Contents Insurance for Bicycles
Contents Insurance for Bicycles
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Does contents insurance cover bicycles?
Contents insurance is for, well, your home’s contents. So, if you’re keeping your bike at home, your policy could cover it if it’s damaged or stolen under certain circumstances. However, your bike needs to stay at home to get that cover. 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. That is, unless you have portable contents insurance —also known as personal effects cover — which covers items you want to insure, even when they’re not at your place.
How does personal effects cover work?
You may be able to insure phones, laptops and, yes, bicycles against loss and damage outside the home depending on your personal effects cover. So, if you want to work at the cafe down the road or cycle to the office, it could be worth considering.
You’ll generally find personal effects cover comes in two flavours: specified and unspecified.
Specified tends to be for those more expensive items — think anything over $1,000 — and you’ll likely have to list these specifically with your insurer. This can mean noting on the policy the type of bicycle you ride and how much it’s worth, including any modifications you’ve made to give you an edge any Tour de France competitor would be jealous of. With this sort of cover, you may be able to get back the full value of your bike if something were to happen to it.
If you’re feeling a little more mysterious — or your bike isn’t quite so upmarket — unspecified might be all you need. It generally covers you up to $1,000 to repair or replace your bike. Anything after will need to come out of your pocket (if your lycra shorts have any).
Keep in mind that most insurers offer personal effects cover as an optional extra under your contents insurance, although some might also offer it as a standalone product.
Will contents insurance cover my bicycle in any event?
From Sunday coffee jaunts to epic mountain descents, your bicycle could experience it all — and come off a little worse for wear because of it. However, your contents insurance, even if you have personal effects cover, may not cover all damage or loss.
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
To see what a policy covers specifically, it can be worthwhile taking a look at the 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 (PDS) 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.
What could my bicycle contents insurance exclude?
Just like inclusions, exclusions can change a bit between insurers, but you might see a few themes coming up time after time. For a start, your cover isn’t likely to extend to your bike if you’re riding it and it gets damaged. The same goes for losing your bike while you’re riding it — although we think this impressive feat deserves some kind of reward, even if it’s not an insurance payout.
Other exclusions to look out for include:
- if you haven’t locked your bike up
- pre-existing damage
- customisations made after you took out the insurance
This is by no means a comprehensive list, so you should put your feet up after your next ride and peruse your PDS to see the specifics.
Can I cover my motorcycle under contents insurance?
While we might be talking about bikes here, we’re strictly speaking about the pedal-power kind (and e-bikes to an extent). Motorcycles typically aren’t covered under contents insurance — you can check out motorcycle insurance though.
Is bicycle theft common in Australia?
In Victoria alone, there were close to 7,000 bicycles stolen throughout 2022–23. That’s about 19 bikes stolen every day. Unfortunately, more than 90% of those thefts went unsolved too.1Crime Statistics Agency – Recorded Offences So, while you might be lucky and never have your bike stolen (or even have it magically return 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, contents insurance could at least leave you with the cash to replace it.
Tips to help stop your bicycle being stolen
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
Source: Victoria Police – Bicycle Security, p2
How do I make a claim for my bicycle?
If something does happen to your bike (an insured event anyway), it could be time to make a claim. While every insurer has their 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 personal effects cover today. You can get started with our online comparison tool today.

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- 1.Crime Statistics Agency – Recorded Offences