Are Bikes Covered by Car Insurance?
Caeva O'Callaghan | April 11th, 2023
My Expensive Bike Was Damaged on My Bike Rack, Will My Car or Home Insurance Cover This?
If your bike gets damaged while you’re moving it from one place to the other, you can probably claim on your insurance to cover the damage. But will it be listed on your home contents policy, or your car insurance?
Your bike will be covered by your home insurance, not your car insurance. As long as you’ve made a note of it on your home insurance contents policy, your bike will have cover.
Your car insurance won’t cover the bike as it was not inside the vehicle, and it counts as your property, or the contents of your home.
In this article, we’ll answer questions like:
- Is my bike covered by my home insurance?
- How do I insure my road bike?
- How do I make a claim for damage to my bike?
Always make sure your bike is safely attached to your bike rack or roof bars, to avoid injury or damage to yourself or others.
Bikes and home insurance
Not all home insurance providers will automatically cover your bicycle as part of your contents policy. You should always check with your insurance provider before you buy cover to make sure they’ll cover everything you need.
A number of cyclists may be at risk if they assume their home insurance policy provides protection against accidental damage. In many cases, this may not be true. But, you can often add it as an optional extra.
Your car insurance won’t cover your bike as it doesn’t count as a vehicle, but rather a personal possession. As such, it’s covered in exactly the same way as other belongings you take outside the home: i.e. they won’t be covered by your home insurance unless you make sure they’re noted on your policy.
In order to get cover for your bike with most home insurance companies, you will need to add pedal cycle cover to your policy. For example, AIG offers pedal cycle cover as an add-on to their standard home insurance policy with a policy excess of €75.
Cover for top-of-the-range bikes
Bikes can be expensive to replace, especially if you own more than one or an expensive racing model. Top-of-the-range bikes can easily cost well over €1,000.
This means that while it’s possible to cover your bike under your contents insurance policy, you may run into some limitations. Most contents insurance policies will limit the amount of cover you can get for such expensive items, and you might not be able to reclaim the full cost if your bike is accidentally damaged.
In this case, it’s better to seek out specialist bike insurance. If you’re a member of Cycling Ireland, for example, they can provide bike insurance cover including personal accident and third party liability.
Specialist bike insurance is perfect if you have an expensive racing bike. But, if you have a standard bike that won’t cost thousands to replace, you’re better off getting cover under your normal home contents policy.
Bike rack safety
To make sure that your bike doesn’t fall off in the middle of the road, always install bike racks according to manufacturer specifications. Don’t skimp on a cheap model, especially if you have an expensive bike. Your insurance provider will want to know you took all necessary precautions to stop your bicycle being damaged while fixed to your car.
Don’t forget – whenever you make modifications to your car, including installing a bike rack, you’re essentially upgrading your car. However, some drivers may be unaware that these additions can be counted as modifications by some insurers and this could require a change in your policy. Before installing, contact your insurer to let them know what you’re doing.
Insurance firms would have offered you a monthly premium based on the conditions of the car at the time, but installing new additions may raise the value of your vehicle, even slightly, which means your initial assessment would be out of date.
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