Will home insurance cover a stolen bike?

Yes, a bike would be covered under a standard home insurance under the personal property section. The bicycle would be covered for all the perils home insurance covers, such as theft, fire and tornado.

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How much your policy would pay if your bike was stolen or destroyed depends on the type of coverage you purchased. Actual cash value coverage for personal belongings pays for the actual value of the item before it was swiped or destroyed, minus depreciation. So if your bike is 5 years old, the policy would pay you the value of a 5-year-old bicycle, minus the policy's deductible.

Replacement cost coverage pays for the cost to purchase a new item. If you had replacement coverage for your 5-year-old stolen bike, the insurance company would pay for buying a new comparable bike (minus the deductible) to replace the old one. Replacement cost coverage costs about 10 percent more than actual cash value coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute, but it's well worth the price when you suffer a big loss.

Home insurance inventory

Be sure to include your bicycle in your home inventory to ease the insurance claims process. Keep receipts when you buy a bicycle and the related gear--those will come in handy if the bike is destroyed or stolen.

Meanwhile, lock up your bike to an immovable object, such as a bike rack or parking meter, when you park it away from home. Keep it locked even when you store it in your garage or on your porch at home. Register your bike with the National Bike Registry, which provides a tamper-resistant label to affix to the bike for identification purposes. Then if your bike is stolen and recovered, law enforcement officers can return it to you.

For more, see "How to insure your fancy bicycle."