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A stolen bicycle can leave the victim broke as well as stranded - but is traditional cover your best insurance?
When the brusque Australian played by James Coburn was on the run from a prisoner-of-war camp in the second world war classic film The Great Escape, he did something that happens more than 1,000 times a day in Britain nowadays: he stole a bicycle.
Unfortunately the usual motive for bike theft is less heroic and, on a daily basis, leaves its many victims out of pocket and without transport.
The problem is likely to grow as more enthusiasts take to pedal power with the aim of cutting costs and saving the planet. The sustainable transport charity Sustrans, which monitors usage of the 12,000 miles of National Cycle Network in the UK, has already seen usage leap fourfold since 2000.
So how do you protect your two wheels - and is it worth the cost?
The cheapest method is usually by adding cover to your home insurance policy. Some of the more expensive home contents policies automatically include cover for a bike, even if it is stolen away from home, so long as it is locked up properly. However, most policies expect you to pay an additional premium for this or they will not cover your bike at all, or else will only cover it while it is locked on your premises.
Cheryl Bevan, aged 24, from Bristol, is one of the growing band of commuters to convert to two wheels. She is taking part in an initiative run by Sustrans to encourage more women to cycle and has not yet bought insurance for her bike, but feels its modest value makes it a lower priority. "The bike is well protected at home and my workplace has secure storage," she says. "But I'm planning to get a D-lock shortly."
Moneysupermarket research found that cyclists can add a bicycle to their home contents insurance policy from as little as £14 a year, but warns that costs and cover can vary dramatically.
For example, a man living in Maidstone, Kent, who has a £40,000 home contents policy with quotelinedirect, will have to pay an extra £17.43 for his bike (worth up to £500) on top of his £73.24 premium. Swinton provides similar cover for £78.59 - that figure includes £23 for the same bike, while Direct Choice charges £80.42, including £23 a year for a bike worth up to £1,000.
Swinton will not pay out for a bike stolen while left in the garden overnight unless it is locked to a permanent structure and Direct Choice requires unattended bikes generally to be locked to an immovable object or in a locked building.
Steve Sweeney of moneysupermarket agrees that for most people, adding bike cover to your home contents insurance will be the most cost-effective option. "But if your bike is especially valuable I would advise looking into separate bike insurance, providing more comprehensive cover," he says.
This advice is particularly applicable if your bike is worth more than £500, you use it in competitions or you take it abroad. Standalone insurance typically starts at about £50 a year and many policies come with extras like personal accident or European cover. Moneysupermarket highlights cover for the same householder as above but with an £800 bike from AUA Insurance (£56), E&L Insurance (£63) and Cycleguard (£63) as providers offering broad cover.
Again, there are differences between the policies. AUA Insurance is unlikely to pay out for a bike left overnight unless it is in a locked building - if you leave it overnight near the railway station it may not be covered. E&L excludes theft of the bike at home if there is no evidence of forced or violent entry.
The most comprehensive policy Cash could find that covers you for leaving your bike locked at a station for up to 24 hours (and locked in public elsewhere for 12 hours) comes from the Ethical Transport Association. It charges £64.50 a year for the same £800 bike. Such plans normally include third-party liability, should you cause damage or injury to another person or vehicle. Your home contents insurance may offer this cover, but double check with your insurer that any cycle-related incidents are included.
Many cycle clubs and groups also offer discounted insurance and some include free third-party cover as part of the membership fee, such as the London Cycling Campaign (individual membership £32 a year, £55 for families, £14 for students) and national group Cyclists' Touring Club (£36, £58.50 and £12).
Since a bicycle is the ultimate in transportable swag (transforming instantly into a thief's own getaway vehicle) you should also invest in a strong lock. The best ones are expensive - expect to pay around £50 for the strongest D-lock .
You can also protect your bike in the following ways:
• Record and register it by using a service such as www.bikeregister.com or www.immobilise.com.
• Take a photographand write down a description you can give to the police.
• Security mark the frame in at least two places.
• Do not leave it in the same place every day if it is particularly valuable.
• For more advice, visit www.sustrans.org.uk, www.bikeforall.com or tfl.gov.uk/cycle
Bringing your wheels up to scratch
Got a bike that you don't want to lose? It could be time to "geek your ride". As the name suggests, geeking means making your bike less attractive to anyone who might have eyes on it.
Bicycle thieves are generally lazy and target bikes they can easily sell on. A theft that requires work will often be passed over in favour of an untouched model. Top of the geeking list is putting masking tape loops round the frame. After a few weeks it goes a nasty, grey colour. Box packaging tape adds a similarly off-putting sheen to your machine.
Some people have been known to take a file to their bike's frame to make it look older and heavily scratched.
Consider etching on your initials or postcode. Stickers and transfers are equally hard to remove, and can easily add a high geek-factor. Another option is a DIY colour scheme. My wife buys dark-framed bikes and then paints yellow flowers all over the bodywork on the basis the bike will be harder to sell on. Turd-brown is another option.
Some claim their bike is less likely to be stolen if a wicker basket is added, although I'm not convinced. Much easier, and cheaper, is to place a grubby plastic bag over the saddle when you leave it. Remember new bikes are most at risk of theft. If you leave it in same place each day make sure the other bikes in the same rack look better than yours, and have worse locks. If they don't, you need to get geeking - and buy a better lock. Common sense says it should be there when you return. Miles Brignall
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