tacticalfireguy

Is there an agency/company that sells such an animal. I don't ride a 10g bike, but I would be hard pressed to pay for major repairs or replace my bike.

info

I bought insurance for my bike . I went thru my home insurance Indiana farm Bureau . It cost me ex. 60.00 dollars year .

fordmanvt

Home owners or renters insurance can cover it.

MegaTom

Bicycle insurance? There's something to be said here about 'a fool and his money'.

JustinHorne

My bike is worth more than a lot of cars I see on the road. I live in an apartment that could be easily broken into. If the insurance covered crashes, that'd be even better. The frame is carbon, so a bad crash could ruin it. If I could pay $60 per year and cover all of that, I probably would.

merlinextraligh

Use the search function. I'm too tired to repeat the lecture.

pgjackson

They won't cover the bike breaking or you having a crash on the road. Seems to make sense that with an average road bike costing as much as a low-end used car that someone would offer some sort of insurance to cover you in case you wipe out or someone crashes in to you.

urbanknight

Most home owners policies have a $1000 deductible, and they often require you to pay for a rider in order to cover things such as your bike if they are damaged or stolen while outside the home.

Merlin explained it pretty well before. Insurance companies are profit companies, so they collect more in premiums than they pay out in claims. That means anything you buy insurance for is a way of betting against yourself.

pgjackson

True. I have a $500 deductible on my renter's insurance. I was covered when my bike got stolen. I have over $75,000 in coverage for my household goods and the insurance costs about $30 a month. Was well worth it when they handed me $1100 for the lost bike. However, I asked them about accident coverage and they said it's not covered. If I wreck my bike out on the road, I'm SOL. I'm surprised there isn't some company offering comprehensive bike insurance. If I had wrecked my bike instead of it being stolen I would probably not have a bike at all right now. Just don't have that kind of $$$ lying around.

Da Sherm

My renters insurances covers damages to my bike from a myriad of natural disasters, and theft. I am not, however, covered in the event of an accident. I too would be curious what those rates would be given the inherent lack of protection that a motor vehicle covers you. Granted, your bike will do a lot less damage to others than would a car or truck

merlinextraligh

The standard lecture:

urbanknight

I think it comes down to this: Most people who own a bike that's worth more than $500 have expendable income (they are not just using it for commuting). Most people see an expensive bike as a luxury item and not something that has to be replaced if damaged. We forum members often forget that we are ill with addiction and that not everybody shares our disease.

collegeskier

I know Merlin is right, but I still have more insurance then I need. I carry renters insurance, that has coverage for theft and disaster, not named collegeskier. If my bike gets destroyed in an accident that is not my fault I will be pursuing replacing the bike through their insurance. If I crash and destroy my bike I am more concerned about cost to repair me and things I don't own. Hence I have liability coverage on my renters that I specifically asked about bike crashes causing damage on, and medical coverage of course.

merlinextraligh

Renters insurance is a good thing to have. Following the principal set forth above, most folks couldn't easily abosrb the loss of the entire contents of their apartment, so its reasonable to pay someone to underwrite that risk.

If you get coverage for your bike in your renters insurance, that's great. What I don't agree with is paying extra to insure the bike specifically.

And having liability coverage on your renter's insurance is also a good idea, given that you wouldn't want to absorb legal fees to defend yourself in accident litigation, and possibly be faced with a financially ruinous judgment.

Also medical and disability insurance fall into categories where you can't afford to absorb the loss and you need to pay for insurance to spread your risk.

So, I'm not anti insurance. I just don't think people should pay to insure against minor risks they can absorb, such as the loss of a bike.

urbanknight

^ One snag in your principal is that I couldn't afford to replace my bike at the moment. One of the things you have to also consider is if the particular item in question is a luxury or not. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I can survive without my bike. So, it's covered as far as my Homeowner's insurance goes and that's it.

DogBoy

I work in insurance in the US and strongly agree with the bolded. For information, the following applies in most states and for most policies in the US, but things vary by state and by company. Read your policy.

For a bicycle, you can get coverage in a number of ways.

1. For liability (damage you do to others) a renters or homeowners policy will cover this. Despite the damage occuring on the road, the exclusion is for motor vehicles. A bike is not a motor vehicle. The exception to this is electric bikes but I won't discuss them in a road bike thread.

2. For damage to your person...If you own an auto and have an insurance policy, you likely have some coverage for an accident with a vehicle. PIP (not all states) will cover you directly regardless of fault for your medical expenses resulting from a crash. If the person that hit you is at fault, and is not insured or is underinsured, Underinsured(UIM) and/or Uninsured (UM) will cover you (not your bike) in place of the other party's liability coverage. The other party's Bodily Injury and Physical Damage will cover damage to your person or bike if they are at fault.

3. Coverage from theft/vandalism ... Your renter's/owner's policy will cover you from theft/vandalism of your bike from your insured premesis. For additional premium, you can often schedule your bike and get coverage from theft/vandalism for locations other than your insured premesis.

4. Coverage to your bike due to damage in a crash. Pretty much the only way to get this is if the other party is at fault and has liability coverage. I'm not aware of any company offering collision like coverage on a non-motorized bicycle.

pgjackson

Man, if I owned a $5000+ bike I would probably never ride it. One nasty pot-hole or some jackass crashes in to you and you are SOL.

tacticalfireguy

I understand the concept of owning something that i can not absorb if something happens to it. However it is not like I went out and bought a several thousand dollar bike. I bought a nice mid level bike. I have added several upgrades as I was able. I guess the best answer would be to put 50-100 dollars back each month as a "premium", then if something happens I can take care of it my self.

urbanknight

Statistically, that would be the best choice. Of course, statistically, one shouldn't gamble in a casino either.

StanSeven

I used to be that way but now don't give it a thought. At first though it's like wading into cold ocean water - toes and feet slowly at first, then ankles....

pgjackson

How many of you guys would be able to replace a totaled $5000 bike out of pocket? Just wondering.

merlinextraligh

If you can't, or you're not willing to do without, or with a cheaper bike, then you spent too much on your bike.

Absolutely no one needs a $5,000 bike. If $5,000 is such a large percentage of your net worth, that it's loss would truly affect your financial well being, you don't need to be spending $5,000 on a bike.

You'd be so far ahead of the game buying a $1,000 bike, either a reasonably nice new one, or a very nice few year old used one, and the use the $4,000 to start savings and investment.

Time Value of Money, and Compound Interest are powerful things. Working in your favor, you get to the point you can pay cash without worrying about it for a new bike.

Working against you, and its a *****.

MegaTom

I couldn't afford to replace my most expensive bike ($4800, give or take, including wheels, computer, etc.) immediately if it were totaled. However, I am largely debt-free and could certainly save up the $$$ for a new one over 2-3 months..... in the meantime, I would have my commuter to ride.

snowman40

Isn't that the basis for N+1?

collegeskier

I could replace my bike whenever. I don't want to. I have emergency savings, for emergencies, does needing to replace a $5000 road bike count as an emergency, well that is the question I would have to answer if I owned one and lost it.