Stand-alone insurance for e-bikes

vidtek

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 29, 2015
412
228
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Bournemouth BH12
Can anybody give a recommendation for e-bike stand-alone insurance?

I live in a grandad/granny flat I had built on my son's big house. He organises and pays for the insurance and I just discovered my bike is not covered by it this year as he changed insurers to get a better deal.

Cheers Tony.
 

sneggysteve

Pedelecer
Oct 29, 2020
73
31
Can anybody give a recommendation for e-bike stand-alone insurance?

I live in a grandad/granny flat I had built on my son's big house. He organises and pays for the insurance and I just discovered my bike is not covered by it this year as he changed insurers to get a better deal.

Cheers Tony.
Barclays stand alone - see previous conversations
 

richtea99

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 8, 2020
434
283
I have Velosurance. It's ~$26/month for a ~$3,000 policy. Worth it to me for the peace of mind. Joe from Motostrano mentioned to me that he had heard of quite a few ebike thefts in the Bay Area last year, often from train stations. Hopefully that never happens to me.
That seems very expensive compared to the UK. My eBike insurance for two bikes (£1500 each) is ~£20 / yr, when added into house insurance as an extra.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
last time i looked for a 6k bike they wanted £45 a month for everything and £38 a month bog standard plan.

so id also doubt any company would insure my bike with the house insurance same as my speakers that cost 10k new as they wont cover items that expensive for 1 item.
 

richtea99

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 8, 2020
434
283
Mine is £2.5k max per eBike, so it could be a problem with a very expensive bike. But who is crazy enough to pay more than £2.5k for a bike, eh. ;)

Other high value items can be covered for higher amounts - jewelery, speakers, etc. you just have to declare their value upfront, and they load the premiun accordingly.


[Edit: however it isn't standalone insurance, so apologies for drifting off-thread.]
 
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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Barnsleyrob

Pedelecer
Jul 20, 2020
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I went with Eversure to cover my original £1300 MiRider ebike which included public liability etc. They also only required a Silver rated lock. Cost was just under £89.
 

vidtek

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 29, 2015
412
228
73
Bournemouth BH12
Barclays stand alone - see previous conversations
This policy is very strange, it doesn't cover theft unless
QUOTE
This policy doesn’t include

  • Theft, unless the bike is in your immediate possession and control, securely locked to an object that can’t be moved or in a locked building
ENDQUOTE

So what's the point of it? And how can it be stolen if it's in your immediate possession? That doesn't make any sense at all.
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,642
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Winchester
This policy is very strange, it doesn't cover theft unless
QUOTE
This policy doesn’t include

  • Theft, unless the bike is in your immediate possession and control, securely locked to an object that can’t be moved or in a locked building
ENDQUOTE

So what's the point of it? And how can it be stolen if it's in your immediate possession? That doesn't make any sense at all.
A friend was knocked of his bike into the canal riding a towpath and his bike stolen. (Biggest loss was laptop in his backpack). I believe not that rare a happening. Even an insurance company wouldn't argue that he was in the canal when the act of theft happened, and therefore the bike wasn't in his immediate possession and control.
 

Dope pedeller

Finding my (electric) wheels
Dec 26, 2020
5
1
Through the Money Saving Expert website there is a link to give 30% off ebike insurance. A fairly basic policy that does cover theft, costs £4.90 a month (instead of £7) to insure an ebike for £1200 in Hertfordshire.
 
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vidtek

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 29, 2015
412
228
73
Bournemouth BH12
A friend was knocked of his bike into the canal riding a towpath and his bike stolen. (Biggest loss was laptop in his backpack). I believe not that rare a happening. Even an insurance company wouldn't argue that he was in the canal when the act of theft happened, and therefore the bike wasn't in his immediate possession and control.
Insurance companies will wriggle out of any claims they can, why do you think they have all that fine print? This one example still doesn't make sense of the "in your possession and control" clause. Why would you buy insurance that negates the whole point of having it?
 
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geoff967

Pedelecer
Jan 8, 2019
41
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Insurance companies will wriggle out of any claims they can, why do you think they have all that fine print? This one example still doesn't make sense of the "in your possession and control" clause. Why would you buy insurance that negates the whole point of having it?
I guess if you were threatened or knocked off and bike stolen technically it was still in your possession and control until forcibly removed
If stolen by cutting bike lock again in your control but ombudsman would probably agree with you as otherwise there can be no valid claim ever if exclusion is taken to its logical conclusion.ps not insurance expert but have just taken barclays insurance so interested in replies. £20.74 for 3000 cover Gazelle electric.
C
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,642
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Winchester
Insurance companies will wriggle out of any claims they can, why do you think they have all that fine print?
We agree on that one.

This one example still doesn't make sense of the "in your possession and control" clause. Why would you buy insurance that negates the whole point of having it?
For many (most) people the most important aspect of theft insurance is covered in 'securely locked to an object that can’t be moved or in a locked building', and that is the main point of having it.

The additional OR clause 'in your possession and control' explicitly covers an extra situation, to the customer's benefit. A good to have point, but unless you are paranoid about having the bike stolen while you are riding it surely not the whole point of having the insurance.
 

sneggysteve

Pedelecer
Oct 29, 2020
73
31
We agree on that one.


For many (most) people the most important aspect of theft insurance is covered in 'securely locked to an object that can’t be moved or in a locked building', and that is the main point of having it.

The additional OR clause 'in your possession and control' explicitly covers an extra situation, to the customer's benefit. A good to have point, but unless you are paranoid about having the bike stolen while you are riding it surely not the whole point of having the insurance.
Yes it's the "OR" that changes the whole meaning of this exclusion.
 

vidtek

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 29, 2015
412
228
73
Bournemouth BH12
I disagree. The whole point of bike insurance is if some towrag steals it while you are out and about. Even when locked to a bike post, all sorts of bits and pieces can be wrenched off , battery, lights, front wheel etc.
 

sneggysteve

Pedelecer
Oct 29, 2020
73
31
The exclusions are to be taken separately
"in a locked building" - self explanatory, doesn't even specify it has to be secured to anything in the building.

"securely locked to an object that cannot be moved" - not unreasonable if you leave it outside the local shop.

"in your immediate custody and control" So assuming it's not in a building and not securely locked, you can't expect cover outside the shop if you have taken no precautions. You are not exercising due care if you just leave it there and go in shop, so this exclusion puts responsibility on you not to leave it there without safeguard. This is similar to leaving your car with the engine running while in the shop and it gets stolen.
 
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