With bike demand and usage having surged to record levels, the question of protecting your mountain bike asset with insurance is more real, than ever before.

Mountain bike prices are rising, and a contemporary carbon-fibre dual-suspension bike is not an insignificant investment. But what are the ownership risks and insurance profile, of an average UK rider?

Bikmo has released fascinating data and some of the trends can help you understand your risk and profile as a mountain bike insurance customer. The specialty bike insurance company is managed by authentic bike geeks and have a deep understating of all cycling disciplines and rider behaviour.

Read more: understanding mountain bike crashes and damage 

Theft is not the biggest insurance issue

Despite lockdown forcing more riders onto virtual platforms, training in their living rooms, 81.68% of insurance claim events still happen away from your domiciled address.

When riders consider insuring a bike, the overriding motivation is protection against theft. But Bikmo’s numbers indicate that accidental damage has now marginally surpassed theft, as the primary claim. According to the company’s data, accidental incidents tallied 49.25% of all 2020 insurance claims, with theft accounting for 48.5%.

What are riders claiming for? The lead claim item is a combination of bike and accessories, at 30.56% of requests. This is followed by component claims at 26.89%, with full bikes only coming in third, at 24.18%.

An inarguable driver for bike and accessory claims being bundled, as the lead item in Bikmo’s insurance data, is the prevalence and cost of digital devices, such as cycling computer head units and power meters. These devices are significantly expensive and have become an integral part of some mountain bike set-ups.

Mellower rides equalling less bike and damage?

Despite riding far riskier and challenging terrain, mountain bikers claim at a notably lower frequency than road riders, who lead the table with 55.73%.

Mountain bike claims through Bikmo’s system proportioned to only 11.16% and an even smaller fraction were off-road e-bikes, at 1.43%. This could be ascribed to the lower number of mountain bikers and more restrained bike use, during 2020, when some riders might have avoided ultra-technical trails, lowering injury risk and bike damage, due to lockdown and strain on NHS.

Does seasonality influence the volume of claims? Bikmo’s trendline for 2020 would indicate this to be the case, although it was a remarkably different year for all social dynamics. Of the total insurance claims for 2020, only 3.79% were made in April, representing the trough, whilst October saw the peak, with 11.17%.