UK Bike Insurance [Laka perspective]

[Tobi_Laka]

Hi all,

I've been posting about this in the past and noticed more and more questions emerge around insurance for e-bikes. I'm the founder of Laka, a specialist bike insurer in the UK with a new business model. More about this below as this is not the reason for this post. Instead, I wanted to share a few thoughts on specialist vs home insurance for your bikes.

Home insurance: there are a few good providers out there, no doubt. However, I would always recommend doing the homework and really go through the fine print. We have seen policies that would only cover theft at home but not whilst you are out riding, damage to the bike being excluded, and even seen policies that only cover bikes in a 5 miles radius from home (really?!)... A high excess in your home insurance policy might eat up a good part of the claims settlement, and we have seen home insurance premiums going up after a claim for the bike.

Specialist insurance: there are again several providers in the market and their strengths are that cover was built solely for the purpose of covering bikes. Claims handlers will know how to take care of your precious bike and will allow for a much better experience in general. At Laka, 80% of our claims are for damage to the bike and accessories, the remainder for theft. In my opinion, the former is the bigger risk as it doesn't take much for parts to get damaged.

I've seen the cost of specialist bike insurance quoted as a hurdle. Of course, if you have a home insurance provider that covers the bike for theft at home only, that will pose a much lower risk than covering theft + damage whilst you are out and about. At Laka, 1 in 10 customers file a claim with us in a year, often for parts rather than the whole bike. With that, the lines between insurance and service play fade. The smallest claim settled was for a broken spoke as we don't have an excess. Admittingly this is a rare case though but illustrates the value (and by extension cost) of specialist cover. Having said that, I'm confident that our prices are quite competitive.

I would highly recommend doing your own research and ask some tough questions when it comes to the coverage of your bikes. Does the home insurer cover that spare battery? Will they replace "new for old" or will you need to accept a 3-year-old replacement a few years in? Are there any claims reviews publicly available?

I'm very happy to answer any questions you might have when it comes to bike insurance, but take it with a grain of salt as I am clearly biased ;-) If you are curious and want to give Laka a try, you will find a £25 discount code below.

Best, Tobi

+++


Laka no longer charges any premiums upfront. Instead, the Laka Community share the cost of claims at the end of a month based on the actual cost of claims incurred, and only up to a personal maximum. We show transparently what the Laka Community is paying for and offer monthly renewing policies (no more lock-in for a whole year); an illustrative billing e-mail from April below. Our claims handlers are former bike mechanics and live and breathe bikes. Check out or claims reviews if you like: link to Google Reviews. If you want to give us a try, use "EMTBForums" as your discount code for £25 off.

 

[R120]

Thanks for posting that up - quick question, if the bikes are kept in a locked garage overnight, what are the requirements of scoring them within the garage? Ground anchor and locks or just locks?

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Thanks for posting that up - quick question, if the bikes are kept in a locked garage overnight, what are the requirements of scoring them within the garage? Ground anchor and locks or just locks?

This really depends on the provider (home insurer or specialist bike insurer). With Laka, we only ask you to keep the bike in a locked shed / garage. No requirement to keep it locked in there or to use a ground anchor. The basic check our customers should ask is if they would be happy if everyone would store the bikes as they do. Having said that, we're working on rewards for those going the extra mile, e.g. using a ground anchor

 

[ImSundee]

How do you deal with changes to the bike?

We all like to tinker? If I change my brakes for say. Whats the fees ect for the change?

 

[Tobi_Laka]

How do you deal with changes to the bike?

We all like to tinker? If I change my brakes for say. Whats the fees ect for the change?

You are welcome to modify your bike as you see fit. At Laka, we ask you for what amount you would like to insure your bike for and base your individual share on this. You may increase or lower this at any point in time and as you see fit. There's no admin/handling fee.

 

[mark1a]

Hello @Tobi_Laka,

I‘ve been with Laka for around a year now - love the concept and the business model, and have recommended it numerous times.

I have a question though regarding the example April 20 statement you’ve posted above. I have a statement for April 20 and all of the breakdown figures are the same of course. However in your example the share component of the premium is £4.53 for £3150 of cover on risk. My share component was £34.28 for £11050 of cover. This does not appear to be a proportional share, would you be able to explain this further please? I’ve just added another £7000 this month (new bike) and would like to know before the May 20 statement.

Thanks!

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Hello @Tobi_Laka,

I‘ve been with Laka for around a year now - love the concept and the business model, and have recommended it numerous times.

I have a question though regarding the example April 20 statement you’ve posted above. I have a statement for April 20 and all of the breakdown figures are the same of course. However in your example the share component of the premium is £4.53 for £3150 of cover on risk. My share component was £34.28 for £11050 of cover. This does not appear to be a proportional share, would you be able to explain this further please? I’ve just added another £7000 this month (new bike) and would like to know before the May 20 statement.

Thanks!

Hi, really happy to hear that you've been with us for over a year now - and congrats on the new bike! The illustration I shared might have been of a customer who joined halfway through a month and thus would have only paid for the remaining days. The statement was posted here by the customer for full transparency and context.

You are always charged proportionally to the claims cost the Laka Community incurred in a month. The 2 exceptions being our multi-bike discount and if a customer joins during a month. Please send me an email to tobias[at]laka.co.uk if you want us to dig in deeper

P.s. would really love to hear any other feedback you might have for us as we can always improve I'm sure

 

[mark1a]

Thanks for taking the time to back to me, makes sense. As I mentioned it’s a great concept, retrospectively billing members for what has happened rather than charging people for something that hasn’t and betting that it won’t.

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Thanks for taking the time to back to me, makes sense. As I mentioned it’s a great concept, retrospectively billing members for what has happened rather than charging people for something that hasn’t and betting that it won’t.

Any time

 

[scjgreen]

Based on the above posters quote of £34 for £11K of Kit my quote of £20 for £3700 worth of kit seems expensive?

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Based on the above posters quote of £34 for £11K of Kit my quote of £20 for £3700 worth of kit seems expensive?

Hi, based on the info shared the £11k quote likely comprises a multi-bike discount which we offer when more than 1 bike is covered with us as the risk of damage / theft on the road is much lower as 1 person can't ride 2 bikes at the same time

Our costs are a direct reflection of the claims received as our Laka collective share the cost retroactively and fully transparent (and up to a personal maximum). Happy to send you a discount code for some free Laka credit to give us a try?

 

[AlwynM]

I joined as soon as soon as I received my new Levo. Love the concept and business model.

 

[Tobi_Laka]

I joined as soon as soon as I received my new Levo. Love the concept and business model.

Thanks a ton for the kind words

 

[MrSimmo]

Hi Tobi,

This looks really interesting, but I just tried a quote - adding £7200 for my 2020 Levo came back with £39-£60 a month (£468 - £720 per annum); where as a traditional provider [CyclePlan] which I use currently is £290 for 12 months.

Being open and honest, I couldn't justify paying over twice the price for cover. Not trying to throw stones at Laka but wanted to share some feedback.


Cheers

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Hi Tobi,

This looks really interesting, but I just tried a quote - adding £7200 for my 2020 Levo came back with £39-£60 a month (£468 - £720 per annum); where as a traditional provider [CyclePlan] which I use currently is £290 for 12 months.

Being open and honest, I couldn't justify paying over twice the price for cover. Not trying to throw stones at Laka but wanted to share some feedback.


Cheers

Hi, thanks for the feedback! I had a look around to understand why we might be more expensive than your existing insurer. My guess is that it is a combination of several things:

- Excess: CP appears to ask for an excess being the greater of £25 or 5% of the claim value. In your case, this would be £360 in case of a full write-off / theft. Laka has £0 excess for its bike product and has paid out as little as a broken spoke.

- Modules: with Laka you get free 3rd party liability cover (to be precise: we charge £12 / year for it but give it back in credit to the bike policy), you are covered as a standard for European / Globel travel (less important at the moment no doubt), and offer up to £200 towards a bike hire free of charge after an accident. CP appears to charge extra for all of these.

There are other factors like an extremely favourable postcode that might help here. At Laka we don't care where you live as long as you take good care of your bike - the "Laka collective" thought basically.

You might very well have found a package that works for you and by no means do I want to convince you that Laka is the only right product for you. Having said that, insurance is an intangible product and is selling a promise to be there for you when you are in need. The claims process is our bread & butter and we're striving for a "white glove" service. This might result, at times, in prices closer to market rate but I prefer service over price any day to break the vicious cycle insurers have brought upon them with the sole focus on price to rank top on price comparison websites.

On that note, please feel free to take a look at our recent reviews after customers had to file a claim with us, either on Facebook or Google Reviews, e.g. here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LakaHQ/reviews/

Again, many thanks for the feedback and we will take this away

 

[MrSimmo]

Hi, thanks for the feedback! I had a look around to understand why we might be more expensive than your existing insurer. My guess is that it is a combination of several things:

- Excess: CP appears to ask for an excess being the greater of £25 or 5% of the claim value. In your case, this would be £360 in case of a full write-off / theft. Laka has £0 excess for its bike product and has paid out as little as a broken spoke.

- Modules: with Laka you get free 3rd party liability cover (to be precise: we charge £12 / year for it but give it back in credit to the bike policy), you are covered as a standard for European / Globel travel (less important at the moment no doubt), and offer up to £200 towards a bike hire free of charge after an accident. CP appears to charge extra for all of these.

There are other factors like an extremely favourable postcode that might help here. At Laka we don't care where you live as long as you take good care of your bike - the "Laka collective" thought basically.

You might very well have found a package that works for you and by no means do I want to convince you that Laka is the only right product for you. Having said that, insurance is an intangible product and is selling a promise to be there for you when you are in need. The claims process is our bread & butter and we're striving for a "white glove" service. This might result, at times, in prices closer to market rate but I prefer service over price any day to break the vicious cycle insurers have brought upon them with the sole focus on price to rank top on price comparison websites.

On that note, please feel free to take a look at our recent reviews after customers had to file a claim with us, either on Facebook or Google Reviews, e.g. here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LakaHQ/reviews/

Again, many thanks for the feedback and we will take this away

Thanks Tobi, appreciate you taking the time to respond. Makes sense and thanks again ? I think you've nailed it with the excess, 5% is quite a lot in the event of a total loss claim, so £0 is very attractive!


Cheers

 

[enCrypt]

Hi Tobi,
I'm interested in trying out your insurance but on running through the online quote process it seems I need a lock to continue.
My bike will always either be inside my home or my van (with me driving it) or I'll be riding it and it will never be left unattended at anytime. Can I still get a quote please?

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Hi Tobi,
I'm interested in trying out your insurance but on running through the online quote process it seems I need a lock to continue.
My bike will always either be inside my home or my van (with me driving it) or I'll be riding it and it will never be left unattended at anytime. Can I still get a quote please?

Hi, thanks for your interest. You can still go ahead and sign-up with us and we would honour any theft claim from home or your van but couldn't pay out if your bike was indeed left unattended outside (without the evidence of a Gold-rated lock). What might be also interesting is that 4 out of 5 claims are for damage to your (e-) bike. Hope this helps!

 

[PhilBaker]

Really like your new business model for insurance. Nice job Tobi!

You're like the Uber of Taxi's for bike insurance ?

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Really like your new business model for insurance. Nice job Tobi!

You're like the Uber of Taxi's for bike insurance ?

Haha, thanks Phil!! I quite like that ?

 

[djuhamman]

Having insurance is crucial these days. I've seen too many people buying expensive bikes and not getting insurance. I know that it can be expensive, but it's 100% worth it. It's better to be sure that nothing can happen with your bike and that if there's an accident, you'll get a new one. I'm using one from Bicycle insurance designed for cyclists | Sundays Insurance and I've been pretty satisfied so far. You just have to look out for the company that you like the most. And it's the same thing when it comes to pricing. I'm sure that you going to find something for your needs

 

[Orinoko]

Hi Tobi,I’m insured with Laka and very pleased.
But is a litelock flexi which is silver rated still not good enough to get me covered when I’m out n about?
Cheers

 

[Daev]

Hi Tobi,
Interesting model - great to see some innovation around.
I've had a glass of wine (or two) so may not have fully understood the concept, but does this mean those in low risk areas are subsidising those in high risk areas ? I appreciate this is the case with general insurance but as a newbie requiring e-mtb insurance post haste, I'm busy investigating my options.
Cheers
Dave

 

[chrismechmaster]

Two ebike worth £8 k each both kept in the house with several anchors and gold rated chains never unattended outside
Cycle plan charge me £51 a month
Could you beat this ? @Tobi_Laka

 

[jonesi]

Laka is an interesting and innovative idea. However, to insure my new Trek Rail with them would cost me 66% more than a 'traditional' insurer. I suspect for 'like for like' cover the difference in premium would be smaller, but I was able to reduce the premium by increasing the excess and selecting fewer optional covers. I suppose for something new with a small collective you have to keep it simple hence a one size fits all product. When insurance is expensive it's nice to have the option of a higher excess; I'm never going to claim for a broken spoke, it's the worst case scenario I'm insuring against!

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Hi @chrismechmaster and @jonesi, appreciate the interest! I would describe Laka certainly as the higher end of the market in terms of coverage. Spec'd down cover is a way to keep costs down but I'd strongly encourage you to review policy wording very closely as there's some nasty stuff out there (e.g. theft cover in a 5-miles from home radius only etc). The service level is another one to bear in mind. Saving a few pounds is great in the short term but if you have long debates at the point of claim when it truly matters then it might not be worth it. Laka has won "Best Cycle Insurer" in the UK 4 years in a row as we heavily invest in the customer experience which always comes first.

Having said this, we need to be competitive (and more) and you will see us launch modularized cover to switch off e.g. worldwide travel or events to lower the premium, likely in Q2. We pride ourselves with a zero excess / zero depreciation policy but I'll take the feedback away that an excess might be actually desirable to keep the costs down (I just don't like the idea of telling customers at the point of a claim that I can't reimburse them in full but that might be just me). Lastly @chrismechmaster, we offer a multi-bike discount so hopefully, we're not far off from your current quote (beware of year-1 discounts that look good first). We're also going to "gamify" our cover and will offer discounts for using a ground anchor for example. A big year ahead for us

 

[Tobi_Laka]

I hope this is not too cheeky but if you use the referral code "Tobias" you get £25 off against your first bill(s). Not a very creative referral code - one I need to look into

 

[Pyr0]

I'm sorry, but this just does not seem good value tbh, even with a £25 discount on the first bill.

I just got a quote on Laka and it says I would expect to pay around £50 a month, never more than 74 a month
This would equal £600 a year @ £50 a month. £888 @ £74

I took out a years insurance with Cycleplan and paid just under £379.
Yes, I will have a 5% excess to pay if anything should happen, but I could have had this waived and still paid less and I have some cover for injuries, public liability, loss of income and all kinds.

 

[Tobi_Laka]

@Pyr0 - thanks for sharing. Some insurers price based on the postcodes and there's a good chance that you benefit from this. There are lots of ways to adjust your cover to make a like-for-like comparison difficult, e.g. an excess vs no excess (Laka has a zero excess policy) and more. I won't make another push on service vs price but it will certainly play a role. We're actively working on making our cover more flexible so you can switch on/off the modules you need which will help bring costs down.

 

[mark1a]

This is welcome news @Tobi_Laka as I now have over £20k on risk and some ways of tweaking the share of the pack cost would be good. For example, the main advantages for me of Laka are no depreciation, quibble-free claim process (take your word for this as have never claimed), no ground anchor at home (bikes are in a locked integral garage), and cover while in locked van. However, I don't really need competition cover, travel expenses, zero excess (I will never be claiming for a spoke and will happily exchange a reduction in share for an excess).

I'll await news of your modular approach later this year...