I'm seriously considering adding my bikes to my homeowner's policy. I was wondering if anyone else had done this and how much it cost to cover the bike(s) at replacement cost (not actual cash value).
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I'm seriously considering adding my bikes to my homeowner's policy. I was wondering if anyone else had done this and how much it cost to cover the bike(s) at replacement cost (not actual cash value).
My renters insurance is sort of a blanket coverage. Covers not so much items, but a cash value of items. If my apartment burns down I'd get $X and could spend it how I felt I needed to.
I should probably up that though since I have quite a few nicer things than I did 8 years ago.
Mine should be covered by my renter's insurance, up to a certain value. I'm going to have to check whether it's cash value or replacement cost.
Mine are covered under renter's insurance also. I did look up my policy after buying a new bike recently to verify there are no exceptions for value on bikes... They have exceptions for guns (limit $1000), golf carts (not covered), and such things. Luckily no mention of bikes. :) I have replacement cost coverage.
Shop around. It helps if you're a member of a professional association that offers some sort of a special package through an insurance company.
We found a company that insures all of our bikes with no limit. Only the regular deductible would apply. This was a group offer for my husband's medical association. With our initial insurance company it would have cost hundred of dollars per "nice bike." Our commuter bikes would not be covered due to the deductible, but for the fast bikes it's peace of mind.
Every time I get a new bike I stop by and ask my insurance agent about coverage and he casually blows me off. I'm not sure he's aware of how much a bike can cost. When I get my velomobile, I'm going to stop by again with receipts and make sure my bikes are called out specifically. I also need him to clarify, once again, that an accident on the road is covered, not just an event in my house.
I would assume that your bike(s) is already covered by your homeowner's policy and that, short of you having a pretty serious bike collection, you likely don't have to have a specific rider for them. Call your agent to make sure, however.
Double check with your insurance.. some have exclusions on dollar amounts without a specific rider. My insulin pump (worth about $6000) isn't covered automatically because it's "worth too much", but the cost to add a rider for it is fairly small - I want to say it amounts to like $20-30 more a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by indysteel
You also need to check what your homeowner's policy actually covers. Ours covers if the bike is destroyed (fire, etc.) or stolen from the home, but it does not cover it if I simply crash on my own while riding. They do offer a rider but with our company it is an exorbitant amount.
That would be awesome, but my experience (in Canada, so who knows) is that bikes are NEVER covered, being such high-theft items.Quote:
Originally Posted by indysteel
With insurance companies, in any case, I assume nothing. :D
Yes, I should clarify that I was assuming coverage for only fire, damge or theft from /in one's house, as the OP referred to homeowner's insurance. It wouldn't cover a crash presumably.
I've had two different insurers, and no rider was needed on either, but absolutely check with your agent. We have 8 bikes total, including one that was particularly $$. Also check to see if your policy covers replacement cost.
We have ALL of our personal property covered at replacement cost as opposed to actual cash value. In CA, no specific rider is needed for anything on the standard ISO insurance form (other than jewelery worth over $25k but we don't have any of that). We did this in order to ensure if there was a fire (we are in a high danger area), we could actually BUY new business clothes as opposed to getting ACV which would be very low.
When my 6 year old Eddy Merckx bike was stolen from my car this spring, they paid replacement cost for my new Pegoretti with Record 11 without batting an eye.
We do pay more for this on our premium, but I don't think it's more than a few percent of the price of the whole policy. (And no, I don't know if our premium will go up because of the theft, but I do know we were going to be eligible for some sort of no claim discount right then and now we are not. Oh well. That's why you have insurance.)