Get your bike insurance in shape this Cycle to Work Day

Making sure you have the right protection for your bike goes beyond helmets and bike lights, cycle insurance can protect your purse too

This Cycle to Work Day (August 3rd) I Compare 4U is encouraging cyclists to think about the protection they have in place as they take to the roads, which goes beyond having the right safety gear on.

According to the latest data from the Department for Transport, 13.1% of adults in England cycle at least once a month, whether that is for leisure or travel,* but only 18% of cyclists in the UK take out bike insurance.**

Ryan Fulthorpe, cycle insurance expert at icompare4u.co.uk commented: “Unlike car insurance, it is not a legal requirement to have insurance for your bicycle, but it is a good idea to have some level of cover. You can choose the cover that is right for you depending on how you use your bike.”

Ryan added: “If you are one of the 6.4% of people in England who use their bike to get around, or you only bring out the lycra for sunnier weekends, you may be thinking about insuring your bike.

“For those keen cyclists, getting standalone specialist bicycle insurance might be a good idea. It offers a basic level of cover for things like accidental or malicious damage and theft, but can include replacement bike hire, cycle rescue recovering or loss of earnings.”

Most cycle insurance also offers cover for theft, but if you do use your bike for commuting and leave it locked up outside, you may want to double check that you are protected. There were 78,146 Police recorded incidents of bicycle theft between July 2021 and June 2022, according to the Crime in England and Wales Survey. ***

You might also get insurance cover for your bike through your home insurance policy, as some home contents policies also offer bicycle cover. But you should check the small print on that policy to ensure you have enough cover for your bike, should it be lost or stolen, as well as any expensive accessories you may have for it too.

For more information on the cover that Bicycle Insurance can provide see iCompare 4U guide to Bicycle insurance here: https://icompare4u.co.uk/compare-bicycle-insurance-uk/