Making an insurance claim for a stolen bike

[halfer]

Hi all

Sadly I had my electric bike stolen last night. I'll be getting a crime number and approaching my insurance company in the next couple of days. Although I've been an insurance customer for a year, my latest documents haven't come through the post yet, so am trusting that the (home contents plus external theft) policy is in effect!

I've a few questions about making a claim, since I've never claimed under house contents before. My bike was £750 over two years ago, and the current equivalent price (with upgraded hydraulic brakes) is £1084. With a replacement stem, rear tyre and mudguard, I'd estimate the new replacement cost would be £1150. However, my claim limit is £1000, with a £150 excess.

1. Can I state my claim as being £1150, and expect for the cheque to be capped at the claim limit minus the excess (£850)? Or would an insurance firm invalidate the claim entirely on the basis that it was under-insured, even if only marginally?

2. Also, I'm unaware if insurers usually make a deduction for depreciation - the market value of my old bike would be well below the £850 I'd like to claim for it. Or can one generally insist on 'new for old'?

3. Lastly, if I can claim the full amount, I would be inclined to inject some more money and purchase a bike at a much higher price point, perhaps £1500. Do insurance companies expect claim cheques to be spent on the closest available product, or is it commonplace to use this money for whatever replacement I decide?

Edit: it occurs to me that if I do buy a bike of greater value, I'll have to declare it to the insurance company anyway, since I'll need to increase the value of my cover.

 

[flecc]

If the policy isn't specifically new for old, you should claim for the correct market value of the bike, and not in excess of the insured amount to avoid a claim refusal.

I can't be specific about query number 3, in some product markets insurers locate what they feel is a suitable replacement at a cost acceptable to them and supply that, but I doubt that would happen with e-bikes.

 

[daveboy]

Hi Halfer
To be fair you need a copy of your policy (try to get one online).
Insurance is a contract and they have different get out clauses in them,you need to know what they
are before you ring them because any questions they ask you will be for benefit of the insurance company
and not for you. David

 

[morphix]

You can normally only claim the purchase value of the bike (at the time the policy was taken out) unless you have notified the insurance company of a change in value, but like flecc and daveboy said, it depends a lot on the terms of the individual policy you have.. some policies will allow up to a certain level on bikes/individual items, and will replace "new for old"...and so your bike might cost more to replace now, but it can be at the insurers discretion... if they find the same bike (or one like it) for the same/similar value to the original bike they might just only payout the original purchase cost.

They won't normally adjust the bike for market depreciation because you're insuring it at the value you paid for it which is presumably the minimum replacement cost today.

If you have added on extras to the bike and have receipts, they may cover those too, but it depends on the policy really..some household policies have a general bike cover, some have a high value bike cover where the bike is listed as a separate item and the value is specifically declared at the time you take out the policy.

Normally with high value bikes they have extra conditions about when and where they cover it against theft and may also stipulate a minimum standard of lock, chain etc.

In the cases of theft I also doubt they will stipulate where and on what you can spend the money. They're just covering your replacement cost in cash.

Normally insurers are not known being generous ;-) if they can save money and/or avoid paying money out, they will.

 

[eddieo]

yes look policy up online..will be lucky to get sum insured. may have to evidence some replacemnt bikes with equal spec, what bike was it?

they will probably try and offer you a replacemnet but just insist on the money. I have in the past (a camcorder) paid extra for upgraded version, through the insurers prefered company...


you may find your insurers wont cover bikes over a certain value so you may have to change insurer anyway ifyou buy a more expensive bike...

would you mind sharing what actually happened? what lock did you use ,where was it left etc..security is a real issue these days.

 

[morphix]

I'm with Legal & General and have a basic household contents (£5.88 a month) which does cover 1 bicycle away from home, up to £500 value. The policy says they will cover bikes worth more than that as valuable items at no extra cost, but only if it's of a specific make/model and the frame number etc is provided. That raises a question.. say my bike is £800 and it gets nicked.. presumably I could make a claim and get £500 less my excess? Or would they say, no payout the bike exceeds the value we agreed to cover (i.e. its a higher risk item for being stolen). My policy says on payouts they take the original purchase value and adjust in line with inflation.

Looking at my policy it specifically states they will only cover the actual value of the bike at the time of the policy (providing you have proof of purchase that pre-dates the policy) so they won't cover any extras you added on after the policy, unless you agree it with them.

 

[halfer]

Hi all

Thanks very much for your replies. This week I've discovered two things: I've a terrible memory, and The Co-operative is a marvellous home insurance company.

I sent them proofs of ownership this week, being careful not to supply receipts for things that would take it over the limit. However in the general stress of having the bike stolen, I'd forgotten I'd mentioned a few other items in my initial claim (for which I couldn't find receipts) which took the total clean over my limit. Thankfully their representative said they'd cut it off at the limit, subtract the excess, so I now have a transfer coming my way for the maximum possible value. Going over didn't invalidate it at all.

Better yet: I wasn't aware I had New For Old cover, but they gave me that, and the excess was lower than I thought. So whilst I'll still make a loss in terms of getting the same bike, it's much better than I hoped.

Big thumbs up to my insurer for settling within five days, too.