Insurance for pedal cycles while away in campervan (1 Viewer)

[helen peters]

Hello and apologies if this has been asked before. We have just spotted that our bikes will not be covered under our home insurance cover whilst they are in Europe. They will be coming with us whilst we tour France and Spain this spring. We have a bike rack on the back of the van, but can also store them inside the van if necessary.
Has anyone any experience of insurance for taking bikes abroad and specifically if they are to be left attached to outside of van? Many thanks.

 

[carolyn]

We have ebikes and it was a real palaver. We ended up changing to Aviva. Even with them they are not insured under bikes but under “valuable objects” , their details specified, and they can be locked to a bike rack. The van is classed as an “immovable object” when parked. It was daft as lots of companies would cover non ebikes up to £10,000 in value but not not ebikes.

 

[clanjones]

One of the reasons we use M&S house insurance is they are covered under the house insurance world wide and it is very reasonable compared to standard bike insurance. You just insure the the most expensive bike and all the rest are covered.

TSB do a similar thing and you don't need to take out the house insurance. Don't know if they cover electric bikes though..

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[scotjimland]

It was daft as lots of companies would cover non ebikes up to £10,000 in value but not not ebikes.

it's not just about the value... e-bikes are a much higher risk of being stolen.. same as some models of cars such as RR .. , therefore a higher premium

we take pedal cycles and leave the e-bikes at home.. lock them up with good quality U locks ,but if they want them they will have them..

we don't have specific bike insurance..

If possible, I would keep them in the van overnight, that is the high risk time..

 

[chippie]

I have 2 elec bikes each worth 3k which have to travel on a carrier as i have no garage and have insured them through assetsure.
When talking to the motorhome insurance companies no one would include them in the van policy, they had to be insured separately, if had a rear end accident they would not be covered by the MH policy...for assetsure they have to be secured with gold secure chains to a secure object, when on the motorhome if I fit my steering disc lock that then meets the criteria for an immovable object when parked up as long as the bike carrier locks onto the towbar.
I have had a heavy duty cover specifically made by bags4everything which covers the bikes completely and have a van bitz growler alarm with accessory loop which is threaded through wheels/frames etc of the bikes then the connection threaded through the bike cover clips and left on show so if anyone wants to even remove the cover they have to remove the accessory loop which will trigger the alarm.
The only thing I cannot get insured is the bike carrier itself.
My insurance covers me for Europe and believe can be extended to world wide.

 

[carolyn]

it's not just about the value... e-bikes are a much higher risk of being stolen.. same as some models of cars such as RR .. , therefore a higher premium

we take pedal cycles and leave the e-bikes at home.. lock them up with good U locks ,but if they want them they will have them.. we don't have specific bike insurance..

If possible, I would keep them in the van overnight, that is the high risk time..

We have a PVC so keeping them inside is not an option! When we’re away in the van is when we actually cycle 15-20, can’t remember the last time I could do that on a push bike on hills to be honest with any sense of enjoyment. Never been a keen cyclist. Much prefer a 10 mile hike .

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[Barchetta47]

If possible, I would keep them in the van overnight, that is the high risk time..

I ran a thread last year about exactly this. In the end only one person had their e-bike stolen off the back of the MH whilst abroad. In reality the risk is quite low.

 

[scotjimland]

I ran a thread last year about exactly this. In the end only one person had their e-bike stolen off the back of the MH whilst abroad. In reality the risk is quite low.

we had two bikes cut off the rack in Capbreton aire during the night.. cut through two heavy duty bike locks.. never heard a thing.. a battery angle grinder will cut through almost anything .. low risk.. big loss

So, I am well aware of the risks and precautions to take..


but I wasn't the one asking for advice ... what is your advice to the OP .. ?

 

[Barchetta47]

My advice would be. Bikes on rack, Insure the bikes (we are with Admiral on our home insurance), good quality lock and good quality cover. Then breathe in deeply, relax and forget you even have bikes on a rack. Enjoy yourselves.

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[Coolcats]

Hello and apologies if this has been asked before. We have just spotted that our bikes will not be covered under our home insurance cover whilst they are in Europe. They will be coming with us whilst we tour France and Spain this spring. We have a bike rack on the back of the van, but can also store them inside the van if necessary.
Has anyone any experience of insurance for taking bikes abroad and specifically if they are to be left attached to outside of van? Many thanks.

Try LAKA and they just want your bike locked to an immovable object https://laka.co/gb

Also if you vanbitz there is the option of an external alarm cable to thread through the bikes

 

[helen peters]

I have 2 elec bikes each worth 3k which have to travel on a carrier as i have no garage and have insured them through assetsure.
When talking to the motorhome insurance companies no one would include them in the van policy, they had to be insured separately, if had a rear end accident they would not be covered by the MH policy...for assetsure they have to be secured with gold secure chains to a secure object, when on the motorhome if I fit my steering disc lock that then meets the criteria for an immovable object when parked up as long as the bike carrier locks onto the towbar.
I have had a heavy duty cover specifically made by bags4everything which covers the bikes completely and have a van bitz growler alarm with accessory loop which is threaded through wheels/frames etc of the bikes then the connection threaded through the bike cover clips and left on show so if anyone wants to even remove the cover they have to remove the accessory loop which will trigger the alarm.
The only thing I cannot get insured is the bike carrier itself.
My insurance covers me for Europe and believe can be extended to world wide.

Thank you for your advice. Our van has the Bitz Growler with the wire loop for the bikes, but I’m not sure that will be sufficient for most insurance companies. We are happy to add a second lockable device to secure them to the bike rack, and I assume the van is considered an immovable object if it’s locked and immobilised. I’ve looked at a couple of policies for the bikes but they’re coming out more expensive than our entire home insurance policy!

 

[helen peters]

Try LAKA and they just want your bike locked to an immovable object https://laka.co/gb

Also if you vanbitz there is the option of an external alarm cable to thread through the bikes

Thank you for the link. I’ve had a quick look and it’s quoting about £280 a year, although you pay monthly and can cancel any time, so may be an option if we can’t find anything better.

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[helen peters]

it's not just about the value... e-bikes are a much higher risk of being stolen.. same as some models of cars such as RR .. , therefore a higher premium

we take pedal cycles and leave the e-bikes at home.. lock them up with good quality U locks ,but if they want them they will have them..

we don't have specific bike insurance..

If possible, I would keep them in the van overnight, that is the high risk time..

Hello, and thank you for the advice. Mine is an e-bike but other one is a high value road bike. We will probably put them inside the van if we are going off for the day, and at night….we have the bed that goes up and down, so plenty of space. But still think we need to have insurance as to replace them would be very expensive. I’m realising that a specific bike insurance will probably be best.

 

[helen peters]

I ran a thread last year about exactly this. In the end only one person had their e-bike stolen off the back of the MH whilst abroad. In reality the risk is quite low.

Hello. We personally know a couple who had their bikes tampered with….probably an attempted theft but they were disturbed. Other friends who take their bikes on van all seem to be insured so I think for peace of mind we should get this. Would prefer they were covered under home insurance but ours excludes cover abroad.

 

[scotjimland]

Hello, and thank you for the advice. Mine is an e-bike but other one is a high value road bike. We will probably put them inside the van if we are going off for the day, and at night….we have the bed that goes up and down, so plenty of space. But still think we need to have insurance as to replace them would be very expensive. I’m realising that a specific bike insurance will probably be best.

understand..

I also have a high value Bianchi road bike.. but would never take it in the van.. it's just not worth the risk.. and with a PVC , no place inside for it., so I couldn't relax ... they are eye candy for the scotes

we just take our basic pedal cycles.. they are all we need for the holidays and still do plenty of cycling.. last trip we averaged about 30 miles per day ..

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[KUSKUS]

Saga charge us just over £20 on our house policy to cover two
e bikes valued at about £5k, locked to immovable object when out, no specific lock required.
We carry them in our locked garage when out and inside the house when at home.

 

[Coolcats]

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[chippie]

It's not all about theft, there is damage caused by for example by an RTA when on the carrier and been ridden to consider along with public liability, bike repairs if involved in an accident etc, when I looked into it none of the above were covered on house policy hence we have a stand alone policy which is also new for old, not cheap but neither are the bikes.

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[Nanniemate]

Thank you for your advice. Our van has the Bitz Growler with the wire loop for the bikes, but I’m not sure that will be sufficient for most insurance companies. We are happy to add a second lockable device to secure them to the bike rack, and I assume the van is considered an immovable object if it’s locked and immobilised. I’ve looked at a couple of policies for the bikes but they’re coming out more expensive than our entire home insurance policy!

My ebike is itemised on the house insurance it has an odd clause that you have to prove proof of purchase for the specified lock type. But have in in writing from the insurance that the van is an immovable object
I use lightweight covers. I gave up on getting a custom made ones as the rack is offset and getting the measurements correct without a visit proved challenging.
I got bored with sending photos and measurements back and forth and the changing costs.
Also the cheap covers are less likely to draw attention IMO
At first I worried now I just enjoy my trips and if it goes it goes.

On the topic of van insurance make sure all the contents are covered. A lot of people are very under insured.add up how much it will cost to replace EVERYTHING all that stuff that we accumulate soon adds up