Our Pick Of The Best Bicycle Insurance
If you’re a cyclist, you’ll already know the practical and health benefits of using a bike – but you’ll also know how costly bikes can be. And that’s where bicycle insurance comes in. A bike insurance policy pays out if your bike is lost, stolen, damaged, or you are in an accident. Some even offer a replacement hire bike when yours needs repairing.
So what are among the best policies? We’ve scoured the market to find our pick of the top bicycle insurance deals that offer a competitive premium at a good level of cover for all the essential benefits, based on a bike with a value of £750. You can find more on our workings in our methodology, below.
Our top bike insurance policies for 2024
Methodology
We ran quotes using our bike insurance comparison service (powered by our partner, Seopa Limited) for a new hybrid bike – a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike – used for all purposes including competitive and sportive events such as triathlons.
We used a typical bike value of £750.
We ranked the policies we found based primarily on:
- Cost of annual premium
- Available cover for cycling accessories
- Excess payable should you need to claim
While all listed policies cover loss and theft of your bike on a ‘new-for-old’ basis, to arrive at our star rankings, we also considered:
- Whether cover extends to outside of the UK
- Whether cover extends to immediate family members
- Cover levels for accident, public liability and legal fees
- Replacement bike hire and emergency recovery
- Pay-monthly options (and associated cost)
All information is correct at the time of publication.
What do the policy terms actually mean?
Here are the insurers’ definitions of some key policy features:
- New-for-old bike replacement: your bike must have been new when purchased, and be less than three years old at the time of loss
- Emergency recovery: to be valid you must be more than a mile away from home
- Sportives: are defined as any leisure or competitive cycling event (timed or untimed)
- Cover for family: use is limited to family members over the age of 14, who live with you
- Europe: covers theft or damage to your bike for up to 30 days at a time
- Worldwide: stipulates cover duration in the policy details
- Lowest Price Guarantee: ripe cycling says if you take out a policy and within 14 days happen to find the same levels of cover elsewhere for less, it will refund the difference.
Why should I get bicycle insurance?
Insuring your bike means that it will be covered in the event that it’s lost, stolen or damaged.
This can help you avoid paying out of pocket for expensive repairs or a replacement bicycle.
Most bike insurance policies also cover specialist cycle clothing or accessories such as baskets, bells, helmets, lights and mirrors – all of which can add up.
Research from bike insurer Bikmo (below) shows that almost 40% of claims made in 2022 were for components (such as a bike frame, wheels or handlebar), clothing and bike accessories rather than the full bike itself.
Doesn't my home insurance cover my bike?
Many cyclists assume their bike will be automatically covered under their home contents insurance, but this isn’t always the case.
If your bike is worth more than your home insurer’s single item limit (say, £1,500 to £2,000), it will need to be listed, and paid for, separately. And some home insurers still refuse to pay out over a given amount.
You may need to commit to storing your bike in a locked building, such as a garage or shed, while some contents policies won’t provide cover when your bike is away from the home. In other words, you wouldn’t be able to claim if your bike was stolen from outside the train station, for example.
Adding your bike on your home contents insurance can therefore be the most viable option if it’s inexpensive or you don’t use it very often. And it could still mean an increase in premiums and/or an administration fee.
Bear in mind that also that if you need to make a claim, you’ll need to pay an excess and your home insurance premiums could go up.
The most comprehensive cover will be offered through a specialist bike insurance policy.
What is standalone bike insurance?
Standalone bike insurance offers far more comprehensive cover and is usually designed for those who have a top-of-the-range bike or avid cyclists.
It will generally cover your bike if it is stolen or damaged but will also cover accessories that are part of the bike and don’t detach. Some policies will also cover you if you’re cycling abroad.
Many policies also offer a range of additional extras. Some of these will be included as standard and some you’ll need to pay extra for. These include:
- personal accident cover: pays out if you are seriously injured or die in an accident
- third party liability: providing cover if you injure or cause damage to another person or their property
- taking part in competitions: this can also cover lost race fees if you can’t compete
- accessories that are not part of the bike: such as lights that can be detached. Some policies also cover clothing
- roadside assistance: if you suffer a breakdown or injury while out cycling.
Forbes Marketplace Operations is an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) of Seopa Ltd.
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