General Cycling Discussion - Oh! What to do....

I dropped my bike the other day and ended up with a nasty dent in the crossbar. It's a Scandium frame so obviously It's trashed. I've been told that my Household Accidental Cover insurance policy will cover it. I need to get a quote, but I don't know whether or not to claim against my current frame - which was a warranty replacement or against the pre-warranty frame.

The reason I say this is that my bike was purchased for £670 and used a Look KG231 Frame which used to retail for £650 - it was old stock so I had a very good deal on the price. I have the receipts for this bike.

When the Look cracked I asked for an Alumium frame instead - but because it was based against the then retail price of the KG231 frame it was priced at £360.

Which one should I claim for???

Have your LBS give you a "quote" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more). You want to claim replacement value, that is to say what it would cost to put together a similar bike at the normal joe blow price don't get into discountsbecause the insurance blokes will try to bugger you at every turn.

The funny thing I can get a quote really easily - I work in a bike shop :)

Be careful making relatively small claims against your home insurance policy. I don't know how the insurance companies in Wales operate, but in the US, if you make a few small claims, they will often cancel your policy. A friend of mine made 2 small theft claims (probably around $1,000 each), and they cancelled his policy. He then had to pay 2 or 3 times his normal premium to get a "high-risk" insurance policy.

Also, check your deductible. If it's high, it may not be worth it.

The insurance policy should specify whether they cover replacement cost or appraised cost. If you can get replacement cost, you'll get more money - see Raiyn's post.

Tim