Insurance...

Any insurance is only as good as the company behind the policy.

I pay a hefty amount for my house insurance, which covers all my bikes. When I had a significant repair bill following an accident the money was in my bank account within 20 minutes of me submitting the estimate, with no quibble or issue whatsoever. By comparison I had to commence legal proceedings against Tesco car insurance followeing a claim, which will have taken 2 years by the time it reaches court.

My bike insurance is that I'm either sitting on it, or it is locked up inside my home. Paying 10-15% of my bikes' values per annum is not an option - and, as others have said, if your insurance is voided because you're not carrying a 1.5kg lock .... well - they you might as well ditch the GBP 6k bike for a bike that is 1.5kg heavier and self insure - as that bike will cost circa GBP 850 anyway...

I have insured new bikes for their full value but it is important to understand what you are insuring against.  It is unlikley that you will be insured when you are away from home on an expensive road bike unless you use an insurance approved lock - they are heavy and cumbersome.  At home you need to asses the risk, if you keep the bike inside your home it is far less likley to be stolen.  

It's also worth considering your Starva account, don't show photos of your bike and hide your home address.

I added ours to the house insurance. Bikes up to £500 are included anyway. Over that you need to register the details and value of the bike. Cost was too low to recall, maybe £25, but that's a wild guess.

I have been giving Butterworths of Liverpool, now Cyclesure, a fair bit of money for the past 20 odd years.  Around 10% of your most expensive bicycle, though it would seem that is coming down a bit.  Never really found the small print to be too onerous, well less so now, there was a bit in the early days about not being covered when locked up in the dark, but with more competition that disappeard.  Gold lock is fairly standard. 

There is also crash insurance included, sometimes when in an organised race too.

" I'd be better off putting the cash in a piggy bank and insuring myself"

I agree with this statement, as far as I can tell insurance premiums seem to come in at about 15% of the cost of the bike. And as you say include clauses about minimum lock quality, and may also have stipulations about where it is stored in your home. e.g. if in a garage you must use a cast in floor anchor and gold secure lock.

I've heard too many reports of insurers trying to wriggle out of paying for one reason or another. If you want to use your bike for commuting think long and hard about where you will be locking it up. perhaps gold standard lock and insurance is the way to go. But any lock you are likely to carry on a bike ride or event wll not be sufficient in their eyes.

Long term you will always be better off saving the premium than paying insurance. (otherwise the insurances companies would be making a loss). The only question is whether you can withstand the loss short term. What if the bike is stolen? can you afford to replae it? do you have another bke? is it your essential transport for getting to work? If you must have a replacment and you can't afford it then insurance might be for you. Not withstanding the points above about wriggling out of paying? or insisting on a replacement from their supplier who may not sell the bike you want.

Cynically I feel that in order for them to cover you, the bike has to be almost impossible to steal, in which case do you need insurance. This is probably a slight exageration. 

I have never insured my bike against theft, apart from what comes with my house insurance which is adequate for when the bike is at home. From what I have seen of insurance cover for theft when the bike is away from home and left unattended I have just not bothered as it is either too expensive or else yuou have to carry a lock that weighs as much as the bike.

Luckily my cycling is mainly rural and only ever left unattended at rural cafes, and then usually buried by other bikes. If I was a city commuter aand had to leave it unattended I would carry a big lock and/or commute on a less than expensive bike.