Bikes become the most popular high value item added to insurance policies

• Bikes worth more than £1,500, on average, are the most popular items added to home insurance policies in January 2021
• Other items added include stamp and coin collections, items containing gold and musical instruments
• Admiral is urging homeowners to update their home insurance policies to ensure Christmas gifts are covered as grace period is over

Admiral Home insurance has revealed that bikes worth more than £1,500, on average, were the most popular items added to home insurance policies at the beginning of this year, after the Christmas break, knocking jewellery and household tech off the top spot.

Comparing Admiral’s policy data from 2018 to 2020, bikes have grown in popularity, overtaking jewellery which used to be the most commonly added item. Data from January 2021 shows that bikes hold the top spot for items added to policies, accounting for 30% of items, while jewellery was the second most popular (29%), followed by watches (11%) and household tech like laptops and tablets (10%).

During the first national lockdown many people bought bikes either for exercise or as an alternative way to travel and, in May last year, Admiral saw a 46% increase in the number of bicycle theft claims compared to the same period in 2019. The latest data shows an increase in owners actively adding their bikes to their policies in a bid to protect them.