A stolen bike - to claim or not to claim...

Every year in Canada, more than 100,000 bikes are reported stolen. Bicycles are covered under homeowners, condo or renters insurance policies. But in some cases, it may not be worth it to make a claim for a stolen bike.

Reason number 1: The Deductible
When you make a claim on your property insurance policy, you have to pay your deductible. This is the portion of the claim that you have agreed to pay yourself when you purchased your policy. Deductibles can range from $200 to $1000. If your bicycle was worth less than your deductible, you would not be allowed to make a claim at all.

Reason number 2: Discounts
Many companies give discounts off your property insurance if you have gone several years without making a claim. If you lost this discount because of a small claim, like the loss of a bicycle, you may end up paying more in the long run for your premiums than you would for a brand new bicycle.

Reason number 3: Limits for bicycles
It's possible your insurance policy has a limit on the coverage they provide for bicycles. This means they may only pay for a portion of what your bike really cost you. If your bike was worth $600, your insurance company limits bicycle coverage to $500 and you had a $300 deductible, you would only get $200 for your claim.

What if you have a higher valued bicycle?
If you have a bicycle that is worth a lot of money and you want to make sure it is insured, you can "schedule" the bike on your property insurance policy. This means, you are adding a special clause to your policy that describes the bicycle, its accessories and its cost so that if it was stolen or destroyed, it could be replaced for the full value. You may have to pay a little extra to schedule items on your policy, but as a bonus, you usually have a lower deductible for the items you list.

Theft prevention
Preventing your bicycle from being stolen is the best way to avoid having to make an insurance claim. For more information, see Kanetix.ca's How to foil a bicycle thief.