Insurance and bike racks.

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Exactly my point. I have a feeling I will be way to connected with my new baby to leave it outside the vehicle except for getting from point A to point B. It will not be left outside on it's own.

I was thinking more about actual "Accidents"... still knocking on wood for that.

Generally....auto insurance covers your car and damage to others caused by your car but not damage to your own stuff or theft of external personal property like bikes and spinner wheels.

If you are in an accident and it is the other driver's fault, their insurance would respond to your car damage claim and personal property and injury claims, including damage to a bike on a rack (or inside the back). However, if the other driver is uninsured or underinsured, then you must look to the uninsured/underinsured motorisist coverage of your own policy, which may or may not pay for personal property damage.

If accident is your fault, your auto insurance likely excludes damage to your own personal property BUT you may be able to recover it under your homeowners policy, unless otherwise excluded in that policy. Your auto insurance though would likely respond to a claim for damage to the other driver's personal property--like if they had a bike you smashed. If there is an accident and it is a wash--both drivers are at fault--same outcome as to your bike, homeowners not auto insurance implicated.

Talk to your insurance broker who knows more about your specific policies and their coverages, especially about your homeowners insurance. Your Homeowners/renters insurance may not have replacement cost coverage: meaning under the policy a "bicycle" may only be insured up to $X, often after a significant deductible. If your bike costs $3X, you may need a separate rider for the bike that would give you replacement cost coverage. It's like separately scheduling jewelry items--a good idea when the item is 3, 4 times what the basic policy provides.

Case in point, my homeowners insurance covers bicycles up to $500, with a $500 deductible. Doesnt make sense if ONLY a bike is stolen. A separate rider (at like $32 per year) gives me full retail replacement cost of my specific bike make and model.

I have to say I drove across Canada (Halifax to Calgary) with my rear mounted bike rack on my old Nissan Sentra Sedan. It worked great... however, when I put more than one bike on it... it started to get shifty. Literally. We almost lost my husband's mountain bike a few times on road trips, but I usually realized it was slipping before it came right off.

Now that we own a Station Wagon type of hatchback, my husband is nervous about 2 things. First, the security of the two bikes with the angle it sits on, and second, the padded part of the rack bouncing enough to break the window glass. I tried reseting the thing to sit only on the body of the hatch, but he got too stressed about it and bought the roof racks.

Anyway, I will likely call the insurance agency anyway to insure my new bike by itself so I will be sure to cover those details when I do.

Only one more sleep before I bring my baby home.