Bike insurance: an upsale opportunity for bike retailers?

With £22 million in bike insurance claims made in the past 3 years and a rising tide of bike theft, Tom McMorrin at Yellow Jersey makes a case for bundling insurance with every bike sale…

Regardless of price, a new bike is likely to be a substantial purchase for any customer. Of course, you’ll get those who arrive with the exact model they’d like to buy and the price they’d like to pay. Then there are those who have come into your shop because they’re unsure. Perhaps it’s a commuter bike, or they’ve just signed up to RideLondon and haven’t ridden in years. With any customer you’ve got the perfect opportunity to build a relationship.

Whoever enters your shop, the very fact they are there is an opportunity to provide them with a service that the internet cannot provide; human touch. They’ve come to you as the expert and they want to be guided in the right direction. This is where you have the opportunity to upsell your services and expertise, allowing your customer to leave not only in the knowledge that they’ve bought their dream bike but they, and the bike have, and will be, looked after.

An easy way to add value to a customer’s purchase is to bundle insurance into their purchase. Don’t get me wrong, as much as we would love every cyclist in the country to head home with a fully insured bike we’re aware that it’s not for everyone. All the same, empowering them with information to make an informed choice should leave them feeling good about the service they received from your staff.

Many people prefer to do a transaction like this at home online using an insurance aggregator, or they may feel comfortable keeping their bikes insured on their home cover. These options may be perfectly adequate, but they often fall short in the event of a claim.

Did you know that many home insurance policies exclude cover if the bike is stolen outside or while in use? Some insurers will increase premiums the following year if your customer puts in a claim for a stolen bike.

How to bundle insurance into a bicycle sale

Ride away policy: Work with an insurer who is willing to put together a 30, 60 or 90 day blanket ‘free insurance’ policy for your customers. It’s a great upsell and gives them a little ‘hug’ while riding away, without the fear of falling off and damaging it.

Insurance discount: After a simple conversation discussing the benefits of a specialist bicycle insurance policy, you could send your customers home with a ‘one off’ discount code to use at their convenience. Even better, if you follow up with an after-sales email about caring for their bike you then have another opportunity to remind them about coverage. What’s better is that if you partner with Yellow Jersey, we’ll pay you commission on each sale that you direct to us.

Membership: We’re working with a number of shops who have created a membership scheme for their customers to drive loyalty and increase return visits. A shop membership might include servicing and a cycling jersey, but you could tier it, offering a few levels of cover. We’ve generated a simple blanket insurance cover that you can sell onto your customers as part of a membership package. For example, you could sell a monthly membership where customers receive free servicing, coaching, club rides, store discounts and insurance for a rolling monthly fee. It’s incredibly easy and simple to set up and a great way to build loyalty.

At Yellow Jersey we now have a range of short-term and annual bicycle insurance policies to suit all types of cyclists, from the enthusiasts who own a fleet of bikes and race them worldwide, to club riders, through to newer riders and commuters who might be looking for something more basic.

Business insurance services

If you are looking for a low-cost policy that covers your basic legal requirements and little else, you can find those without a problem on any online aggregator. But often such policies are playing at the edges of minimum premiums providing little else other than covering your minimum obligations. Why not take the time to explore what other options are available to you, what additional coverage could be included come your next shop renewal?

• If you allow test rides of high value bikes, are they insured away from the shop?
• Is your liability as a mechanic covered both in the shop and events you may attend?
• Are your bike fits and coaching liabilities covered?
• Does your race team need cost-effective insurance?
• What about the sportive you arrange?
• Are your fleet of rental bikes insured?
• And that week’s training camp in spring: does your liability extend overseas, as a tour operator?

These may be questions you’ve asked yourself, or indeed your current insurer. They may already be included. If not, we’ll be happy to help.

Contact Yellow Jersey

Email here.
Phone: 0333 003 0046