chgofirefighter
Active Member
I'm new to the ebike world, love my ST2 wondering if insuring it would be a worthwhile investment? Anyone use bike insurance? If so, share experience.... Thanks 
Insurance worth the cost?
- Thread starter chgofirefighter
- Start date
My umbrella policy covers most liability , separate rider on home owners for physical loss of most any kind. If i werenot already covered by these 2 i would be purchasing separate insurance which would include breakdown and towing help. It depend on how much of a gambler you are , how much time you are on your bike i would guess too. what kind of car insurance would you get if you had complete choice and how much is your bike similar to a car for you?
John ware
Active Member
I bought Ebike insurance after my next door neighbors garage got broken into and several expensive mountain bikes were stolen. I chain my ST2 to the wall and have a motion detecting camera trained on it as well, I figure I've done just about everything I can do short of sleeping with the darn thing. My understanding is some home owners policies cover liability and theft but need to read the fine print regarding limits and deductibles.
There is a an ebike insurance company that occasionally posts on the forum called Velosurance (https://velosurance.com/). The owner is very helpful and knows the insurance business. I have no affiliation with the company other than being one of their customers.
It's the age old question, "do I need insurance?" With the same answer, "not until your ebike is stolen"
There is a an ebike insurance company that occasionally posts on the forum called Velosurance (https://velosurance.com/). The owner is very helpful and knows the insurance business. I have no affiliation with the company other than being one of their customers.
It's the age old question, "do I need insurance?" With the same answer, "not until your ebike is stolen"
chgofirefighter
Active Member
I contacted Velosurance, they quoted me $456 per year with a $500 deductible and a monthly cost of $35 per month with a $68 down payment. According to the agent that gave me the quote informed me that the difference is that they don't devalue the bike, meaning that its insured for its full value. They also offer other benefits that other insurance don't offer~ Repair, accidents, etc etc... My Harley insurance cost less and the bike is worth almost 30k. I was under the assumption that an ebike wouldn't have such a high premium but that's just me.. Or maybe its the city that I live in, who knows? But its better to have peace of mind than not~ Yup, even at a cost!
Over50
Well-Known Member
Pardon my resurrecting an old thread: Wow, I guess e-bikes really are not well known to the non-bike world. I'm waiting on my Riese and Muller so I called my insurance company today. This is an excellent mid-market company that I have my auto, homeowners and banking with. Well, they were completely clueless. It took a lot of explaining to communicate it wasn't a moped or electric motorcycle. In the end they said my homeowners will not cover a "motorized bicycle" of any sort (in the event of theft for example). They referred me to a large well known company they partner with. I called them and they said "nope" no electric bicycles. They cover motorcycles, mopeds etc but this is a bicycle. The second company understood what it was.
So my insurance company says it isn't a bicycle and the company they refer me to says it is a bicycle. I probably should have just asked my company if they would cover my bike in the event of theft from a public parking garage (not specifying the electric part). So I guess I have to shop with one of the bike insurance companies mentioned in these forums knowing full well that I might end up paying for 'double coverage' (I suspect my homeowners would cover it even though the company says it does not). But since I can't know for sure probably its safest to buy a separate policy. I would appreciate any first hand advice if you have purchased from one of these outfits and had to file a claim (did they pay, pay quickly etc)?
I also have an umbrella policy attached to my homeowners so I think this covers me for liability issues.
Aufgeblassen
New Member
A WASTE of money.
Over50
Well-Known Member
The bike insurance is a waste of money? Because a bike would normally be covered under the homeowner's policy or because the bike insurance company will likely not pay a claim? Do you have personal experience with this? If a $5K bike can be insured during the first couple of years of ownership for a few hundred per year and the insurance company is legit then intuitively it seems it may not be a waste of money (if, like me, this bike might be locked up in a high risk geography). So wondering if you have more details to share?
Aufgeblassen
New Member
As a reliability engineer, I learned that failures of stuff (mechanical, electrical) due to manufacturing defects has on a graph a "bathtub curve" of failure rates vs. time (time being x-axis). In a nutshell, if it is going to fail early (instead of simply wearing out), it is most likely to happen during the warranty period, and unlikely afterwards.
It is a waste of money for extended warranties, because odds of failing are very low.
You are better off opening a separate bank account, and put money in monthly that you would have sent to an extended warranty company, and taking it out if you ever do need a repair.
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Over50
Well-Known Member
I would agree on extended warranties but the thread is about insurance. Insuring primarily against theft but also other hazards such as accidents. Since I am purchasing a bike primarily for commuting: the best case it will be locked in a public parking garage in downtown Detroit next to my office (daylight hours only). Worst case it will be locked at a public bike rack in the street outside the office. Either way, the risk of theft exists and is greater than if the bike was to be used for leisure purposes only. Aside from theft there are probably also risks associated with commuting such as car/bike collision etc. So is your 'waste of money' comment limited to extended warranties (which I am not asking about) or also to insurance?
When I looked into insurance for my $3-5k road bikes I concluded it didn't make sense. They sleep indoors and never leave my sight while riding so I wasn't worried about theft. As mentioned homeowner's policies typically cover theft but check what the cap is for bicycles. With regards to accidents it would be a rare case where an accident completely scraps the bike. And if the driver is at fault their insurance has to pay to repair the bike. So if I were to crash worst case it would be around $2k to repair. It didn't make sense to spend $350 -400/yr. for $2k worth of coverage less a $500 deductible. Bike insurance also runs into the problem of adverse selection. The people who buy bicycle insurance tend to be the riskiest customers so premiums have to be set high and/or coverage limited to keep prices competitive.
Theft risk can be mitigated by using good locks and locking techniques. But I would never leave my $5-10k e-bike locked up outside 5 days a week while at work for fear of theft. I might insure against that risk if my employer didn't offer off-street parking.
Theft risk can be mitigated by using good locks and locking techniques. But I would never leave my $5-10k e-bike locked up outside 5 days a week while at work for fear of theft. I might insure against that risk if my employer didn't offer off-street parking.
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mrgold35
Well-Known Member
I called my Insurance company, USAA, and gave them the specifics of my two ebikes (Radrover, $1500 ea, class II, 750w, 20 mph limit, etc...). I am automatically covered under my Homeowners for $500 deductible per incident, home or away.
I also added Boomerang GPS cell tracker along with U-bolts and chains.
Might be worth double-checking other insurance companies to see if they are up-to-date with ebike coverage under Homeowner or renter policies.
I also added Boomerang GPS cell tracker along with U-bolts and chains.
Might be worth double-checking other insurance companies to see if they are up-to-date with ebike coverage under Homeowner or renter policies.
