So you left your beautiful bike on the street while you ran inside "just for a second." You came back five minutes later and... yep, it's gone! If you've got the right kind of renters or homeowners insurance, you're covered. Your bike can be replaced, though you will have to pay a deductible, and it can be as much as a few hundred dollars.

It's a whole lot nicer if you don't have to go through all that. So when it comes to bicycle theft, prevention is what you want. Here are some insurance advice keeping your two-wheeled baby where she belongs--in your possession.

First, get yourself a great lock. No matter how much or how little you paid for the bike, don't skimp on the lock. Cheap cable-type locks can be easily cut.

With lock in hand, make sure you use it correctly. Run it through both wheels and around the frame, then attach it to some solid, immovable object, like a pole or a sturdy bike rack. This makes it pretty difficult for the bad guys to separate the bike and make off with it.

Always lock up your bike, even if you're only planning to leave it unattended for a few minutes. It only takes a few seconds for a professional thief to steal an unlocked bike.

Despite your caution, your bike can still be stolen. Protect it with homeowners insurance. Save your receipts for your bike and any accessories you've bought for it. Then take photos of the bike and accessories and keep them all together in a safe place. This will help support any claim you need to make.

Let your insurance company know you've got a bike and tell them how much it's worth. Then register the make, model, color and serial number with your local police department and with the National Bike Registry, a database that helps recover stolen bikes.

If the bike is an expensive one, you might want to consider adding a floater to your homeowners insurance policy. This will guarantee that you're fully covered. Floaters are specially designed to boost your coverage for expensive items like jewelry ... or a nice bike. It can also cover the cost of repairs to your bike, with no deductibles.

Use InsWeb's online homeowners insurance questionnaire to compare insurance quotes.