Dutch insurer ANWB says it will stop insuring the electrically powered bikes with thicker tyres for now because of the “extremely high” number of fatbikes being stolen.
According to the head of ANWB’s insurance branch, Floor van Workum, the theft rate leaves her company “no other choice.”
Since the introduction of a helmet requirement for mopeds in the Netherlands, the number of insurance policies on fatbikes at ANWB has grown rapidly to around 10,000, the organisation says.
The bikes are popular, but this popularity has a downside, their susceptibility to theft, which in some parts of the Netherlands is so high that it is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ the bike will be stolen, ANWB notes.
The result is that the financial damage recovered from insurance has now risen to 800% of the premium, according to a company spokesperson. “That is not sustainable and that is why we have to intervene,” he explains.
ANWB will now see whether fatbikes can still be insured in some way. This involves considering requirements for security and storage, as well as an appropriate premium.
