Happy Trails….

Warmer weather is finally here…. well for today at least. This is YYC after all.  For many of us it’s finally time to pull our bicycle out of storage and hit the trails and pathways.  Calgary is one of the best cities in Canada for “bikeability” according to CBC http://www.cbc.ca/keepingcanadasafe/blog/bike-friendly-places-canada

For a lot of people this means that they don’t have to drive their car, wait for a bus, or stand in a packed c-train to get to work. Pedaling to work is becoming more popular each year in Calgary.  The freedom of being out in nature, getting fresh air, and enjoying the peaceful pathways sounds very attractive. Whether you’re thinking about starting to ride to work, or have already taken that step, one of the first things you need to think about is protecting your bike while it’s parked at work.

It’s not uncommon for people to spend $3,000 or more on a bicycle. So investing in a quality bike lock is usually the first thing people think of.  Our friends at MEC wrote a great post on choosing the right bike lock.  https://www.mec.ca/en/explore/locking-your-bike?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fall&utm_term=cycling&utm_content=en_bikelock  The important thing to remember here is that a bike lock is a good deterrent, but if a thief really wants your bike, they will probably find a way to get it.

So what if your bike gets stolen… you have insurance, so you’ll be fine right? Maybe, what many people don’t know is that there may be limitations on their home policy for bicycle coverage.  Most home policies will give you coverage for at least $1,000 towards bicycles & their equipment. If you have a $3,000+ bike that’s a problem. You’ll need to check your policy wordings, or contact your broker, to see if your policy has limitation.

If you have a limitation on your policy, and you own a bicycle that’s valued above the limit of coverage, it’s time to contact your broker and talk about adding a bicycle floater to your policy. A bicycle floater will specifically list the bicycle (year, make, model, serial number) on the policy and what its value is.  The floater cost will vary depending on the insurance company but plan to spend around $5 for every $100 of bicycle value.   So a $3,000 bicycle would cost you around $150 a year to insure, which is a lot less than having to replace your bike yourself.

In addition, a bicycle floater will also either reduce or eliminate the deductible on the bike that’s listed. Most home policies have a $1,000 deductible.  A bicycle floater will reduce that deductible.  Again, this will vary depending on the insurer but a deductible ranging from $25 to $100 would be a reasonable expectation.

Happy trails!