How to compare and choose your bike insurance in Belgium?

With more than 31,000 bicycles stolen in Belgium per year, bicycle insurance can be very useful, but how to choose it?! We detail below the elements to take into account during your comparison.
How not to be fooled when choosing your bike insurance?
Here are the 7 key points to consider when choosing your bike insurance.

    Deductible and depreciation
    Overnight exclusion
    Do you need a specific lock?
    Professional use
    Pay attention to the type of bike
    Check the terms of your home insurance
    The bounty

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1. Deductible and depreciation

In order to reduce the risk of fraud, the insurer may apply a deductible and/or a depreciation of your bicycle in the event of a claim.

The deductible is generally quite easy to understand, for example when a 10% deductible is applied on a €3,000 bike, if your bike is stolen, you will be reimbursed €2,700 (i.e. €3,000 - €300).

English deductible is a kind of customer-beneficial deductible which is applied on property damage. If the amount of damage is below the English deductible, you pay for your property damage. If the amount of damage is greater than the English deductible, you pay nothing and the insurer pays for the full repair.

Depreciation or obsolescence can in some cases be much less transparent to the customer and can be applied in addition to a deductible. In Belgium, in most cases the insurer applies a depreciation of the value of your bike of 1% per month from the 13th month, but it starts from the date of purchase of your bike, which means that if your bike is stolen after 18 months, you will have to pay the equivalent of an 18% deductible!

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At Qover-me, we have decided to apply a standard deductible of 10% in the event of theft or total loss and an English deductible of 10% in the event of repairable material damage, always with a minimum of €50 and a maximum of €200. We do not apply obsolescence, we insure the replacement value of your bike.

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Let's take a concrete case:

You bought a new electric bike for €3,000 and you have it stolen after 2 years.

- With an insurer that applies a depreciation from the 13th month of 1%, you will be reimbursed €2,280

- With Qover-me, you will be reimbursed €2,800

2. Overnight exclusion

Check the exclusions, many insurance companies exclude the theft of the bike during the night from their guarantee. At Qover-me, your bike is covered 24/7, so you can make room in your cellar and park your bike outside while respecting the lockout measures.

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3. Do you need a special lock?

Some insurance companies force you to take the best padlock on the market, which is often heavy and expensive. At Qover-me, we ask you for an approved padlock either FUB or Sold Secure Silver (or Gold) or even ART approved category 2 (or higher), you can already find some from 45 €. Do not hesitate to ask your bicycle dealer for advice, he will be happy to help you.

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4. Professional use

If you use your bike for business trips, be careful, as most insurance policies exclude business use. With Qover-me, you are sure to be covered even when traveling for business.

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5. Pay attention to the type of bike

Be careful to also look at the exclusions depending on the type of your bike, we have already observed that some competitors do not hesitate to change their conditions if you have a mountain bike or a racing bike, which is not always clear on the website, but yet well detailed in the general conditions.

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6. Check the clauses of your home insurance

Generally, if you cover your contents, it covers the theft of your bike when it's stolen from your home and under certain circumstances, but it probably won't cover the theft of your bike if you're out for a drink in town. Check the different exclusions carefully.

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7. Bounty

And finally the premium. The premium is the amount you will pay each year to insure your bike. ⚠️ Attention, a low premium often hides exclusions, read the general conditions carefully before subscribing to the insurance.

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The most Qover-me

With Qover-me, have peace of mind by insuring your bike in less than 5 minutes. Get your bike insurance policy online easily.

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