Bicycle insurance?

[tylercheung]

Being sort of new to this high end bike stuff, I am constant living in fear that my bike will either be stolen, crashed into (especially in crazy, crazy, NYC) or whatnot. So, I was wondering what people usually do for insurance? Is the usual method to add the bike onto home insurance? Car insurance? separate insurance? Are there any gotchas, i.e. certain scenarios that aren't covered?

Just checking to see what was out there.

[Blue Jays]

With enough research, darn near anything can be insured with a sufficient premium.
Depends on what kind of bicycle you wish to cover, how, and how much.

[Dave B]

Home owners or renters nsurance often covers it if it is stolen out of the garage. I was hit by a sweet old blue hair and my renters plicy covered it.

However, you might be able to get a cheap (monthly) policy to cover the specific bike(s)

might as well.

[Sheldon4209]

I was told to cover a bicycle would require a rider similar to jewelry but it is more expensive than jewelry. One company quoted 10% of cost/year and the second company was 7%. I believe the 10% quote included crashes or damage from flying with the bike.

[Nil Else]

I stumbled upon these articles... interesting. Although I've never had serious accident it's making me think about post crash/accident murkiness of the law (under-insured/ uninsured motorist, bike-on-bike accidents, bicyclist's liability etc), insurance, medical cost/asset recovery. Depending on what your state recognizes you could be screwed: "contributory negligence": you get nada even with 1% 'contributory negligence' or "comparative negligence": judgment based on the percentage of negligence.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7060-Insurance-Industry-Examiner~y2009m8d10-Insurance101-Why-bicycle-insurance-is-necessary

http://www.examiner.com/x-7060-Insurance-Industry-Examiner~y2009m8d11-Insurance101-Where-to-buy-bicycle-insurance

I somehow I get the suspicion that there is a bit of scare ploy at heart to sell insurance but then these are legitimate issues to think about/ hear about quite often.

[EddieBirdsell]

Depending on what your state recognizes you could be screwed: "contributory negligence": you get nada even with 1% 'contributory negligence' or "comparative negligence": judgment based on the percentage of negligence.

Ugh. This sounds like first year torts or bar review class.

[taxman]

here is how I see it
There is nothing akin to Auto insurance for bicycles.
If you own a home or rent you have, or should have, insurance that covers your dwelling , personal belongings ( like furniture) and your personal liability to others if they are injured through your negligence - at your home or like if you hit someone with your bike.
If you are hit by a car while riding then all the theories of negligence and contribution - what you did to help cause the accident or your injuries ( rules of the road) - come in to play.
If you are injured you can always use your medical insurance.
If really injured by a driver and you are not at fault then they should be required to compensate you for all injuries and damage to your bike, etc. You may need a lawyer or Bob Mionske - the former pro and current legal writer in the bike mags.
Dwelling and Home policies cover fire, theft, etc and have a deductible.
If your bike is stolen from inside your dwelling it could/should be covered less the deductible and depreciation ( or perhaps you will have "replacement cost" coverage). There is likely to be a maximum limit that the policy will pay - $1,000 - $2,500.
If it is a high value item, like a Mei Vici, you can "schedule" the item for a specific value - like jewelry. That costs additional - usually a rate per $100 of value you want to insure it for. The insurer will want pictures and receipts to verify the cost/value/identity (pic of the serial number)
Does this give you some direction and ideas for further research?

[rnhood]

I purchased two new bikes in February, called my insurance company (State Farm) and they gave me a price on a rider to cover the bikes. Its about $162 per $10K per year. So its not really expensive and, SF covers the bikes for damage even when racing.

[GBD]

I tried State Farm which we have our auto the personal articles policy with. They wanted 10% of value per year. Kept shopping and found a home owner's policy that would cover all bikes under the personal property at no additional cost. Sent them itemized lists of each bike to make sure they are good with value as one of the bikes is a Meivici with Campi wheels and SRM. Was not a problem, bikes are covered at home, away from home including travel, airline, theft from car.

[wc1934]

You might inquire if your homeowners insurance covers you in case your bike is stolen while ouside your residence. My daughter had 2 bikes stolen (in NYC). They were locked with a Kyrptonite (sp) bar lock - come to find out those locks can be easily picked with a bic pen.
Mmy daughter was sol - insurance would not cover her loss.

[WadePatton]

isn't there an outfit advertising in the mags (you know the paper/ink things) to insure bikes?

pretty sure i remember seeing that back in the day.

[dumbod]

First, if you have homeowner's or renter's insurance, your bike may be covered. (You should check with your agent.)

More importantly, insurance is a good idea only when you face the possibility of catastrophic losses. The reason is simple - insurance companies want to make money. I'm not aware of any insurance company that pays out more than 60% of the premiums it collects to policy holders. (The rest goes to administration, marketing and profit). That means, in the long run, that you'll only collect $0.60 for every dollar that you pay.

That's OK if the loss is catastrophic - your house burns down, for example. But otherwise, it's like buying a service contract on your washing machine. It might pay off (somebody wins slot machine jackpots) but most people wind up losers.

I'd be really bummed if something happened to my new Parlee but it's not life changing. So no insurance. If you're really worried about it, get a quote on insurance and then put that amount into a special bike savings account every month. You'll be a lot better off.

[WadePatton]

yes, for the rare individual with real money-sense, self-insurance is the best.

100% pay out every time.

wp