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You’ve got an amazing new cycle and bicycle insurance probably isn’t top of your to-do list, but just as you need home insurance to protect your house, insurance for your bike is definitely something to think about before taking it out for a ride.
While there are steps you can and should take to help prevent your cycle from theft, there’s no way to completely eliminate the risk. The numbers say it all: almost 400,000 bicycles are stolen across the UK each year! Cycle insurance can bring peace of mind and protection against a potentially large unexpected cost to replace your prized possession.
Many home insurance policies will cover bicycles up to a certain value (often around £1,000) - though they usually need to be declared specifically. What’s more, this cover is often restricted to protection when the bicycle is at home. This means that your cycle isn’t covered when you’re out and about.
If you’ve just purchased a brand new bike, this is relatively straightforward: you can refer to the price you paid for your cycle and components, ideally with an itemised breakdown - this applies to self-built bikes too.
This is what most people think about when considering bike insurance. It offers cover for the bicycle itself, plus its components and accessories.
Public liability cover for cyclists includes rider to rider and public liability in the event that you accidentally injure or damage a member of the public or their property while riding your bike.
This is something that is often overlooked, but accidents involving cyclists and vehicles are unfortunately not uncommon, which is why legal expenses cover is something you may want to consider as part of your cycle insurance policy.
If you’re keen on long rural cycles or cycling holidays, rescue cover is something to think about, if an accident or breakdown leaves stranded.
Personal accident cover is to protect you against medical costs if you are injured as a result of a cycling accident.
If you’re not sure about cycle insurance, it may help to weigh up the risks and decide whether it’s a cover you want. You could consider whether you’ve accidentally damaged cycles in the past, or whether you’ve been the victim of bicycle theft - leaving you out-of-pocket.
Other risks to think about are accidental injury to others while you’re riding your bike. This is something that you can get covered for with our public liability option. Or even rescue cover, if you’re a fan of long rural bike rides.
The cost of cycle insurance depends on the type of cover you want for yourself and your bike. Features such as public liability and rescue cover are offered at a fixed cost, but the cost of bike and accessories cover, for example (if you select it), will vary according to the total value you need to insure.
Karl Scott is a respected leader with nine years’ varied experience in niche personal and commercial lines insurance, including cycle, boat, pleasure craft, military and private car, with proficiency in leadership, sales and account management.
This is a marketing article by Towergate Insurance.
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