...Insurance?

[gecallo]

So I read a post on Mtbr.com about how some guy had his 5spot stolen...apparently this guy had his rig insured, and of course used the money to buy a new bike...
I was just wondering how many of you high-end bike owners out there have your rigs insured?

 

[jruiz]

I sleep with my bike handcuffed to my arm. All kidding aside, I'm just real careful with my bike. I don't leave it unattended if I'm going to the bathroom. It's probably a good idea to lock your bikes even when it's in your garage or shed. One thing I'm really careful about is leaving my garage open for a long period of time. It probably helps that my garage doesn't face the street so potential theives don't know what I have.

 

[Innes]

When my wife and I bought our house, we added her rings and my bikes to the homeowner's insurance. I'm not sure if it will all be covered, but at least it gives me a piece of mind.

 

[ECOdork]

Did the same thing with renter's insurance...

When my wife and I bought our house, we added her rings and my bikes to the homeowner's insurance. I'm not sure if it will all be covered, but at least it gives me a piece of mind.

 

[PacMan]

I asked my homeowners insurance agent about the bikes specifically and he said they were all insured as personal property. It doesn't matter where they are if they get stolen, they are covered. I don't need a special "rider" on the policy (like you do with jewelry, cash, electronics and firearms) and he even said that theft would cause the deductible to be waved completely.

Be that as it may, I have detailed pics of all my bikes and receipts (as well as other household items) on my computer as well as extra copies at my parents' house.

I also lock them up in my garage and never leave them unattended. I had a bike stolen in high school and I was sh!t outta luck about replacing it, so I swore that would never happen again.

I have major dough tied up in my bikes--as I know you all do as well, so why not take as many precautions as possible?

 

[SLyons]

Well as I mentioned in the MTBR thread, I work for an insurance company.

Your homeowners policy should cover a bicycle without any problems. The issue on the MTBR thread was that the guys homeowners policy was being cancelled, and he correlated it to a recent claim for a stolen bike. Truth be told, it could have played a factor into why the company would want to no longer insure the homeowner policy. I don't see it happening myself, but the industry is getting a bit extra cautious as of late.

If you want to get insurance specifically for your bicycles, you'll want an Inland Marine floater. What that is is a policy for items that "float" around from one place to the next, and will be covered even if they are stolen from a premises not scheduled in the insurance. So if you have your bike at a friends house, it gets stolen, you're still covered. I don't believe the homeowners policy wouldn't react the same way, because in this scenario, it wasn't taken from your house/premises.

Now even if your bike is covered by homeowners, you need to check for how much. I'd be willing to bet there is a maximum limit per bicycle. So even if your $2,000 bike gets stolen, you may only be able to be compensated for $500. This is yet another reason to get an Inland Marine floater, you could schedule higher coverage limits for each bicycle.

The premium for the Inland Marine floater would be fairly small. A quick web search is telling me about $9 dollars in premium for every $100 dollars your bike is worth. This charge would surely vary by company, but lets just assume its correct. If you have a $500 dollar limit on your bike, you'd be charged $9 x ($500/$100) = $9 x $5 = $45 dollars per year.

$45 per year isn't too bad in my mind if you really value your bike and want to make sure you have adequate limits in place.

 

[PacMan]

Now even if your bike is covered by homeowners, you need to check for how much. I'd be willing to bet there is a maximum limit per bicycle. So even if your $2,000 bike gets stolen, you may only be able to be compensated for $500. This is yet another reason to get an Inland Marine floater, you could schedule higher coverage limits for each bicycle.

I asked my agent if there was a limit, as it would cost me about $4000 to replace my main ride for example. He said that for my policy, a bicycle is misc. personal property and there is no limit to the amount of re-imbursement, as long as I can prove it was worth that much, with photos, receipts, etc.

 

[gecallo]

this place kicks @$$...thanks for all the info fellas...

 

[Pain Freak]

I put a rider on my homeowners to insure my bikes. I pay an extra 22 dollars a month and they are insured for total replacement costs. I don't know if it's a floater or not.