Contents insurance for bicycles

Back to top

Does contents insurance cover bicycles?

How does personal effects cover work?

Will contents insurance cover my bicycle in any event?

What could my bicycle contents insurance exclude?

Can I cover my motorcycle under contents insurance?

Is bicycle theft common in Australia?

Tips to help stop your bicycle being stolen

How do I make a claim for my bicycle?

Where can I compare contents insurance for my bicycle?

Long story short

Contents insurance covers bicycles – but only at home

You might want to consider portable contents cover to protect your bicycle outside your property.

Bicycle theft is pretty common in Australia, with 32,000 incidents reported in 2024–25

In Victoria alone, there were over 7,600 bicycles stolen – almost 90% of which were never recovered. Insurance could help replace yours.

Policies have exclusions

Most policies don’t cover things like riding damage and unlocked bikes. Always check your product disclosure statement for any exclusions.

Does contents insurance cover bicycles?

Yes, but only if your bike is at home. To protect your bicycle out and about, you’ll also need portable contents insurance. Standard contents insurance usually protects bicycles within your home against insured events like theft or malicious damage. But if you want to protect your bicycle against theft or damage even while outside, you’ll have to take out additional cover on top of your standard contents (or home and contents) policy.

No matter how much you sing ‘I want to ride my bicycle’, your contents insurance can’t cover your bike if you take it outside. Portable contents insurance – also known as personal effects cover – can cover items you want to insure, even when they’re not at your place.

How does personal effects cover work?

Personal effects cover (or portable contents insurance) helps cover valuable items you often take out of the home with you, including bicycles. It can protect them from insured events like theft, loss or malicious damage. Keep in mind that most insurance providers offer personal effects cover as an optional extra under your contents insurance (or combined home and contents insurance). Depending on your policy, it could also cover your insured items overseas, which could be up to 90 days.

Personal effects could be something like your bike – anything that you carry or wear (and in this case, ride) outside the home, really! So if you want to ride to work at the cafe down the road or cycle to the office, then portable contents insurance – on top of your contents cover – could help protect your trusty road bike, home and away.

It’s not just bikes – personal effects cover can also insure phones, jewellery, cameras and other valuable items against loss and damage outside the home.

You’ll generally find personal effects cover comes in two types: specified and unspecified.

Will contents insurance cover my bicycle in any event?

Contents insurance can cover your bicycle against burglary or damage while it’s parked within your insured property. Any coverage away from home would usually require an optional add-on – portable contents or personal effects cover. So, while contents insurance could provide cover while your bike sits steady at home, it doesn’t protect it in any event – mainly because you’ll need add-on cover to protect it while it’s being used outside your property.

While it can vary between insurers, you’ll usually get cover for events like:

• theft or attempted theft
• accidental damage or loss
• vandalism and malicious damage
• storm and fire damage
• earthquakes and tsunamis.

Also, keep in mind that even if you have personal effects cover, it still may not cover all sorts of damage or loss. Common exclusions include your bike getting stolen because it’s left unlocked in a public place, or damage from crashing into a fence.

To see what a policy specifically covers, it’s worth looking at its product disclosure statement (PDS). Sure, it may not be as thrilling as a triathlon, but flicking through the PDS could help you decide on cover for your bike.

Helpful tip

Many personal effects policies cover you for Australia and New Zealand, and some will even cover your bike when you take it overseas! Now, it’s worth brushing up on your product disclosure statement because this usually comes with a time limit – say, 90 days. However, if you like to go cycling around Europe every year, it can definitely come in handy.

Natasha Etschmann

Investor & Personal Finance Educator

What could my bicycle contents insurance exclude?

Bicycle insurance products (including contents insurance with add-on portable cover) typically exclude theft if your bicycle was left unlocked or unsecured, along with any customisations made after taking out your insurance. Other exclusions could include different kinds of damages, like pre-existing ones or damage while riding or racing (including high-risk ones like BMX racing). And if you have an electric bike, there might also be exclusions around limits to motor specifications or exceeding certain speed limits.

These are just examples, and they’re by no means a comprehensive list. So it’s a good idea to put your feet up after your next ride and go over your product disclosure statement to see the specifics.

Can I cover my motorcycle under contents insurance?

No. Generally, a standard contents insurance policy won’t cover any motor vehicles, including motorcycles. To protect your motorcycle against damage or theft you’ll need car insurance (or motorcycle insurance).

So while we might be talking about bikes here, we’re strictly speaking about the pedal-power kind (and e-bikes to an extent).

Is bicycle theft common in Australia?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes – bicycle theft is common in Australia, with tens of thousands reportedly stolen. In 2024–25, almost 2% of Aussie households (or 196,600) experienced a break-in.¹Australian Bureau of Statistics – Crime Victimisation Almost 70% of these households had something stolen during the break-in – 16% of which are bicycles or sporting equipment (that’s 32,000 reported incidents of theft).²Australian Bureau of Statistics – Crime Victimisation

In Victoria alone, there were over 7,600 bicycles stolen in 2025. That’s a little over 20 bikes stolen every day. Unfortunately, almost 90% of those thefts went unsolved, too.³Crime Statistics Agency – Recorded Offences So, while you might be lucky and never have your bike stolen (or even have it magically returned in the middle of the night), it’s not exactly a guarantee either.

Locking your bike up and keeping it out of sight are just a couple of ways you can help keep your bike safe. But if the worst does happen and it gets spirited away during a break-in, contents insurance could at least help leave you with the cash to replace it.

Tips to help stop your bicycle being stolen

You can prevent your bicycle from being stolen by keeping it locked with a high-quality D lock and removing any accessories when not in use. You can also park it in a hidden area in your home (or at least somewhere not easily visible to passersby). You might also consider personalising it so it’s easy to identify (without customising it to the extent that your policy won’t cover it). And of course, getting it insured with adequate bicycle cover.

• Lock your bicycle with a D lock.
• Take off any accessories that could be stolen.
• Secure your bicycle out of sight at home.
• Make your bicycle easily identifiable.
• Insure your bicycle.

How do I make a claim for my bicycle?

If you need to make an insurance claim for bicycle theft or malicious damage, report it to the police as soon as can. It’s worth getting as much evidence as possible, which could include photos, receipts, proof of ownership and repair quotes. You can get in touch with your insurer through its website or app, or call the claims hotline if you prefer to talk to someone straight away.

While every insurer has its own claims process, the following steps may help make things run more smoothly down the track.

• Report it to the police: If there’s been a break-in or someone has damaged your bike, make a report to the police. You can then provide this police report to your insurer as part of your claim. Obviously, in cases where nature has played a starring role, a police report may not be necessary.
• Get the details: Explain what happened, including the time and date. You can also hand over any relevant photos or video, plus that police report.
• Show proof of value: If possible, put together any evidence of your bicycle’s value, like receipts or bank statements.

Once you’ve made your claim over the phone or online (depending on what your insurer offers), there’s not much left for you to do but wait. Thankfully, most insurers generally provide claim updates as things tick along.

Where can I compare contents insurance for my bicycle?

Whether you love popping wheelies or just getting from A to B under your own steam, iSelect can help you compare a range of contents insurance policies with optional portable contents or personal effects cover today. You can get started with our iSelect comparison tool today.