bicycle insurance?

Hi,

I have lived in UK and NZ and in both places it is easy to get 'accidental damage' insurance either for all household contents or for a bike alone-- I am now living in USA and cannot find anyone that does this here? Does anyone know of a company that will insure my bicycle against me accidentally damaging it or know of a household contents policy that will allow an accidental damage extension so i can insure my bike against damage as well as theft??

Please, somebody, know the answer to this!!
Thanks--
batsheva

I don't know if you are renting or own a home, but when I got renter's insurance for my townhome, I was able to include my bikes on the policy (I have State Farm).

my renters policy will cover for theft anywhere in the world but doesnt cover for accidental damage- it is the accidental damage to my bike insurance cover i want-- did you state farm policy cover that??

I'll get back to you on that - have to go look over my policy.

I know for sure it covers theft <-my biggest concern.

After doing a quick Google, I found this:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/bike_insure.html

I have home owner's insurance through Allstate and it covers theft but not accidents. :( I am probably more concerned about a wreck but they do not have a policy for that.

What about Lloyd's of London- won't they insure anything? :P

ETA- Some companies offer a rider that will cover anything. I have a rider on my homeowners policy that covers my engagement ring and wedding bands and includes "Mysterious Disappearance".

I purchased a separate policy for my new Orca. If the bike is stolen - my homeowners policy will cover it - but if I or someone else wrecks it - then it will be covered under this policy. It will also cover it if it is wrecked while on the back of my vehicle. I will only carry the policy for one year - while the bike is new - then I will not carry this additional coverage - but with a $5000.00 bike I thought a few hundered dollars was a wise investment to protect it. Hope this helps.

Debi

Debi-

Could you tell us more about your policy? I've asked my insurance agent about such policies to no avail (in particular for the Fridays).

CA

what policy do you have and with who, gowest?

It is from North Carolina Farm Bureau (who insures my home, cars and I also have an umbrellla policy) It is a separate policy, and it is an "Inland Marine-Commercial" policy. It isures my bike for $5500.00 with a 50.00 deductible. It was $430.65 and was sold to me as an individual - not through my corporation. My insurance agent is also my pateint, and has always worked hard to make sure I am taken care of. Carrie Anne - if you want his name - PM me and I will provide it to you - he might be able to do a policy for you - or refer you to a colleague in Durham.

Debi

Well, I'm glad I did a search before starting a new thread with this same question...

With the insight noted here, I still have a question: Does anyone know how often a bike is totalled in a wreck?

I look at the serious wreck Silver had last year, and while her bike was dented and scratched, it wasn't totalled.

If it were her Carbon frame, how would the damage have been repaired? Would it have been costly?

While I understand why this would be valuable to some, insurance costing nearly 10% of the item being insured seems awfully expensive to me. Our home insurance by comparison is about 1/10% of the value of the home and our car insurance is about 2% of the value of the cars (excluding the "liability" component, which we wouldn't carry on a bike...)

Mr. Silver, I suspect if a carbon fiber bike was scratched, and the fibers were exposed, you would have to replace the bike. Perhaps your insurance company can put a writer for your bike? We're checking with ours.

i still cant find anyone willing to insire my bike against damage like in an auto collision policy-- even tried the inland marine companies who wouldn;t do it either-- so if you find any joy with any company, please post it here so I can do also--

cheers-
batsheva

Sundial-

Our insurance company (Allstate) said they cannot add a rider for a bike - that you have to purchase the inland marine policy Debi referenced (from another company - they don't offer it).

Please let us know if your company gives you a different answer...

CA

A british company that I've not researched...does insure accidental loss and replaces "new for old" up to 3 years:

http://www.eandl.co.uk/cycleinsurance/

Premiums are pretty steep in comparison to the value insured...