I've always insured my bike in case of theft, by adding it to my house contents insurance policy.This being a cheap way of covering it.
I have recently bought my first electric bike, and went about adding it to my house contents policy, only to be told that electric bikes are excluded.
Any advice about insurance on e bikes, gratefully received.
This is a tricky subject as insurers vary what they will and won't cover greatly I've found.. a general rule of thumb is that if you have a branded electric bike the insurer will normally cover it to the replacement value if it's listed as a separate high value item on a household policy, but usually only against theft or damage from your property/shed/garage...some offer an "away from home" extra cover and even special add-on premiums for bicycles which *should* treat an electric bike as a normal bike for insurance purposes, but best to check with insurer. Some insurers I contacted said they would cover only the replacement cost of the bike if it's stolen away from home, i.e. they won't cover a stolen battery, wheel+motor or damage.
There at least a couple of insurers i know of that specialise in insuring just electric bikes which I had considered, but once you check all the small print and limitations I found these policies not very useful, and the one insurer would not insure conversions or self-builds, only known-brand name electric bikes.
Legal & General definitely offer bicycle cover on "away from home" and it seems fairly flexible, offering damage and theft up to £2,000 for a reasonable extra premium.. and they will provide £2,000 bicycle cover as standard if it's stolen or damaged at home.
I think the tricky part comes when you to file a claim for things stolen off the bike or damage, it's usually "all or nothing" so you have to question how much value insurance really is, how you plan to use your bike etc. It might be better just not leaving it outside anywhere. If taking insurance though its best to ask if in doubt, don't assume things.
