E bike insurance and locks

Jim Schush

Jim Schush

Joined
Nov 6, 2017
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After months of thinking about buying E-bikes we have taken the plunge and we have bought a Liv Amite e for Mrs S and I have bought a Cube Hybrid Tourer 500 pro. We have ordered a Rad Fazz kit for the garage so we will be able to transport them safely and without having them on full display.
My questions are do you insure your e bikes and if you do what sort of costs are you paying. Had a quick look at this yesterday and the first quote for 1 bike only came back at £250. We will be using quality Abus granite x plus 540 locks but if someone wants the bikes they will get them.
 
We have managed to insure our bikes through the house insurance. Not all of the are prepared to cover ebikes but we recently changed our insurer to one who will sing and dance. Bike insurers often want specific gold-secure locks to be used which can be very intrusive when out and about.
I agree with your comment, “if someone wants the bikes....”. We set out to make it very awkward using multiple locks of different types. Handlebars are turned and saddles & batteries are stored inside. It’s a bit of a fiddle to set them up for use but I’m used to the routine and I reckon that thieves thrive on convenience.
 
Mine is insured with ETA, which includes breakdown and recovery. The lock they will demand is down to the value of the bike. It also included third party, so if you cause a serious accident then you are covered.

www.eta.co.uk

Ethical Bicycle Insurance for Cyclists | ETA

Get ethical insurance for cyclists and bicycles, covering theft, accidental damage. Fully comprehensive cycle insurance from ETA - Total Protection.
www.eta.co.uk www.eta.co.uk
 
Specialist cycle insurance is expensive. Problem being that there are just too many thefts.

I'm also concerned that the rules they impose are quite restrictive. Quality of locks, ideally two, securing all parts of the bike particularly quick release wheels, storage at home in garage with a 5 level lock on doors, if out and about time limits on how long unattended and all accessories removed, secure to immovable object, on vehicles overnight vehicle needs Thatcham standard alarm and use of the cycle locks, and then they probably have extra stuff for the bike battery. If you need to claim insurers are probably going to have a lot of wriggle room.

It's worth looking to see if the household contents insurance could offer adequate cover.
 
Hi Jim
I have an electric Brompton. It's insured on our house insurance and is covered when away in the van. I think it cost about £20 extra. Because of the value it had to itemised separately on the policy.
It has to be locked in the van garage overnight when we are away from home (Common sense).
Agree about locks etc, you can only do so much to deter thieves. Enjoy your bikes.

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Seems e-bike insurance is expensive?

I've just insured a moped for me (full licence) and Missus (just Provisional) for £75. Why is an e-bike so much more?

Faster I guess ::bigsmile:
 
Always done ours through the house insurance, had to change insurers a couple of times to maintain cover. Now the bikes are a few years old our current house insurance covers up to £1000 for each bike without having to pay any extra.
 
This is how I lock mine, but with much better cables, the ones in the video are naff. Also I have taken off the quick release and replaced them with fixed skewers and a saddle clamp. It also has an alarm, which makes a hell of a din if you touch it and a tracker. Also take off the battery and controller and put it into a ruck sack. Locked it up in many city centres, but never say never though.

Again, for me, it’s not just theft. The third party is super important. :gum:

 
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We have 2 GoCycle e bikes but they were above the maximum value for our John Lewis home insurance. We looked at cycle insurance but it was very expensive and impossible to meet their security requirements which required a through frame Gold Standard lock. GoCycles have a carbon fibre/magnesium alloy frame with no cross members. They do have their own built in lock but it was not acceptable to the cycle insurers.

We discussed the problem with John Lewis Insurance and they gave us the number for John Lewis Specialist Insurance. They said no problem we can cover them on our specialist contents policy. It is expensive compared to a standard contents policy but the cost was still a lot less than 2 cycle policies plus a standard home policy. Problem solved. No onerous security requirements and includes theft from vehicles provided they are stored out of sight, easy with a motorhome garage. There is also very good cover for other expensive items you might be carrying.

My advice, if you are having difficulty check out John Lewis Specialist Home Insurance.

High-Value Home Insurance | John Lewis Money

Protect your high-value homes and valuables, such as art and jewellery, with bespoke Specialist Home Insurance from a name you can trust.
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brynric, pj650, Lenny HB which home insurers do you use?
Current insurer coming round for renewal, and they exclude electric bikes or did. A short list to try would be handy 😁

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We have our 2 Cube Kathmandu Pro bikes insured with Eversure for the full replacement value £2700 each with just a £100 pound excess £233.36 it also includes a million pounds 3rd party cover and legal cover, we have to lock with gold standard locks if left unattended so have gold standard 2 lite locks.

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We used to insure our bikes with our home insurance policy with AXA as it was by far the cheapest way to do it, however since we no longer have e-bikes or expensive Bromptons we were able to go for a different provider with low value bike cover.
 
Used specialist cycle insurance as specifically stated bikes covered when locked on purpose built bike rack, with gold standard locks. House insurance, if away from home, wanted them bolted to ‘ immovable object’. Might have been different if van had garage
 
Haven't got insurance on our 2 Raleigh bikes, but I've removed the QR wheel and Saddle fixings. I use a kryptonite fahgetabatit New York lock and an Oxford chain and lock when away from the van.

Thinking of adding a 10kv pulse charge capability to the rear rack via a relaxation oscillator and a spare spark plug coil. That should dissuade all but the best insulated thieves.
 
Yellow jersey for my bike, cost and lock.type dependant on value.
You do get breakdown assistance to home in the U.K. or local bike shop and world wide cover.
There are a few stipulations as to where you lock it but it is insured whilst on the back of the van.
The big sold secure gold lock I use weighs in at more than half the weight of the bike.
 
Ours are insured on the house insurance for very little extra. All they insisted on is that when outside, they are locked to a secure metal structure.

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solaris said:
Used specialist cycle insurance as specifically stated bikes covered when locked on purpose built bike rack, with gold standard locks. House insurance, if away from home, wanted them bolted to ‘ immovable object’. Might have been different if van had garage
Click to expand...
We have ours covered by John lewis Home Insurance as specified items. Cannot remember the extra but not too much and a lot cheaper than a specialist bike insurance. Couple of specifics though:
1.On our policy they do not specify the type/standard of lock as long as its a lock
2. when left each bike has to be 'individually' secured to an immovable object - ie you cannot piggy back one bike to another - not an issue as we use D locks and the used a longer cable to connect the furthest bike to the 'object'.
3. even when in a motorhome garage they should be locked to an immovable object even though the garage door etc is all alarmed up!
4. We used to carry the bikes on a rear mounted bike rack but they would not accept the bike carrier as an immovable object as it could be dismantled so when at a camp site we took the bikes off the rack and threaded the lock cable through the wheel of the motorhome.
 
Look up Litelok, saw it come up on my face feed. Looks good, there are different ones but some you can wear like a belt.
 
I have a lite lock. It’s incorrectly named it’s heavy. Wouldn’t like to wear it as a belt even if it would fit my waist. It’s not actually that long or flexible. It wouldn’t get round my bike frame and a telegraph pole so only of use where there is a proper cycle rack. But it is very sturdy and I would suspect challenging to cut with the lock itself being the greatest vulnerability.
 
We insured Mrs T Cube ebike worth 2,400 with Assetsure, £104 a year
 

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