Home insurance vs Cycle Insurance Guide
*This article contains content from Triathlon Ireland’s bike insurance partner Bikmo
Many cyclists assume that their bikes are adequately covered by their home contents insurance, but it’s important that you read the policy wording to check the cover it actually provides. You might find that you have very little cover at all!
Our insurance partner Bikmo simplifies the checks you may want to carry out on your home insurance policy.
- Triathlon Ireland members save 7.5%* on their award winning insurance
Maximum cycle value
With your home contents insurance, there will almost certainly be a limit on the value of cycles, which could be as low as €500.
If your bikes are worth more than this limit, they may need to be specifically declared on a home insurance policy, and they’ll want an additional premium. In many cases, home insurers will decline to provide cover for high value bikes.
At Bikmo, we provide cover for bikes up to €20,000!
Get a discounted quote in seconds here.
Cover away from the home?
Some household policies will not provide cover for accidental damage or theft whilst the bike is away from the home, which is probably when you need it most!
Few also cover your bike when it’s outside of Ireland – does yours? We cover away from home as standard, providing it’s locked according to our locking requirements.
Check out our handy locking requirements video and our full locking requirements here
Competition cover
Whether you ride sportives or triathlons, many of us like to race against the clock or competitors.
Your home contents policy may exclude damage caused when taking part in competitive or mass participation events, and they’ll almost certainly turn down a claim if your bike is stolen from a race transition area.
Bikmo is tailored for cyclists to choose their level of cover for the type of events they ride, whether an enduro, triathlon, CX, road race or sportive.
What is your excess?
If you ever needed to claim on an insurance policy, it can be a real pain to worry about excess.
With Bikmo, where available, you can opt to have €0 excess on bicycle claims when you replace through our retail partners.
Is your bike covered when you lend it to a friend or family member?
We often lend our bikes to friends, when they’re new to cycling or if a mate is in a fix before a race and needs a bike.
A home insurance policy will be in your name, so if you make a claim for damage or theft when you have lent the bike to a friend, the insurers may not pay out.
Bikmo covers your bikes as long as you’ve given your permission for a friend or family member to use them.
Will you be charged more next year if you claim?
Let’s say your bike gets stolen from your house, and your insurance is up for renewal in a couple of weeks. Does that mean that you’ll pay extra on just the bike part of your premium, or the whole policy?
Making a claim on your household policy is likely to result in higher premiums. Making a claim with Bikmo obviously won’t affect your home insurance policy!
Summary
If you own bikes above €400, compete, travel or ride a lot, then you may want to consider cycle specific insurance.
At Bikmo, we ride bikes every day and we shaped our policy around people like us who ride bikes a lot, whether on roads, mountains or parks, in Ireland or overseas.
We offer Triathlon Ireland members an exclusive 7.5%* discount. Our policies cover you against theft and accidental damage of your bike(s), accessories and much more.
*Minimum premium €5/mo and policy wording applies. This promotion is provided by Bikmo GmbH is authorised/licensed by the Industrie- und Handelskammer München in Germany and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules.
