More and more Dutch people are taking out e-bike insurance, according to market researcher Multiscope. Its annual survey found that the majority of e-bike owners (62 per cent) now insure their bike at an average cost of €14 per month.
Since 2018, more than half of bikes sold in the Netherlands have been electric. Dutch trade body, the RAI Association, said e-bikes had a market share of 56 per cent in 2023.
> E-bikes now outselling unassisted bikes in Belgium and Germany
A rise in thefts has predictably ensued. In 2021, theft reports rose even as overall bike theft reports fell and we’ve since reported how e-bike batteries in particular are increasingly being targeted.
Unsurprisingly, the risk of theft was found to have been one of the main motivations for taking out insurance with six per cent of owners reported having had their e-bike stolen at least once.
Owners of electric hybrid bikes took out the most insurance, accounting for over two-thirds of policies, while fat bike owners faced the highest average monthly insurance premiums, at €23.
NL Times reports that the most popular e-bike insurer, the ANWB, has in fact stopped insuring electric bikes with fat tyres because they are stolen so frequently.
SAFE, a non-profit association focused on bike theft, has previously said that police figures account for not much more than 10 per cent of the thefts of unassisted bikes as people often consider reporting one to be a waste of time.
E-bike owners, in contrast, are more likely to have taken out insurance and therefore need a police report to claim compensation.
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