An undergraduate student is warning fellow cyclists to check their policy terms after her insurer refused a bike theft claim on what she says is an “absurd technicality”.
History student Susan Helter has been unsuccessfully fighting her insurance company ever since her racing bike was stolen from her digs in Oxford. Despite numerous phone calls and letters, the insurer has refused to pay her 325 pound claim because she had not removed the front wheel and saddle.
“The whole thing is silly, and has made me think twice about ever insuring my bike again,” says the 19-year-old. “The bike was a present from my parents for getting to university and meant a lot to me. I locked the bike up properly using a heavy brass lock. But when I sent in my claim the insurer told me that, because I had not removed the front wheel and saddle, they would not pay out. They told me that the policy said that I had to remove the front wheel and saddle, which was totally news to me. Only when I looked at the very detailed small print did this particular aspect emerge.”
Her argument that this very important detail should have been made absolutely clear in the policy’s wording fell on deaf ears. “The idea that everyone should take their saddle and front wheel with them all the time is completely unworkable and ridiculous,” she says.
The good news is that the insurer now seems to have come to the same conclusion. At last it agreed to pay her claim. In a statement it said: “We have updated our policies so that our policyholders do not now have to remove the front wheel, saddle or any other part of the bicycle in order to be insured for theft. We understand that removal was impractical and so we have updated our cover. Although the previous policy clearly stated that they should be removed, we have decided to retrospectively pay the claim as a goodwill gesture to a valued customer.” The insurer also agreed to cancel her 32 pounds and 50 pence excess.
But this case spotlights the problems faced when insuring students’ belongings, and the high premiums they pay. Our student was paying 45 pounds a year to insure her 325 pound bicycle and the policy had a 10 per cent excess. Many students will think it is more economical to insure their contents and bicycle on their parents’ home insurance policy. Perhaps better still, buy a cheap non-specialist student policy.
We quickly got some quotes and found we could insure the same bike online for 31 pounds and 25 pence. The policy also included personal accident cover, third-party insurance for up to 1 million pounds, and a cycle rescue package - and that was not much more than it would cost to add it to a standard home and contents policy. The excess on a 325 pound bicycle would also be more reasonable at 25 pounds. Sounds a good deal to us!
This just goes to prove that it’s worth shopping around, especially online. And if you do think that your insurer is acting unreasonbly, even though their action is covered in the terms and conditions, do not give up. Give them a hard time. It pays to persevere!
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