Insuring a older rare DH bike

[stringmansteve]

HI guys.

 

I'm looking for some advice with regards to insuring a lower value in theory, but higher value by difficulty to replace bike.

I have a 2000s Raleigh RDH7.0 DH bike, 26' wheel. I want to insure it but have the problem of how to get it insured for a value that would actually be able to replace with a DH bike, or at least a decent replacement. Is this possible? Any advice?

 

Thanks

[Duane_Bosch]

This isn't what you are going to want to hear.

That bike is pretty much worthless. Those Raleigh's weren't particularly special or good or rare back in the day. My advice is have 15k spare on your credit card or build up a little savings so that if it does get stolen you can easily replace it.

If you're patient you can easily get a nice 2nd hand DH bike for 15k that's light years ahead of the Raleigh ITO performance.

I'm in a similar situation. I have a Turner DHR that's super rare and that I'm very emotionally attached to but in the cold light of day in Rand value it's worth nothing.

Edited July 23 by Duane_Bosch

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, Duane_Bosch said:

This isn't what you are going to want to hear.

That bike is pretty much worthless. Those Raleigh's weren't particularly special or good or rare back in the day. My advice is have 15k spare on your credit card or build up a little savings so that if it does get stolen you can easily replace it.

If you're patient you can easily get a nice 2nd hand DH bike for 15k that's light years ahead of the Raleigh ITO performance.

I'm in a similar situation. I have a Turner DHR that's super rare and that I'm very emotionally attached to but in the cold light of day in Rand value it's worth nothing.

agreed, but he could always just get a valuation from a bike shop. Their replacement cost will be way more than what it's worth on the open market so he will be able to effectively "over insure" (and pay for the privilige).

 

but yeah, i don't think you're far off on the value of the bike. this confirms!! https://www.facebook.com/Woodstockcycleworks/photos/a.1608066845937019/1737934689616900/?type=3

[wolver]

Speak to Cyclesure for a quote. You can insure the bike for an agreed value (if the bike is more than 3 years old) rather than replacement value, but be aware that the value is applicable in a case of total loss (eg theft), but the value will be broken down per component for partial loss (eg bike value R20k, limit will be R8k for frame, R2k Fork, R4k wheels, R6k rest of the components).

Edited July 23 by wolver

[stringmansteve]

The idea is to over insure so that in the case of total loss, a payout would be sufficient to buy a used replacement. Id like to insure it at the R20K mark, just dont know what companies work that way. And would a valuation be on actual value or on a value to actually be able to replace. I'm well aware the bike is actually worth very little, but if it gets stolen, its still a DH frame with a boxxer shock, and I like to be able to replace with a similar item. I'm happy to pay accordingly.

[renayg]

Most insurance companies replace on a new for old basis. Agreeing on suitable second hand replacements or values would be extremely difficult for them which is why they work this way.

This means that you can insure the bike for the price of a new downhill bike with similar current day specs. You would just need to have an evaluation done through your bike shop confirming the specifications, with a quote to replace with a new current bike when insuring it.

The downside to the above is that you will also pay a higher premium. You can also go the route of insuring it for what you bought it for(or a bit more if you choose) and have a lower premium, but your settlement in the case of theft would be limited to the sum insured of the bike.

Hope that helps!

[Dusty]

I am not a great believer in 'self insurance', but this may be one scenario where it would work.

Edited July 24 by Dusty

[Shebeen]

11 hours ago, stringmansteve said:

The idea is to over insure so that in the case of total loss, a payout would be sufficient to buy a used replacement. Id like to insure it at the R20K mark, just dont know what companies work that way. And would a valuation be on actual value or on a value to actually be able to replace. I'm well aware the bike is actually worth very little, but if it gets stolen, its still a DH frame with a boxxer shock, and I like to be able to replace with a similar item. I'm happy to pay accordingly.

um. R20k? the bike is worth ~R5k on the open market. I'm not sure what a 15yr old 26" boxxer is worth, one full service would probably double the value.

I'd see what the insurance says and decide if it is worth whatever the premium is vs the total loss minus excess. If you're into classic old style 26" downhill bikes, then there is an Intense and a Morewood both less than R10k here that are miles better than your raleigh. You can even get 2 specialised dh bikes for R10k(that was a joke)

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/c/downhill-mountain-bikes

 

 

[Mook]

Just a comment on bike insurance if I may.

The prices of 2nd hand mid2top tier bikes have gone through the proverbial roof. No need to look further than TheHub's classifieds. Naturally this has had a major negative impact on insurance costs.

Obviously my next question is rhetorical, BUT who can still afford bike insurance given the prescribed maintenance costs on a 100k MTB, race entry fees, affiliation fees, etc?

I'm still smoldering after stating in another thread that 26ers and rim brakes will never become extinct. This very topic is yet another motivation for my sentiments on "old" technology. Spare components will become harder to find, yet you can find everything in the global village aka www.

This is madness, and not unique to the cycling universe.

[Me rida my bicycle]

I have no idea of DH bikes but insurance company's are far from dumb even on valid claims they look for reasons not to pay or pay minimum. Trying to over insure something will most likely come back to bite you. 

[Jimmy 2.0]

Ide be carful of over insuring if I were you. The bicycle industry in SA has had a bad reputation of insurance fraud and there are companies now like Riders At Work that are appointed all the major insurance companies to handle and make sure that claims are legit and so on.

 

[Gnarly]

13 hours ago, stringmansteve said:

The idea is to over insure so that in the case of total loss, a payout would be sufficient to buy a used replacement. Id like to insure it at the R20K mark, just dont know what companies work that way. And would a valuation be on actual value or on a value to actually be able to replace. I'm well aware the bike is actually worth very little, but if it gets stolen, its still a DH frame with a boxxer shock, and I like to be able to replace with a similar item. I'm happy to pay accordingly.

Really just a genuine question, Is this even legal?  

[stringmansteve]

I'm going to make some enquiries in The next fee days and find out. Will go speak to the guys at freewheel as well.

[Duane_Bosch]

2 hours ago, Shebeen said:

um. R20k? the bike is worth ~R5k on the open market. I'm not sure what a 15yr old 26" boxxer is worth, one full service would probably double the value.

I'd see what the insurance says and decide if it is worth whatever the premium is vs the total loss minus excess. If you're into classic old style 26" downhill bikes, then there is an Intense and a Morewood both less than R10k here that are miles better than your raleigh. You can even get 2 specialised dh bikes for R10k(that was a joke)

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/c/downhill-mountain-bikes

 

 

As if to illustrate the point. That blue M9 used to belong to a very good mate of mine and then belonged to me. The blue was the color of the CRC team when they ran Intense bikes. It's one of 50 ever made and one of 2 brought into SA. It's probably the most rare and unique DH bike that one could own in SA.

 

Edited July 24 by Duane_Bosch

[Irvin85]

Good luck with this, from my experience with insurance. You will have a very tough time. 

I bought a second hand bike (10k) a couple of years ago, had it insured for replacement value R30k the day before I went for a ride. Went to groenkloof and did a ride with a friend. Got back home and stored the bike in the garage. The garage was not connected to the house and only my bikes were stored there. The next weekend I wanted to go for a ride again, got dressed and when I opened the garage the bike was gone. 

The accusations from the insurance companies investigating officer was that I insured the bike after it had been stolen etc etc. was one of the worse experiences I ever had, they even threatened to do a polygraph test to determine if I was lying.  They contacted my friend and grilled him as well regarding when we rode and what I was wearing and how did the bike look etc. etc. Luckily I had the ride recorded on my watch and also managed to find the slip when paying at Groenkloof. They also refused to pay the cash out directly to me and instead paid it to a bike shop that stocked the same kind of bike. 

Seeing as it is such a old bike I highly doubt that any insurance company will agree to such a high insurance value.  

[Skubarra]

29 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

I bought a second hand bike (10k) a couple of years ago, had it insured for replacement value R30k the day before I went for a ride.

Not a sleight against you personally but this doesn't make sense to me from an insurance perspective.

If you paid R10K for a secondhand bike then surely its replacement value is also R10K (ie the value of a similar second hand bike?). Otherwise its an instant R20K profit for you if your bike gets stolen the day after you bought it.

Unless the R10K was a "steal" and not what the bike was actually worth

(Not that I would pretend to understand all aspects of bike insurance)