Bike insurance

[ChrisF]

57 minutes ago, U1Nanimous said:

Just an interesting side note to this topic, 

When I bought my previous MTB, 2021, King Price insurance was included for three months, and I changed it over to my Santam Household as I don't like ransomware tactics. (you have to have xyz covered for minimum xyz etc). Sure, they have a business model (KP), and I was happy to stay with them and even pay the full premium, but the marketer said it was not possible unless I moved my home/car etc over to them, so it(bike) moved to my Santam (home) policy.  

Fast forward a few years, and due to my work, I now have access/insight to very good insurance brokers. 

Before the holidays I looked into changing to one of the brokers, just seeing the service and effort they do in other fields and am impressed, so off to change we go. 

I sent my current policy to them for input and quotes etc... 

So, they turn around and tell me about the specific Santam product, certain min spec criteria to meet, but, in a nutshell.... 

Home value is on par, house content increased. 

30% of home content covers "out and roaming " so in other words, I have blanket cover for all items outside the home for X amount.  

So I got blanket cover for this amount, a new bike, accessories all items up to that amount which I do not need to specify should I suffer a loss in one incident. 

Of course, any items worth more than this ammount need to be specified, but, I can't foresee an issue there. 

(two bikes on the rack in an accident have sufficient cover)

Now for the fun part, I dropped all the previously specified items, phones, laptops, GPS, bikes etc, and now, I have full cover. And the best news is I pay slightly less because my broker worked their magic. 

Before any naysayers slaughter this, I have some other friends who turned out to have the same product and had made an involuntary contribution one evening during the holidays, with no issues with their claim. 

So go ask/shop around, ask questions, say what you want/need and look into options. Sometimes we do come out on the other side slightly better, it does not always have to be endless increases and headaches. 

 

A good broker makes a big difference.

 

Especially when it comes to claiming.

[mecheng89]

I was not expecting this.

[mecheng89]

https://insurance.globalcyclingnetwork.com/homeuk 

For some further reading. 

[Famous Amos]

On the insurance topic, as many have said, a good broker is a game changer.
My bike, cycling computer, etc, is all through my house insurance under all risk with Renasa. I have never had a single issue claiming from them from my carrier that got damaged when a taxi rear ended me, to my Elemnt Roam that failed outside warranty, they covered in full each time (less the excess, which was very little).

I've dealt numerous times with bike specific brokers, insurers and assessors, and it scares me how these people lie to their customers and get away with it.

More recently, a well known assessor and repairer told a customer that they are an authorized repairer for the brand (they were not) and that the repair (a complete cracked through chain and seat stay) will have no impact on their life time warranty of the frame. This failure is typically an entire write off of the frame.

Further to the above, the chaps rear wheel took a hard knock in the accident, which caused some noticeable delamination of the carbon layers. You could pop the carbon in and out. The repairer said this is perfectly safe to continue riding on, and redid the decals.

A couple weeks later, the chaps Di2 shifters started to fail because said repairer quoted to replace, but never did, instead did some MacGyvering to repair the chaps shifters.

[mecheng89]

14 hours ago, Bl4d3 said:

On the insurance topic, as many have said, a good broker is a game changer.
My bike, cycling computer, etc, is all through my house insurance under all risk with Renasa. I have never had a single issue claiming from them from my carrier that got damaged when a taxi rear ended me, to my Elemnt Roam that failed outside warranty, they covered in full each time (less the excess, which was very little).

I've dealt numerous times with bike specific brokers, insurers and assessors, and it scares me how these people lie to their customers and get away with it.

More recently, a well known assessor and repairer told a customer that they are an authorized repairer for the brand (they were not) and that the repair (a complete cracked through chain and seat stay) will have no impact on their life time warranty of the frame. This failure is typically an entire write off of the frame.

Further to the above, the chaps rear wheel took a hard knock in the accident, which caused some noticeable delamination of the carbon layers. You could pop the carbon in and out. The repairer said this is perfectly safe to continue riding on, and redid the decals.

A couple weeks later, the chaps Di2 shifters started to fail because said repairer quoted to replace, but never did, instead did some MacGyvering to repair the chaps shifters.

Name and shame this "repairer"!

[SSCC]

Asking for a friend - bike value R180k. What are you paying per month and which insurance company? 

[Rowl]

Reviving an oldish thread, what is covered under your e-bike insurance? Can I do an out of warranty claim if the shimano/whatever motor breaks?

Couldn't get a clear answer from Outsurance on what is covered vs not in this context. Oh and half the value of my car, but higher premium.

 

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, Rowl said:

Reviving an oldish thread, what is covered under your e-bike insurance? Can I do an out of warranty claim if the shimano/whatever motor breaks?

Couldn't get a clear answer from Outsurance on what is covered vs not in this context. Oh and half the value of my car, but higher premium.

 

 

That is maintenance, not covered under short term insurance.

[Rowl]

2 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

That is maintenance, not covered under short term insurance.

Although I do agree, the motors are (mostly? and supposedly) sealed units? Zero maintenance, if it breaks it is replaced with a new one.

[NotSoBigBen]

11 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

That is maintenance, not covered under short term insurance.

I know of someone that had an e-bike motor replaced recently by his insurer, don't know the details though ....

As an aside they insisted on future services being carried out by the local bike agent (A Trek E-Bike)

PS seemingly NO chipping allowed else it's not covered? Upset him a bit, I just smiled ....

Edited December 11, 2025 by NotSoBigBen

[bleedToWin]

14 hours ago, Rowl said:

Although I do agree, the motors are (mostly? and supposedly) sealed units? Zero maintenance, if it breaks it is replaced with a new one.

Zero maintenance wearable parts on your car are also not replaced if they fail. Sucks, but without an insurable event it wont be covered.

[Rowl]

13 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

I know of someone that had an e-bike motor replaced recently by his insurer, don't know the details though ....

As an aside they insisted on future services being carried out by the local bike agent (A Trek E-Bike)

PS seemingly NO chipping allowed else it's not covered? Upset him a bit, I just smiled ....

(You can chip your e-bike??? Do they do a dyno run at dastek and give you a chart of your watt/nm at cadence?)

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Rowl said:

(You can chip your e-bike??? Do they do a dyno run at dastek and give you a chart of your watt/nm at cadence?)

 

With the Giant e-bikes the system logs a LOT of data !!

 

First service the dealer plugged the bike into their diagnostic machine ... he checked the data, looked at me with a frown, checked the data again .... then asked why I have hardly used the "turbo mode".

 

They could see exactly what I did since I took ownership of the bike.

 

PS - With the Giant you have access to full power assist from the third light.  The fourth and fifth light just dials in how quickly it responds to the rider input.  Perfectly happy to work between the first three lights ...

 

PPS - Some chip makers would have us believe that the chip cant be detected .... Specialized most certainly have repudiated claims where riders chipped their bikes .... can be an expensive chip ...

[Zeffer]

Hi guys looking for some advice here.

I was with Switch (Santam) on-demand insurance. So could insure my bikes as i was using it or only when travelling. They seem to have closed down or sucked up into Santam.

My current short term insurance (underwritten by King Price) will cover my bikes as specified items but not for accidental damage - only for loss.

Who would you recommend please?

[thebob]

100% recommend Cyclesure. In my experience they offer the best comprehensive cover for cyclists. For example, I had just taken delivery of a Trance 29 last year August. Insurance was in place, but I had not paid an installment. Had an accident on the first ride that resulted in a dislocated collarbone for me and scratched carbon bars and XT brake levers on the bike. Sent a query through to Cyclesure about whether I was covered. Within a week I had a new set of brake levers and a new bar. All I had to do was pay over my first premium.