Direct Line launches cycling insurance: do you need it?

Direct Line has launched a specialist cycling insurance product, which offers more cover for you and your bike than home and contents insurance.

A home insurance policy would cover you if your bike is stolen or damaged at your home. But for cover while you're on the road, you might want a specialist policy.

Here, Which? takes a look at how specialist cycling insurance works, and whether you need it.

What is specialist cycling insurance?

Your home and contents insurance policy likely covers you if your bike is stolen while secured in your home.

However, your insurer might not pay out enough to cover your bike's entire value if it's expensive. Saga only covers up to £500 for bike theft, for example.

But what if your bike is stolen while you're out and about? Home insurance policies are unlikely to cover that as standard.

That's where specialist cycling insurance comes in. These policies will usually cover you for:

• theft and damage while your bike isn't in your home
• injury while you're cycling
• public liability if you injure someone else by causing an accident
• taking part in a cycling race.

Direct Line's new product also protects your bike if you take it abroad, and can reimburse entry fees if you have to drop out of a cycling race due to an injury.

• Find out more:is your bike covered under your home insurance policy?

How expensive is specialist bike insurance?

The price of a cycling insurance policy depends on a number of factors, such as the cost and age of your bike, when you use it, and how much cover you need.

To give you an idea of the potential costs, we ran a series of quotes from specialist cycling insurers, including Direct Line. We told insurers we had a BMX bike worth £1,000, which we use in the UK for leisure and racing.

Most quotes were taken from a comparison site. Direct Line's quotes came from its website since it isn't available through comparison sites.

_{Source: Protect Your Family and Direct Line, 18 August 2021. Quotes based on one bicycle only. Where insurers offered multiple quotes, the cheapest quote has been used.}

As you can see, there's a range of different prices available here, even for a bike of the same value. Some of that will be down to the level of cover different insurers offer.

For example, the Bikmo policy includes £2m public liability cover and £20,000 for personal accidents, while the Eversure policy has £1m public liability and £10,000 accident cover.

It's always best to shop around for an insurance policy that offers the perfect cover for you at a price you are happy with.

• Find out more:all our insurance guides

Alternatives to cycling insurance

If you don't think you need all the bells and whistles of a specialist cycling policy, but you would like more cover for your bike, you may be able to buy an add-on to your home insurance policy instead.

With most insurers, you can get 'pedal cycle' cover as an add-on, which usually costs a few extra pounds each month.

Usually, this will cover your bike for theft or damage when it's outside of your home, up to a certain level. LV's cycle add-on, for example, provides cover up to £1,000.

This will suit you well if all you're worried about is damage and theft, but for public liability, accident and racing cover, you'd be better off with a specialist policy.

If you do opt to insure your bike through your home insurance, read our reviews to find the best deals on the market.

We surveyed more than 1,500 policyholders and analysed over 100 elements of each policy to sort the best from the worst.

Which? members can see the full results in our guide to the best and worst home insurers. Non-members can sign up for a trial to see all our online reviews.

• Find out more:home insurance explained

Live more sustainably - get our free Sustainability newsletter to make changes for you and the planet