The Guardian newspaper has helped a devastated cyclist receive an insurance payout after their provider initially declined the claim as the thief had taken the lock too, meaning there was "no evidence of damage" to it. The tale appears in the 'Consumer champions' section of the paper today and features a reader from Brighton's unpleasant experience with Homeprotect, who have now admitted making a "mistake" over the initial rejection of the claim.
JC explained: "My e-bike was stolen this month but my insurer, Homeprotect, has rejected the claim because there is no evidence of damage to the lock. That’s because the thief made off with it, too. The bike was listed on my policy as a specific item to be covered even away from home. I don't believe that the policy wording is clear. It should state that a bike theft claim will only be considered where there is CCTV proof or a broken lock is found.
"I can't tell you how upsetting this is. I am 68 years old and bought the bike just before lockdown and it was a life-saver. It's kept me mobile and sane. I'd parked it outside my art class, locked to a bike stand. I came out and it was gone. I reported the theft to the police and gave Homeprotect the crime reference. I've asked the company to review its decision but so far it has not changed its mind.
"I used my bike every day because Brighton is so hilly, and also for long rides such as Land’s End to Edinburgh. A replacement will cost at least £2,500. This leaves me in an impossible situation. I'm being penalised because the thief took the lock."
Thinking the situation did indeed seem "unfair", the Guardian contacted Homeprotect and got them to admit a "mistake in declining" the claim, a decision that has since been overturned.
Homeprotect said: "We're very sorry about the poor experience JC has had in trying to resolve her claim for her stolen e-bike. We made a mistake in declining this claim and have since overturned the decision, with a payment being made to the customer for the value specified for the bike, plus the cost of the lock.
"We acknowledge the distress that's been caused by this claim being dealt with incorrectly, are reviewing our internal processes to ensure this doesn't happen again and have offered additional compensation to JC as a gesture of goodwill."
Well done to the Guardian and feel free to get in touch with us if you go through similar...
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Nowadays I always take a picture of the bike(s) locked up, especially if they are on a lockable rack on the back of the car...I just don't trust insurance companies to behave ...
We had a similar issue with Pedalcover a few years ago. Two of our bikes stolen because they cut through our lock. Pedalcover claimed that the object we had locked them too invalidated the insurance because it was not immoveable, despite it still being there and untouched when we returned. It was another bike locked to a big tree.
We had to take it to them Ombudsman who ruled on our side and we eventually got our payout but it took over a year of fighting for it. Fortunately we could replace our bikes with savings but imagine if we couldn't! And this was from a "cycling insurer who understood cyclists".
Insurance companies and many other great british institutions always shirk their responsibilities by saying no. They then say no again and no again. It's a simple strategy to wear out those that will give up and by doing so increase their profits.
Don't give up. They are parasites and leeches on the backside of society.
Hey road.cc, can you tell Madri that however much they interrupt my viewing of your site with fullscreen adverts for their noxious brew (seems to be every time I open a new page this evening) I still wouldn't be seen dead drinking their faux-Spanish (brewed in the UK by Coors) hipster product?
Better than vanity behemoth ads...
Let's just be glad of their misdirected marketing budget...
I tried to make claim on a Bianchi I crashed after a delivery driver walked into my path and I hit him in the middle of the road.
I took pictures of tha damaged bike and got a shop to quote the damage and say frame was written off due to the damage etc.
The insurance company tried to say the bike wasn't the same bike as in the pictures. Why? Cos I had a different coloured saddle and bar tape. Seriously these fuckwits exist and live among us.
Clearly a modification that invalidated the policy !
No, they just couldn't identify it's the same bike cos no one ever changed the colour of tape or saddle did they?
They paid out in the end but took ages to sort out cos of their clownish behaviour.
Insurance companies... well if you can't show us the bike that's been stolen how can we possibly know it's been stolen? They really will try anything, many years ago a friend had their initial claim for their stolen motorcycle rejected because they couldn't provide both ignition keys to prove that they hadn't lost one and the criminals picked it up. The fact that they explained that one of the keys had been on a ring that had accidentally fallen overboard on a sailing trip in France was not accepted, and it wasn't until the motorcycle was recovered by the police – in virtually written off condition – and they could show that it had been hotwired that the company agreed to pay out. Obviously there is plenty of fraud and they have to be cautious but they can get pretty ridiculous.
I wasn't expecting finish-line drama after a 10 day race, but watching Abdullah Zeinab's dot take a wrong turn so close to the end, and have to back track a couple of km to complete the final parcours was heart-rending. Not sure if it actually made the difference between 3rd and 4th place, but I suspect it did. Absolute kudos to all who have finished, are still on the road and those who have pulled out but had the courage to start in the first place.
Edit: checked the dots and it looks like AZ was 9minutes or so ahead of TdeW when he had to turn back within spitting distance of the finish line, only to come in about 30 minutes back!
Wasn't Taylor Knibb who crashed most often in the ITT, a triathlete by trade ?
Past tense not required - she competed in the triathlon this morning!
Presumably Robin Gemperle is now going to eat for two hours solid and then sleep for a week or so…?![](/sites/all/themes/rcc/images/smilies/3.gif)