Insurance finally secured with Cyclesure. A tremendously nice woman called Jan has fixed it up for me, and it gives me protection against theft, as well as liability cover if I am involved in an accident. They even give me a discount if I join Cycling UK, which I will talk more about later.
I have been immensely impressed by Cyclesure because it is, currently, the only organisation I know that answers your phone call without any recorded messages (allegedly for the convenience of the customer) to route you to a relevant department. I am sure all of those reading are familiar with the rage that wells up when a series of audible menu options is finally and painfully negotiated, only for the caller to be put on hold indefinitely to the sound of tinny, disembodied music or the repeated squawk of someone telling you that your call is valuable so please continue to hold. Not so with Cyclesure. Jan picked up my call and, after we had gone through the various options, she asked me to call back after lunch and she would finalise my cover. I asked her, Can I ask to speak with you, as you’ve been so helpful? And she said, in a Liverpool accent, “Oh don’t worry, I’m the only one here so it’ll be me that answers the call”. I was delighted. When I called back, Jan had just finished her lunch, and shortly after we had discussed the cover, I received an email that was obviously not just a template, recapping all the details and with a link to purchase and pay for the cover.
I read the policy and was alerted to the need to secure the bike to the floor in my locked shed. This was not something needed if the bike was to be stored in our home, but I felt that the family would have limited patience with the e-bike obscuring their view of the television. I browsed Amazon for floor bolts, and as usual was surprised by the variety available, and the range of costs from around £10 to as much as £35. In the end I went for the most solid option I could find.
These arrived the next day. Unfortunately, the bar of the reinforced steel manacle that I bought with the bike was too thick for the floor bolts purchased on Amazon, so I secured these using two flexible steel combination locks with thick steel wire, and then also purchased a robust circular floor bolt from Homebase that would allow me to triple-lock the bike using the manacle. I dug out an sturdy padlock for the outside of the shed, and inside the bike is now triple-locked, with the floor manacle, the heavy duty iron manacle through the frame, and the tertiary lock that chains it down by the floor bolt near the front wheel. I felt sure this would secure the e-bike while I was away on holiday, and that it would also meet the requirements of the Cyclesure insurance policy.
To be doubly safe, I removed the bike’s battery and unscrewed the seat, and then took various photos of the arrangement just in case evidence was required if my Fort Knox wall of security was breached by a determined burglar.
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