separate bike policy may be more than new policy including bikes.
>> Worth a try
>
>Two quid a month for a two grand bike. I doubt anyone's going to offer it to me cheaper.

I doubt it too. I pay 180/annum for two ~1500 Marins and that was the best offer I got!

Check the T&C carefully though. With my CTC cover, we're only covered if the bikes are chained to
something, even when they are in the garage at home. And I've read recently about people not being
covered because their lock was not on an approved list supplied by their insurers.

Claire
--
Still prettiest by far.
 
"Zog The Undeniable" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> >
> Insurance companies no longer insure bikes out of the home for a sensible sum. Bikes up to a
> couple of hundred quid can be insured economically - more expensive ones can't, unless you find a
> real bargain.
>
> For example, a major building society's home contents insurance covers bikes in the home for no
> additional fee, but if you want cover when you're out for a 2 grand bike, you can't have it *at
> all*. Cover for a £1,500 bike will double the contents premium for an average house, so own a
> couple of nice bikes and self-insurance seems the way to go. £1,500 really isn't much for a bike
> if you read C+!

I didn't find this at all. I just put my new Streetmachine (okay, the _soon_ to be my, just a few
more days) on my household policy - it was an extra 50 pounds a year for a replacement value of 2000
pounds. My annual household premium was fairly low at 330 pounds per year, but doubled it hasn't.
The insurance is through my lenders, it's not a special deal, the terms are reasonable, certainly as
reasonable as the terms for the insurance on the CTC site - i.e. I just have to lock it to an
imovable object - the locks are not specified - when not in the house, and my house has to have the
standard locks.

Seems a bargain.

YMMV I suppose.

E
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Claire <[email protected]> wrote:
> Check the T&C carefully though. With my CTC cover, we're only covered if the bikes are chained to
> something, even when they are in the garage at home. And I've read recently about people not being
> covered because their lock was not on an approved list supplied by their insurers.

I asked those questions, and they said `no detailed conditions, but you should take reasonable
precautions'. The wise man will choose a lock found on plenty of other companies' lists, and use it.

I suspect that rates for non-all-risks bike insurance is bumped up because it will
disproportionately be used by people who don't have all-risks policies to build on. And all-risks
policies self-select people who don't like in shared housing, for example.

ian
 
Frobnitz wrote:

> "Zog The Undeniable" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>
>>Insurance companies no longer insure bikes out of the home for a sensible sum. Bikes up to a
>>couple of hundred quid can be insured economically - more expensive ones can't, unless you find a
>>real bargain.
>>
>>For example, a major building society's home contents insurance covers bikes in the home for no
>>additional fee, but if you want cover when you're out for a 2 grand bike, you can't have it *at
>>all*. Cover for a £1,500 bike will double the contents premium for an average house, so own a
>>couple of nice bikes and self-insurance seems the way to go. £1,500 really isn't much for a bike
>>if you read C+!
>
>
> I didn't find this at all. I just put my new Streetmachine (okay, the _soon_ to be my, just a few
> more days) on my household policy - it was an extra 50 pounds a year for a replacement value of
> 2000 pounds. My annual household premium was fairly low at 330 pounds per year, but doubled it
> hasn't. The insurance is through my lenders, it's not a special deal, the terms are reasonable,
> certainly as reasonable as the terms for the insurance on the CTC site - i.e. I just have to lock
> it to an imovable object - the locks are not specified - when not in the house, and my house has
> to have the standard locks.
>
> Seems a bargain.
>
> YMMV I suppose.
>
> E
>
>
Must change insurers this year then! Mine wanted about £12 a month extra for one bike and I have
three, so that would be a tidy £432 per year :-(
 
Zog The Undeniable wrote:
>

> Must change insurers this year then! Mine wanted about £12 a month extra for one bike and I have
> three, so that would be a tidy £432 per year :-(

I have 8 on my contents policy including a trice and its still a lot less than that.

John B
 
On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:02:03 +0000, Zog The Undeniable <[email protected]>
wrote:

>>
>Must change insurers this year then! Mine wanted about £12 a month extra for one bike and I have
>three, so that would be a tidy £432 per year :-(

Try Fern Assurance. Adverts in the cycling press.

Tim
 
JohnB wrote:
> Zog The Undeniable wrote:
>>
>
>> Must change insurers this year then! Mine wanted about £12 a month extra for one bike and I have
>> three, so that would be a tidy £432 per year :-(
>
> I have 8 on my contents policy including a trice and its still a lot less than that.
>

Me too, all covered within the house and any subset up to an agreed maximum value out of the house
at any one time. IIRC it costs about a fiver a month for a £7k total.

Tony
 
On Wed, 4 Feb 2004 12:17:39 -0000, "Tony Raven"
<[email protected]> wrote:

:)Join the CTC, they do a good job representing cyclists and deserve your )support. Either try your
:house )contants insurer or otherwise phone Fern Insurance (ad in the back of the CTC )mag

Do they have a web site ?
--
Comm again, Mike.
 
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