Specialist bike insurer Bikmo release 2020 claims data

The specialist cycling insurer Bikmo has released its claims data for 2020. Looking insurance claims from riders in 2020, Bikmo has identified a number of underlying themes over the last four years and predicted what the key insurance trends for 2021 will be.

The official insurance partner to British Cycling has released information on everything from the most popular causes of claim, where incidents took place, the average cost of replacement and even what percentage of claims were successfully paid out on. The numbers for 2020 are available to the public via Bikmo’s website here.

This year’s stats show that with more people storing and riding their bikes at their properties, the percentage of incidents taking place at home has almost doubled from 2019. In 2020 theft accounted for just under 49% of Bikmo’s total claims, up 23% from just two years earlier.

However, accidental damage were responsible for just as many claims (49%) by Bikmo customers in 2020. When looking at which items customers claimed for, the majority (31%) claimed for both a bike and accessories – showing that riders who don’t have accessory cover for items like bike computers, helmets and clothing included within their agreement (like most home insurance policies) will often lose out when they need to claim.

Despite the average cost of bikes and equipment rising in recent years, the average amount claimed for fell from £1,675 in 2017 to £1,293 in 2020. Whereas bikes worth under £500 had made up only 18% of Bikmo’s policies in 2017, this rose to 29% in 2020.

When looking at what riding disciplines incidents took place, road cyclists appeared to make the most claims in 2020 with 56% of the total. This was then followed by commuters (25%) and then trail shredding MTB riders (11%).

e-Bikes across all disciplines accounted for just 7% of claims, a figure which supports Bikmo’s belief that e-Bike riders represent less risk to insurers and that e-Bike policy prices should reflect this.

When looking at what periods of the year had the most claims for Bikmo, April saw the least number of claims for Bikmo, with the most occurring in October.

Finally, Bikmo reports that 98% of claims were approved in 2020. David George, CEO said: “2020 has been a year like no other. Whilst presenting significant challenges and personal tragedy for millions across the country, it has also seen a positive shift in the way we travel. Believing strongly in the values of openness and transparency, we have today released insights from our claims data in 2020, so that we can share some of the trends we’re seeing as well as better predict what lies ahead.”

As the cycle insurance market continues to grow quickly, David George has pulled together his 5 top predictions for the key industry trends in 2021 as we start to look to a future post the Pandemic.

• With theft claims in 2020 nearly double what they were in 2017, sadly we expect this trend to continue with an estimated 45% growth in our bike theft claims in 2021.
• Anyone who assumes their bike is covered by their home insurance should check the small print very carefully, as many will not cover incidents away from the home or accidental damage and may have a single item/bicycle limit as low as £500. As a result, we expect over 50% of UK cyclists to have no or little cover.
• The European Cycling Federation (ECF) estimates that European e-Bike sales will increase to 17million per year by 2030. With insurers now starting to understand the different riding behaviours of e-Bike riders, we believe insurance for e-Bikes will grow in line with e-Bike sales.
• We’re hopeful that mass participation events will restart in 2021.
• As more and more people start to realise the many benefits of cycling and active travel, we expect to see a boom in the number of personal leasing/hire schemes especially through employer-led schemes. As a result, we expect to see increased demand for insurance and service products within this space.