Ride Here to Learn About Bike Insurance
Are you a cyclist and have always wondered whether you need insurance? The truth is, you will need bike insurance to cover you in different areas such as theft and accidents. However, it is not a legal requirement for you to obtain one to ride a bike on the road.
If you race or travel a lot, you will need bike insurance to cover you for any eventuality. It is also important to consider covering your bike against theft and damage because these things are bound to happen at any time. You do not want to keep buying new bikes every time that something happens to your bike.
This guide will help you learn more about bike insurance and why it is important to have one. You will also get to know how to choose the best insurance on internet insurance, and the next time you choose one, it will be easy for you to make an informed choice.
What Insurance to Choose
A large number of people use home insurance for their bikes because it has various benefits. The main benefit is that you will not forget to pay the premiums because it is part of your home insurance. If you get insurance for your bike under home insurance, you will have everything covered in one package. Therefore, you do not have to worry about various insurance packages that you forgot to renew.
Home insurance is also good value for your money. However, this occurs in the case where you want to have insurance for a cheap bike. If you are looking for a hustle-free policy that will cover your basics, then home insurance is your ideal option.
Before you choose to buy home insurance cover, you need to consider its advantages and disadvantages over specialist cover. If you are a dedicated cyclist, your chances of facing uncertain events are high. Therefore, you need to consider the kind of insurance you get for your bike to ensure that it can cover your damage in the event of an accident or theft.
Here are some bike insurance options you can consider:
1. Cycling Event Insurance
If you love racing, the chances are high that you will occasionally engage in races that will require the help of your insurance cover. Therefore, it is important to consider the available insurance options to ensure you choose one to fully cover your concerns.
If you choose third-party insurance, you should know that it will cover your entry fee to any racing event. This insurance will protect you and the organizer against property damage or an injured spectator.
Third-party insurance is unlikely to cover the damage to your bike, injury to your fellow competitors, and personal injury. These are the most common events that can occur during a race, and therefore, it is important to look for an insurance package that includes them on the cover. Most of the specialist cover will offer you a package that covers all these events. On the other hand, home insurance is unlikely to cover similar events.
Other insurance covers will also pay for any injury that occurs before an event, and this will prevent you from incurring entry fee losses. Most insurance packages will cover any theft that might occur during the transition, accidental bike damage, and damage to your kit during the race.
2. Bicycle Theft Insurance
A large number of bike owners are concerned about the uncertainty of theft. Given the size of a bike, it has become an easy target for thieves. This means that your bike can be easily stolen. Therefore, you need to buy the most suitable insurance cover to ensure that you are covered in the event of a theft.
Once your bike has been stolen, most of the insurance companies will replace it with a new one. You do not want to get insurance coverage that will only cover half of the cost of buying a new bike. The market is full of different insurance covers with amazing rates. Therefore, you just need to search for the right insurance that will offer you your desired cover. Most of the leading insurance companies will pay you an amount totaling 95% of the claims.
Home Insurance to Insure Your Bike
If you plan to insure your bike using your home insurance, you need to ensure that it is among the items covered in that insurance. A lot of people tend to ignore this only to end up knowing that their bike is not covered when it has already been stolen. Most of the home insurance policies will cover your bike under the "personal belongings" section. However, this amount might sometimes be too small to fully cater for the purchase of a new bike.
Given that the cost of insurance varies from one policy to another, you need to choose one that you can afford. You also need to consider what could happen in the event where uncertainty has occurred. For instance, if your bike is stolen, will the insurance buy you a new one, or will it give you some of the amounts to cover the purchase of a new bike?
Other insurance providers will enable you to increase the maximum value of belongings. This means they will pay you a larger amount when uncertainty has occurred. It is advisable to communicate with your insurance to determine the maximum value of your belongings that you can set. However, the higher the value, the more premiums you will have to pay. It is best to shop for a policy that will work out cheaper for you.
As you shop for bike insurance, you need to understand all the details of the cover. Your bike can be stolen from any location, and this could complicate issues if the insurance did not cover theft that occurs in such a location. You can also consider renters insurance if you do not own a house.
The Premium Amount for Bike to be Covered When Out of the House
Some insurance companies will only cover your bike while it is in use. This means if your bike is stolen while in a stationary state, the insurance will not cover that. In other cases, the insurance company can also require you to pay a premium amount for your bike to be covered when out of the house. You also need to consider the number of bikes that you own. If you own more than one bike, you are likely to get amazing discounts. Also, if you live in a shared compound, you need to communicate the details with your insurance company to avoid any inconveniences.
3. Accidental Damage Insurance
Regardless of theft being the leading cause why people need bike insurance, accidental damage also tops the list. Reports indicate that accidental damage is among the highest number of claims made by cyclists.
Different covers will offer you different benefits regarding accidental damage. Some policies will cover everything that is required to ensure the bike is fully functional. For instance, if the damage is beyond repair, the cover will cater to the purchase of a new bike. If the bike only needs several accessories to be repaired, the cover will facilitate this process.
If you are looking for comprehensive cover for your kit, specialist's insurance is your ideal option. Home insurance cover might seem more affordable, but it might not cover everything in your kit. This means in the event of an accident, you might use your money to cater for the damage, yet you have been paying insurance premiums.
The cover for accidental damage is not as complicated as that of theft. Therefore, you will not face challenges in choosing the ideal insurance. Most of the policies in this category offer similar benefits at affordable rates.
4. Personal Accident Insurance
Personal insurance cover will give you financial support in the event you get in an accident while using your bike. They will also cover the medical costs such as dentistry work and physiotherapy. If you are a regular cyclist, then you need to get personal insurance because you are more prone to accidents than an occasional cyclist.
Some of the insurance policies will pay you a lump sum amount, especially if you are unable to work due to the injuries caused by an accident.
Most insurance companies will require you to clarify any pre-existing diseases you may have. Failure to do so might result in the cover being revoked when you most need it. This happens because some health conditions could worsen when you get involved in a bike accident. In such a case, the insurance company would be required to pay for the treatment of the pre-existing condition, yet this was not part of the cover. Therefore, it is best to inform the company about any conditions to avoid any inconveniences.
Regardless of the insurance you choose, the claim of the accident would only be valid if you were wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. The companies take this as a precaution to prevent you from sustaining severe injuries that can be life-endangering or expensive to treat. Choosing personal insurance cover requires you to compare the available options because you need to pay for cover that will effectively cover your bills in the event of an accident.
5. Cycling Travel Insurance
Choosing travel bike insurance requires you to research the various options to ensure you do not pay for cover that will not offer you the desired benefits. If you want to travel abroad using a bike, you need to be sure that your specialist provider or non-specialist travel insurance provides enough cover. Non-specialist covers will cover your trip abroad but are not likely to cover the same trip if its purpose is purely traveling. This type of policy is also unlikely to cover racing events and mountain biking. If you plan to go abroad on holiday with your bike, the non-specialist policy will cover you.
Most of the insurance policies will also not cover a bike for hire. Therefore, before you travel, ensure the bike you will use belongs to you because it can get damaged in transit. If you had hired the bike, it means you will have to pay for the damages using your money. However, specialist insurance is likely to cover a bike for hire and is the only sure way of ensuring that your racing event is covered.
You also need to communicate with your insurance company to ensure the policy covers the country where you plan to visit. Some of the insurance that offers such cover will have a limited offer for trips abroad. The benefits you get from the disguise while at home are different from what you get while in another country.
It is important to pay close attention to the damage and theft during transit clauses of the different policies to ensure you get one that will offer you maximum benefits at an affordable rate. For instance, you can opt to get a membership for cycling because it will cover some of the trips you will take abroad. Most of the specialist insurance companies will only offer you short-term deals for trips abroad.
The Duration of the Insurance Coverage
The duration of the insurance coverage might also vary depending on your needs. Some covers will allow you to buy insurance cover for a week's time instead of buying cover for the entire year. If you are unsure of the events you plan to attend during the year, it is advisable to buy short-term insurance cover. When choosing the insurance cover, ensure that it covers the type of events you wish to attend, because most insurance covers might not cover some events such as trials.
6. Third-party Cycle Insurance
Third-party is a different type of insurance cover that you should consider getting. If you get in an accident such as a collision that will result in the injury of other people, third-party insurance will have you covered. The policy will cover the damage caused by the other parties. It will also cover the legal fee in case litigation is involved.
A large number of people do not consider the possibility of a major accident involving a bike. The truth is that serious accidents do happen that might be caused by the cyclist's distraction and result in the death or injury of many people. When such happens, you need to be prepared for the possibility of litigation fees. The best thing to do is consider getting liability insurance because it will have you covered in such events. Paying for the litigation fees using your money can be very costly.
When you break the law, the insurance companies are very unlikely to accept insurance claims. Therefore, it is advisable to always be on the good side of the law. If an accident happens in such a case, the insurance will be quick to process your claim.
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7. Specialist Cycle Insurance
A specialist's insurance might sound like an expensive deal, but it is your best option. Such insurance policies will cover almost anything involved with your bike, and therefore, you will not have to pay for extra expenses using your money. All you have to do is consider various options to choose an insurance policy that will offer you maximum benefits at an affordable rate. If you cannot afford the specialist's insurance, you can still opt for home insurance. However, you will have to be extra careful to avoid situations that trigger accidents or theft. This means you will rarely be in a situation that requires you to send claims to your insurance company.
The various specialist bicycle insurance aims to cover serious cyclists who are willing to fully protect their families from uncertain events. People wish to buy insurance that can cover every imaginable event. While this is nearly impossible, there are common areas where specialist bicycle insurance covers. Among them are multi-bike and family households, cycle clothing, kit damage, accidents, public liability, bike accessories, fees lost during a race, and roadside assistance.
Now that you know what type of insurance will cover different uncertainties, it is up to you to choose one that suits you the best. You also need to consider that the specialist's insurance is more costly than third-party home insurance. If you are dedicated to racing, you need to consider insurance that will cover all the possible eventualities. This will prevent you from spending your money on catering for the damage that could have been catered for by insurance.
Conclusion
The next time you decide to buy that expensive bike for you or your family members, you need to think about bicycle insurance cover. The law does not require an individual to have insurance cover for their bike, but it is an ideal option to avoid paying for damages using money from your pocket. You never know the seriousness of damage that can be incurred due to a bike.
If you want to be on the safe side, it is advisable to find comprehensive insurance that will cover everyone that owns a bike in your home. If you have insurance and don't break the law, you can enjoy cycling without having to worry about uncertainties such as theft and accidental damage.