Insurance for classic bikes

[frances1966]

Hi I've just spent a lot of money doing up an old Mercian had it repainted and repaired and bought suitable vintage parts for it. I want to get it insured but reading the small print on insurers websites it seems they only really insure new bikes £ for £ and as soon as its over 3 yrs old your not going to get much back for it if it gets nicked.
I just wondered if there are any companies who do 'classic bike' insurance?

 

[tonyf39]

Have you tried Marks and Spencers? From memory they insure up to £4000 in their home contents as standard (very decent prices from what I've seen)and for a small amount outside the home too.
I reckon you should get an independant valuation or catalogue all the parts with photos and replacement values (which you should do anyway tbh)
HTH

 

[fiks]

I thought you just set a value yourself and they will set a price accordingly. Eg, you want to insure for £2,000, and they charge you, say £50 per years.

 

[frances1966]

Thanks I was looking at Evans Insurance rather than getting it put on my house insurance.

However the question and answer below is in their FAQ. The problem is that my bike is nearly 60 yrs old!!! I'm imagining that most insurers have similar policies.

2) My bicycle isn't brand new - is it still worth insuring?

Even though we make a small deduction of 10% per year for wear and tear on bikes over 3 years of age it may still be worth insuring your bike if it is under 10 years old, as you will receive some contribution towards the cost of a new bike.

 

[Jonny69]

I have the same dilemma. A bunch of my bikes have come from Freecycle, but they are all pretty good (one is a 90's 531-framed Raleigh). Including the time I have put into them, it would take quite a bit of £££ to replace them if they were stolen. For that reason I decided to invest in a fairly comprehensive set of locks instead of trying to rely on an insurance payout.

 

[thejackal]

Yeah, this is a dilemna! I myself have gone down the substantial locks route!

I suppose in common with a lot of people on here, and other similar sites, we are dealing with bikes that might not have a great deal of street value, except to afficianados'/ enthusiasts of the hobby.

A lot of money, time and effort has gone into building some of my bikes, but as a previous correspondent wrote, on the surface of it, what is a 25+ year old bike worth as far as insurance copies are concerned??!! New for old? It might have "only" cost a hundred pounds thirty years ago, but has had hundreds, if not thousands, put into it since.

Is anybody on here in the insurance business? Perhaps there is a market to be tapped in to here? After all, classic cars and motorbikes can be covered by specialist insurance.