Bicycle Insurance

If you've just spent some money on a new bike, you want to make sure it's protected from theft and damage. It's also important to protect yourself while you cycle.

You might think bike insurance is the solution, and it can be, but there's a chance you're already covered with more common forms of insurance. So before buying bicycle insurance, it's worth finding out what else can protect your bike. Let us break it down for you.

Who offers bicycle insurance?

There are a variety of insurance providers who offer standalone policies. Some providers offering these options are:

You may find that you already have cover for many of the benefits included in bicycle cover. For example, Medicare, private health insurance, and home and contents insurance can protect you for various scenarios, from personal injury to theft at home.

Bicycle insurance comparison

	Velosure	Bikesure	Wiggle	Real Insurance	RAC
Cooling off period	14 days	14 days	14 days	14 days	14 days
Theft away from home	$1,500 to $30,000	Yes	$30,000	Up to $30,000	Yes
Theft from home	$1,500 to $30,000	Yes	$30,000	Up to $30,000	Yes
Transit cover	$1,500 to $30,000	Yes	$30,000	Yes	No cover
Damage Cover	$1,500 to $30,000	Yes	$30,000	Yes	Yes
Malicious damage	$1,500 to $30,000	Yes	$30,000	Yes	Yes
Racing cover	Optional	Yes	Yes	Yes	No cover
Road hazard cover	$1,500 to $30,000	No cover	Yes	Yes	No cover
Worldwide cover extension	Optional worldwide cover	Yes	Yes	Yes	No cover
Custom parts cover	Optional	Yes	Optional	Yes	No cover
Personal accident cover	$1,500 to $30,000	No cover	$10,000	$1,000	No cover
Bicycle rack cover	$1,500 to $30,000	Yes	Yes	Yes	No cover
Third party property damage cover	No cover	No cover	$10,000,000	No cover	Yes
Third party bodily injury	No cover	No cover	$10,000,000	No cover	Yes
Road hazard wheel damage	$1,500 to $30,000	No cover	Yes	Yes	No cover
Open rider cover	No cover	No cover	No cover	No cover	Yes
Legal liability	No cover	No cover	$10,000,000	No cover	Yes

What does bicycle insurance cover?

When choosing a bicycle policy, you've generally got three cover types to choose from:

• Basic cover. Broadly speaking, you can expect almost all bicycle insurance policies to cover damage to your bike if it's damaged or stolen, as well as personal injuries from an accident.
• Comprehensive cover. On top of this basic cover, comprehensive policies can cover everything from loss of income resulting from an accident to damage from use in racing or travelling, as well as custom parts and accessories.
• Third party liability and property damage cover.Offered by most providers, this would provide coverage should you sideswipe an Aston Martin or run over someone's toe and send them to hospital. Your legal costs would be covered, as well as repair costs, up to a set amount. These are often offered as standalone insurance, which avoids doubling up on cover if you already have home, contents and health insurance sorted.

How do the policy types compare?

While each provider will differ in the detail, in general bike policies can be divided into three categories.

Check the table below to see what you can expect from each policy.

What's the best way to insure your bike?

It all depends on what you're looking to get covered for. If you're concerned about accidents to yourself, you may decide that Medicare or private health insurance will be enough. If you're worried about someone stealing it on your property, most home and contents insurance policies will cover you.

In most cases, your contents insurance policy will cover your bicycle. Like bicycle insurance, you probably won't be covered if you don't lock your bicycle up properly (and with a device designed specifically for bicycles) but it will cover you for things like fire, theft and damage while at home.

The caveat? You generally won't be covered for anything while you're riding your bike away from home. However, if you have Medicare or private health insurance, you should be covered for personal injuries.

To fill in the gaps, you might want to think about third party liability and property damage cover for your bicycle. This ensures that if you get in an accident while on the road, and it's your fault, your insurance will cover you.

Bicycle cover with your home insurance

If home and contents insurance seems like the right way to go, we've listed some of the insurers that provide cover for bicycles for you to choose from.

What isn't covered?

Each insurance provider will have their own list of exclusions, as will each policy they offer. However, some general exclusions from most bicycle policies are:

How else can I protect my bike?

Even with bicycle insurance, you must ensure you have taken all reasonable steps to prevent its theft or damage. This means making sure you have an approved bike lock, which usually means a D-lock, however each provider will confirm this in their policy.

Here are a few other tips for protecting your bike:

• Ensure you lock your bike to a fixed and immovable object, such an authorised bike rack or telegraph pole.
• Make sure your lock is done up as tightly as possible – the more room you leave, the more leverage someone has to break it open.
• When locking your bike up, the public eye is your friend: thieves are less likely to operate with a crowd watching.
• Storing it in different locations will also help shake off the more patient and observant thieves.
• Bike engravings and personalisation (such as decals and stickers) are all good deterrents as the easier your bike is to identify, the less likely a thief can make a clean getaway. The PCYC and some police stations offer free engraving services.
• Secure or remove detachable items such as quick-release wheels and lights.
• Register your bike on the National Bike Register or buy a DataDot kit.
• Photographing your bike is also an easy step you can take for extra protection.

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