Boring insurance question

[Bunnybigears]

DS12 is getting an expensive (about £350) bike for his birthday. He is often out and about with his friends on their bikes and whilst they do lock them up if they go inside shops etc but I am worried about someone taking it off him. There have been a few cases of older teens and even adults taking kids bikes and scooters. I want to insure the bike so I can tell DS if anyone does this to just let them take it and not try to fight them because I'd rather have no bike than a stabbed son. BUT all the insurance policies I have seen state they insure against theft if the bike is properly secured so how do I insure against theft when it is actually being used?

Check that the theft exclusion isn't 'unattended and unsecured', ie if he just left it outside the shop without locking it up.

I've never thought about the 'taking by force' angle with bike theft. You would hope that a reputable insurance company would compensate people for being robbed. Phones are another example where insurance is often riddled with insurance, but you would hope that if someone relieved you of your handbag at knifepoint, that you'd be able to claim the cost of a phone or similar valuable item contained within.

Maybe ask whichever insurance company you are thinking of using, although I'd do it by email so you get the reply in writing, because when I've asked their call centres questions about the policy, they often just parrot a vaguely relevant section of the policy at you, or answer the question in a way that doesn't convince you they actually understood the question or had any authority to give a definitive answer.

At least if you do it in writing, you have a record, and just maybe, someone will have thought properly about the answer before putting virtual pen to virtual paper.

= riddled with exclusions in that second paragraph. Why do the mistakes always jump out at you the second that you post?

Thank you @BarbaraofSeville good idea I will email with the specific question and see what they say.