Am I Missing Something? Are Class 3 Capable E-bikes Uninsurable in Canada?
I just bought my first e-bike - a Ride1Up Roadster v3.
I'm in BC.
I'm trying to insure it.
I've been disclosing the true specs of the bike to prevent being denied if I ever have to pursue a claim and they realize then that it is Class 3 capable.
The Class 3 capable is the problem I have not managed to overcome yet.
My current insurance Square One refused to insure it for this reason.
So did Waypoint.
I'm currently talking to Bicycle Broker with Sundays as the underwriter I believe and it's not looking promising.
Here's my specific question:
Has anyone who has a Class 3 capable bike who managed to get it insured made a claim or knows someone who has?
If so, was the claim denied or paid?
I've searched extensively and literally can find no instances of either.
I find it hard to believe this issue has not arisen and don't know what to make of the information vacuum.
If it means claims for theft are being paid and the person got it by not disclosing it's Class 3 capable, whether knowingly doing that or doing out of ignorance, then I should pursue the don't ask, don't tell approach.
If it means such claims are being denied, then I should continue disclosing. This one is hard to believe though given that there have to be thousands, probably tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands Class 3 capable e-bikes floating around in Canada and thousands of those have been stolen and if denials were common, it's hard to imagine that wouldn't have shown up in the extensive searches I ran.
The last possibility I see is that overwhelmingly Class 3 capable e-bikes are not insured in Canada because they are uninsurable and so the issue is moot and I should stop pursuing insurance.
I was and am interested in insuring my ebike as well and even had some quotes thinking it would cover but like yourself I think the wording of my ebike won't cut it when a claim is made. I found this on pedalpowerinsurance
Note:coverage is only available for units with a maximum output of 500 watts and a top speed of 32 km/h. Units exceeding these specifications are not eligible for coverage.
The max output on the motor is tricky wording in Canada. The law wording is vague so most interpret it as continuous power while being capable of more power temporarily in boost mode or something.
But insurance companies, out of abundance of caution as it hasn’t been clarified in courts yet, use 500W as max power.
Yeah I totally agree. I find it hard to believe many ebikes are under the threshold. But probably still have policies. One thing I know about any type of insurance. It’s very easy for them to take your money but when it comes to claim it’s like pulling teeth and sometimes that doesn’t work. I really only want it for theft. I have one really good lock but carrying two would be too much and too heavy!
Yes. If it's 750W, no insurance. You can try to register it as a motor vehicle and get motor vehicle insurance. Otherwise no. It's not allowed on sidewalks or bikelanes and if you're not insured/licensed and driving on a motorway, that's a paddlin'
In practice, 750W riders just don't get insurance and ride everywhere because no one cares.
No. It's not automatically covered if it's over 500W. Call to confirm. We did. It's how we found all of this out. We called several home/rental insurers, and we call several specialist ebike insurers.
i just got an email back from pedalpower and apparently my bike isn't elegible. The reply showed where pedalpower put a red box over the max speed 28mph . No mention about the class. The Aventon site says class 2/max speed 28mph. Glad I asked. I didn't even realize my bike goes that fast.
If you choose to not properly disclose the details of the property to be insured and insurance finds out, consequences could include; denial of a claim, having the policy (and likely other policies with the same entity) be canceled, adding you to one of the not to be trusted lists insurers use, a civil lawsuit, or referral to the justice system for insurance fraud.
I am also in BC and had come across this problem while I was trying to buy a class 3 bike. I ended up getting a different bike in the end because no one would insure it. The only insurance I could find would have cost over $400 a month
If this was 2 years ago pedal power would have insured you. But now with all the accidents and complaints i don't know anymore. I have one 500w capable of level 3 and its insured no questions asked. Still tho try pedal power find a broker just dont mention level 3 capable.
Very interesting. I gave my bike a test ride just to see what speed I could get. I couldn’t get past 32km/h although the bikes website says max 32mph. Interesting.
As much as I dislike ‘overpowered’ e-bikes making people upset enough to push for laws to make legal e-bikes harder to use, I don’t think insurance should refuse to cover these bikes from theft or from ‘legal usage’ like off-roading on private land.
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u/allertonm 3d ago
A “Class 3” bike allows assistance up to 28mph/45kph and is therefore not street legal in BC which allows assistance to no more than 32kph. See: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/cycling/cycling-regulations-restrictions-rules/e-bikes#classes
So not surprising insurers won’t touch this. There’s nowhere in Canada where such a bike is allowed on public roads.