eBike insurance is a new and sometimes confusing industry.
While some local insurance companies may offer a policy that covers your eBike, very few are advertised, and many insurance companies are not prepared to offer this new service, mostly because the laws around electric bikes are either non-existent in some states, or new and untested in others.
We found 3 main insurance companies that clearly offer eBike insurance online, although they are all underwritten by the same company. This means that there wasn’t a lot of difference when it came to getting a quote, in our experience.
eBike Insurance Companies
As mentioned above, we found that each of the following three options were actually part of, or underwritten by, the same company: Markel American Insurance Company.
Markel
This is the main company behind the insurance offerings of the other companies on this list. They offer coverage for:
- Bicycle liability (if you hit/hurt/damage something/someone, they will cover up to $100,000)
- Medical payments (this can help you pay medical bills, up to $10,000)
- Vehicle contact protection (if you hit a vehicle that isn’t properly insured, this can help cover your costs, up to $25,000)
- $200, $300, and $500 deductible options
- Worldwide physical damage (up to the cost of your bike)
- Roadside assistance (towing services, administered by Nation Safe Driver approved service providers)
Here’s a table from Markel’s site, comparing homeowner policies vs. a dedicated eBike policy:
What do they actually cover?
- Bike Coverage, including physical damage, spare parts, theft protection, transit protection, and more
- Personal Coverage, including liability protection, vehicle contact protection, medical payments, and roadside assistance
- Professional Cyclist Coverage, including rental reimbursement and competitive event fee reimbursement
Markel now offers coverage for three classes of e-bikes:
- Pedal assist e-bike with top assisted speed of 20 mph
- Throttle assist e-bike with top assisted speed of 20 mph
- Pedal assist e-bike with top assisted speed of 28 mph
Electric bike motors must be 750 watts or under.
Spoke
The Spoke website and sign up process is virtually identical to Markel’s, and is hosted on the same website. Everything that applies to Markel, above, will apply to Spoke.
It is powered by the Marsh & McLennan Agency but backed by Markel.
We found no difference in quote price when we went through the process of acquiring a quote.
Velosurance
Velosurance seems to be an independent company, although their policies are underwritten by Markel.
They have partnerships with bike shops across the country to get your damaged bike fixed as soon as possible, and offer discounts to members of a variety of cycling organizations.
The website and quote experience are better, in my opinion, than Markel or Spoke.
They offer coverage for:
Here’s a table from Velosurance’s site, comparing homeowners insurance vs. a dedicated eBike policy:
What do they actually cover?
- Bicycle Physical Damage (Including Theft)
- Liability Limit (Optional)
- Medical Payments (Optional)
- Vehicle Contact Protection (Optional)
- Road Side Assistance (Optional)
- Competitive Event Fee Reimbursement (Free)
- Rental Reimbursement
- Spare Parts
- Cycle Apparel
- World wide coverage (Optional)
A couple of important notes from the Velosurance quote web page that may alter your quote:
- Minimum Earned Premium Notice: Your policy is subject to a $100 minimum earned premium. If you cancel the policy before you have paid $100 of premium you will be responsible for the unpaid difference.
- Riding Season Premium Adjustment: This is a 12-month policy with a premium that has been adjusted for the expected riding season in your region. The southern states have higher premiums based on a 12-month riding season whereas the northern states have lower premiums based on a limited riding season.
They offer payment plans so you can pay one year upfront, 2 payments per year, 3 payments per year, 6 payments per year, or monthly. Paying upfront will save you a few dollars, but not much. Just the transaction fees, typically.
Comparing eBike Insurance Quotes
We went through the process of filling out the online quote forms for Velosurance, Markel, and Spoke.
We broke this down a variety of ways.
One quote was for the bare minimum, with no additional coverage for liability, medical, or vehicle contact protection.
Another quote was for the full protection, minus roadside assistance and worldwide coverage.
The avatar we used was:
- Single
- 30 years old
- Male
- Rents in Washington state
- With an $8000 eBike
- Pedal assist with up to 20 mph top speed
- Who uses the bike to commute
We’re using a $500 deductible in all cases, although you chould choose $200 or $300, which would slightly increase your premium.
Quote Example 1: The Bare Basics, $8000 eBike
| Velosurance | $610/year |
| Markel | $610/year |
| Spoke | $610/year |
Quote Example 2: The Works, $8000 eBike
| Velosurance | $969/year |
| Markel | $969/year |
| Spoke | $969/year |
And for a more affordable eBike, we used the same parameters as above, but said that our electric bike was worth $2000.
We then ran the same calculations, one with no added coverage, one with all the coverage, minus roadside and worldwide coverage.
Quote Example 3: The Bare Basics, $2000 eBike
| Velosurance | $152/year |
| Markel | $152/year |
| Spoke | $152/year |
Quote Example 4: The Works, $2000 eBike
| Velosurance | $511/year |
| Markel | $511/year |
| Spoke | $511/year |
The Results
So, you might have noticed that none of these quotes is any different.
That makes sense, as they’re all being underwritten by the same company.
So, how do you pick?
Looking at reviews online, it seems that Velosurance has few, but generally positive reviews, including a number of positive reviews from users on Reddit.
They don’t have a BBB profile, but they have a 4.2/5 star rating on Facebook, which is quite good.
Markel has an A+ BBB rating, but generally lower reviews. This could be because they are a much bigger company, and it’s hard to say whether most reviews are coming from upset customers, whereas Velosurance seems to have more of a fan base of cyclists, since it is a company started by avid cyclists.
If you’re looking for a better experience dealing with people who think like you and ride like you, I’d recommend going through Velosurance, simply because they’re a company by cyclists for cyclists.
Markel may have a great product (good enough for Velosurance to use!), but they are a large insurance company and likely more “faceless” than you’d experience at Velosurance.
What eBike Insurance Should You Buy?
Based on our findings above, you’re going to get the exact same coverage no matter what company you use.
Therefore, pick the one you resonate most with. Our pick would be Velosurance, since they’re cyclists at heart and truly understand our issues.
They don’t do anything but bike insurance, and I’d trust a targeted, niche expertise like that over a larger company.
Click here to get your quote. It’s really easy, and we were able to do a bunch of quotes for this article in just a few minutes.
Should You Buy eBike Insurance?
Unless your state classifies your bike as a moped or scooter, then you do not need eBike insurance.
However, it might be a good idea in some cases.
If you prefer the peace of mind of knowing that you are covered in case of accident, then it’s a fairly cheap way of getting that peace of mind.
It may be especially important if you don’t have a big savings account in case you run into trouble. This is doubly important when it’s your only means of transportation and you use your bike to commute to work.
You probably wouldn’t drive your car without insurance (if it was legal to do so!), so why would you risk it with an electric bike?
Unless you bought a very cheap electric bike, chances are you shelled out a couple thousand dollars…or more. Can you afford to buy another one if you got in an accident?
They’re serious cruisers, too, which means you can do some real damage if you hit a pedestrian, other cyclists, or a vehicle.
If you don’t like the idea of paying a substantial lump sum in case you are at fault for causing an accident or injury, then paying a small monthly or yearly fee for insurance can seem like a no brainer.
Again, if you can afford the fallout, then it may not make sense, but otherwise I’d recommend getting a quote from Velosurance.
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