How to choose the right cycling insurance policy

The most obvious place to start is by asking what sort of policy should you be looking for? Can you just add your bike to your home insurance, and what are the benefits of specific bike insurance if not?

First you need to consider what bike(s) you have, and how often you ride it. While Yellow Jersey offer bike-specific insurance, Georgiades accepts it is not always going to be the best use of your money.

“As a cycling enthusiast you will appreciate that there is a huge difference in the quality and design of the cheapest bike on the market and the one you ride,” he explains. “Equal consideration should be given to protecting your bicycles with cycle cover that meets your needs.

“If you don’t ride many miles, don’t compete, don’t travel and have a cheap and cheerful bicycle, which lives safely indoors then often cycle cover on your home insurance is enough.”

How to check if your home insurance policy is adequate

Georgiades offers a list of the common mistakes and assumptions people make when relying on their home insurance to provide adequate cycle coverage.

– Is your bike covered?

First, and most obviously, you need to check explicitly if your bike is even covered; it is often covered under personal belongings, and therefore – as it’s not a standard feature – you may need to ensure you’ve included it in the policy.

– What about away from the home?

Home insurance also does not automatically cover you when you are away from home, and even when it does you have to check the detail carefully.

“Even if you insure items away from the home, be sure the home insurance cycle cover includes ‘while in use’ (i.e. while you’re riding your bike) as some do not, especially if you are taking part in an event,” Georgiades warns.

“[Also] be sure to check what your insurer regards as an event: even sportives, which are obviously not races, are often excluded from cover. Most home insurers will exclude theft cover from a race transition and crash damage whilst taking part in an event.

“Furthermore, home insurance may include third party liability but only in relation to claims inside your home. If you accidentally hit someone with your bike you’re not necessarily covered.”

Georgiades says you also need to check your home insurance policy in regard to travelling, and even where to store the bike overnight.

“When travelling, check you are covered for theft or accidental damage in an aircraft hold. Even some policies marketed as being designed for cyclists exclude this.

“Finally, check if your bike is covered for theft from a car and if this covers bike when left overnight. Almost all home insurance policies require personal belongings left in a car overnight to been in the glove box or in a locked boot and in any case always out of sight.”

Good luck trying to squeeze your pride and joy into the glove compartment!

– What happens when you claim?

It’s also important to check what happens if – and, of course, we all hope we never have to – you need to claim on your insurance, and that includes replacement bikes.

If you’ve invested in an all-singing, all-dancing new Trek, for example, you won’t want a second-hand bike in return – but that might be what you get.

“Without dedicated cycle cover there is no guarantee a home insurance supplier will pay you fuss free,” Georgiades explains.

“If they didn’t accept your risk, knowing up front you were taking the policy primarily to insure your bikes, they may not be as flexible or understand your needs.

“Where policy wordings are ambiguous it is down to the insurer’s discretion as to how they handle a claim.

“Always check what new for old cover you get. Some home insurers will only insure the cost of replacing your bike with a new one within the first year of manufacturer, rather than unlimited new for old, meaning after year one you will only get the equivalent second-hand value.

“Also, home insurers may not provide like-for-like replacements and in many cases they will use a large wholesalers to manage their claims. For example, if you ride a Trek their approved wholesaler may only offer you a Cannondale as a replacement.”

Short-term cover or annual cover?

Georgiades says Yellow Jersey are unique in offering the option of a short-term policy, which can prove more cost effective if you only plan on riding at certain times of year, or require more comprehensive coverage for short periods.

“Launching a short-term policy was a direct response to what consumers were requesting,” he says.

“Customers were doing short trips abroad of up to five days for specific races and they wanted to cover what they perceived as a higher risk.

“We also cover hire bikes, so if you are travelling to Mallorca, for example, and don’t want to take your own bike, you can hire a bike and buy our insurance for five, ten, 17 or 31 days.

“Is it better to buy annual? Well if you are doing several races and travelling once or twice a year then an annual policy is much more cost effective.

“Also our annual insurance has a DNA+ kit and Race Fee Cancellation cover which is excluded from the short-term policy.”

How about event and race coverage?

Talking of race fees, taking out specific bike insurance ensures you need not worry about insurance for races and events, as long as it’s covered by your policy.

Georgiades says many people fall into the trap of assuming an event organiser’s policy will cover them, but this is often not the case – or not to the extent that may be needed.

“Cover during a race is very limited,” he says. “The organiser will have insurance to cover damage you might cause to a spectator or third party property but they are not covering you or fellow participants’ injuries.

“If you think your British Cycling membership might cover the gap when racing then this excludes claims against other BC members which, let’s face it, in a race is everyone else.

“There’s also a common misconception that the relevant governing body automatically provides cover for equipment – it doesn’t.

“Bicycle specific insurance bridges all the gaps, it covers the accidental damage caused by a crash and damage you do to anyone else. Yellow Jersey’s annual policy even covers race fees if you get injured leading up to a big A race.”

What about travel insurance?

The same concept applies to travel insurance, which – like home insurance – may prove to be restrictive when it comes to claiming.

Yellow Jersey offer specific travel insurance policies for cyclists, meaning you are covered for cycling trips abroad – be it sportives, training camps or a cycling holiday.

“Buying travel insurance for cycling and triathlon has always been needlessly complicated,” Georgiades explains. But do you need a specific policy? Georgiades breaks down the key checks into five main points.

– Does your travel insurance cover holidays where the primary purpose is cycling?

“Many travel insurers will cover cycling if it’s an incidental part of your holiday, i.e. you hired a bike for a day with your family, but not if the primary purpose of the trip is cycling,” Georgiades says.

– Does your travel insurance cover you in a timed event?

“There seems to be no agreement on how to classify different types of cycling events, with policies including major exclusions buried deep in their policy wording, or excluding cycling all together,” Georgiades explains. And that doesn’t just mean for races…

Travel insurance vs specific cycling travel insurance

Georgiades compares the coverage required for a cycling holidays with that you would look for when heading out to for a winter sports trip. For example, a skiing holiday – given the risks that entails – needs to be covered explicitly, but holiday goers are by and large aware of the extra coverage required. For a cycling trip, however, this is often not the case.

“We know insurance isn’t going to pay for skiing injuries unless it has been made clear to us in advance that it will,” Georgiades points out.

“We aren’t going to pick up a last-minute travel insurance policy unless we know for certain it includes winter sports, and so travel insurance companies make that part of their marketing. But despite the steady rise in cycling and triathlon, we haven’t seen similar for cyclists.”

That said, if you check you are covered for the type of cycling you are planning, Georgiades accepts specific cycling insurance may not be necessary.

“The advice is not to assume that your travel insurance is automatically covering you,” he says. “It is important to double check: just because ‘cycling’ is on a list of insured activities, that does not necessarily mean the type of cycling you will be doing is covered.

“Give your insurer a call, tell them what you plan to do with your bike, and ask if you are covered for it. It could save you a fortune, we’ve seen cases of people losing their homes due to the cost of medical bills sustain abroad.

“If you have double checked and have the cover you need, there is no reason to swap [to specific cycling travel insurance]. But if you don’t have the appropriate cover, or if you just can’t face the hassle of finding out, we have a cycle travel insurance product designed to take out the stress.”

Do you need personal insurance?

There is one thing not covered by Yellow Jersey’s insurance policy, and that’s personal insurance to provide financial support in the event of a serious accident or injury.

While some competitors offer it as part of their cycling insurance policy, Georgiades believes good quality insurance provided by an independent financial advisor is a better option, should your life or work circumstances dictate you might need it.

“Typically, our clients are employed and earn in excess of the £200 per week these policies payout,” he says.

Conclusion

If you’re a regular cyclist with a valuable bike, and you are looking to comprehensively cover both you and your machine, be it for riding at home or travelling, then a specific cycle insurance is likely to be your best bet.

While the type of riding you plan to do, the value of your bike, and the policies you already have will dictate what you need, but generic home insurance and travel insurance policies can prove restrictive when it comes to making a claim.

Nobody likes to contemplate having to claim on their insurance, but the best bit of advice is to check the wording of your policy very carefully. What is covered, when is it covered, and what happens if you claim?

Use the advice above to decide whether you need a cycling-specific insurance policy and, if you do, what level of coverage you require to ensure you have the peace of mind that – should the worst happen – you are insured.