Trends we picked up in claims as insurers of bicycles

[I-cycle]

Hi All

 

Just a insight in to what we as insurers are picking up with thefts.

 

1. People have now become aware of the value of some bikes and for this reason hijackings are on the increase. It has been picked up that hijackers are even stealing to order.

2. Riding alone is when you at your most vunerable.Couples with a lady riding can become the victims of even worse crime. Need I say more

3. Theft of bikes on racks are on the increase, especially in shopping centres. The individuals look for bikes that are not locked to racks or racks that are easily removed. They drive past with a bakkie, unclip and go. TEN seconds.

4. At races, especially MTB races, bikes are left standing unattanded. The criminal element now dresses as a MTB rider, walks past your bike when you getting a coffee, drink or having an shower and they gone.

 

Guys and girls be safe out there.

 

iCycle

[Pusher]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Shebeen]

Hi All

 

Just a insight in to what we as insurers are picking up whith thefts.

jirre bliksem, thanks for the warnings but please run that spellcheck when posting as a company rep. Especially when the industry involves meticulous understanding of fine print. I leave you to find the other grammar mistake.

[Andymann]

As a matter of interest, what would have been your policy on insuring bikes for transport overseas? We will be leaving shortly to race in Hawaii, and wanted to take out a short-term policy for both bikes, should they arrive damaged on the other side, or worse not at all. One of the other Cycle-specific insurers (who has got a lot of negative publicity on this forum of late) wasn't even prepared to entertain the concept. All of the other generic insurers had no problem whatsoever offering a solution - they only required a minimum period of three months, which I thought was more than reasonable.....

[W Smith]

jirre bliksem, thanks for the warnings but please run that spellcheck when posting as a company rep. Especially when the industry involves meticulous understanding of fine print. I leave you to find the other grammar mistake.

Spelling is obviously very important to you.

[Sepia]

Thanks for the report.

(I understood exactly what you were saying or am I just too clever)!

[I-cycle]

Thanks for the pointing out of the spelling. Hopefully all correct now.

[Capricorn]

nope. Criminal, not criminial.

 

Since there is a definite trend, how are insurers reviewing premiums in light of the increased risk?

[I-cycle]

In our opinion, we think that the general insurer who does the normal domestic insurance is going to be taking a harder stance with regards rating (premium) and the values they will insure. There was a time when bikes were just a item that the normal insured had and was a relatively cheap item. We now insure bikes up to R160 000.00. This is a price of a car and with no security what so ever. Your average car has some sort of security albeit not always enough but it is a deterent.

 

We as a specialised insurer are looking of ways of incorporating security to a bike to safe guard the cyclist and then obviously the bike.

 

We will elaborate on this once we confident we can rely on the technology with out compromising the performance of the bike.

[I-cycle]

As a matter of interest, what would have been your policy on insuring bikes for transport overseas? We will be leaving shortly to race in Hawaii, and wanted to take out a short-term policy for both bikes, should they arrive damaged on the other side, or worse not at all. One of the other Cycle-specific insurers (who has got a lot of negative publicity on this forum of late) wasn't even prepared to entertain the concept. All of the other generic insurers had no problem whatsoever offering a solution - they only required a minimum period of three months, which I thought was more than reasonable.....

 

Hi

 

You will find opposition to this. We as a rule will insure you and also apply the 3 month condition. However in todays climate it makes sense to insure your bikes on a continues basis.The main line insurers also do not offer as comprehensive cover as a niche insurance provider.

 

Hope this helps

 

Kind regards

 

iCycle

[Bateleur1]

I-cycle, this is brilliant if you can inform us of trends and allow us to take note of these trends.

 

Could I suggest that this gets done on a regular basis and also maybe give some statistics where current hot-spots are that we should be more vigilant.

[straatvark]

I-cycle, this is brilliant if you can inform us of trends and allow us to take note of these trends.

 

Could I suggest that this gets done on a regular basis and also maybe give some statistics where current hot-spots are that we should be more vigilant.

Any way we can get access on anonymised data to represent it spatially?

[I-cycle]

Thank you,

 

We will offer more information on this as we get it.

[Eddy Gordo]

Well done Icycle. I need to discuss my insurance at some point

[Shebeen]

Spelling is obviously very important to you.

yup, but I let plenty slide. In this instance it looks really bad as we all know you need to check your policy with a fine tooth comb before signing it. You'd expect the guys on the other side of the fence to be just a little bit meticulous (I know he was giving a post on a webpage but the attitude is the same).

 

but ja, there is a still a error in that sentence. I'm guessing that the OP is looking for more business(I'm fine with that) with this thread, but on a back foot with me just on that.

[I-cycle]

We really only put this information on the site to enlighten people of situations we have come across.

 

It appears that some individuals look past the message and caution. I hope that you never find yourself in a hijack situation especially if you have people you care about with you and they find themselves at the wrong end of the attackers gun, knife or worse.

 

It is not and never has been our policy to solicit business from the Hub. We only deal with brokers and as such dont deal with clients/public directly.