Important Bike Insurance Tips Every Rider Should Know

The popularity of mountain biking has exploded over the past decade as more people get off the road, and it's easy to see why. Off-road riding allows us to live in an unusual way: furious descents for adrenaline junkies, treacherous trail features for riders who will face the challenge, and for tough riders there are mountains for days. But it is these critical aspects of mountain biking that make it more prone to accidents and serious injuries than many other sports.

As mountain biking becomes more popular with an increasing number of riders on the trail networks, there is always a chance that things will not go as planned. It is therefore worth considering how much risk we are comfortable with and how we can plan for the unexpected.

The good news is, for the price of a few beers a month you can have peace of mind while enjoying everything mountain biking has to offer.

Let's talk about the types of insurance that are most suitable for mountain bikes.

Types of Insurance Cover

There are several types of insurance coverage to check out if you're a mountain biker, but your choice depends on what type of riding you do (racing or recreational), what you want to insure against, and your budget.

Here are the top four insurance must-haves for mountain bikers:

Public Liability Insurance

This insurance covers you against the financial support of claims against you if you accidentally injure someone while riding or cause loss or damage to their property.

Let's imagine you're flying down a single track the wrong way: the route is clearly marked but you're new to the trail network and struggling to find your way. You round a bend hidden by a row of grass and hit a rider, knocking him off his bike and into a tree. Someone has been injured multiple times and makes a claim against you.

If you have current public liability insurance you can make a claim to your insurer for this incident. So for the cost of a few beers a month you're covered, which means less stress if things go wrong.

Personal Accident Insurance

This insurance covers your non-Medicare expenses in case you crash and injure yourself while riding. Non-Medicare expenses include things like physical therapy, private hospital beds, dental, and more. It can also include permanent injury (up to a certain amount) and even death. Personal accident insurance has many benefits, and it's worth checking out various product disclosure statements to compare them. If you have private health insurance, you should apply for it first and cover your out-of-pocket costs using personal accident insurance.

Income Protection

Personal accident insurance usually has an income protection component that kicks in if you are unable to work due to your injury. There is usually a grace period and a period in which the benefit will be paid.

Bicycle Insurance

Bicycle insurance has your back if your pride and joy is compromised, stolen, or damaged. Not all insurance covers it, so do your research first. See the special bike insurance section below to find out more.

Choosing the Right Insurance Option

Ok, so now you know the types of insurance you need, but don't know where to get it? We hear you. Mountain bike insurance can be confusing at first. Here are some tips.

The first place to start is your national sports organization and state-based club membership. AusCycling and other government-based advocacy groups include insurance and membership for active members. We dig a little deeper below.

AusCycling Membership

Many of us already have an AusCycling membership, so it's worth checking what insurance is included before getting other insurance products. For those who race, AusCycling membership is a requirement to compete in any sanctioned events.

For the rest of us, AusCycling offers several other membership options including public liability and various levels of personal accident insurance. Personal accident insurance covers loss of income and death benefit.

The most suitable memberships for mountain bikers are the AusCycling Lifestyle membership for recreational, social, or non-racing cyclists and the Race Off-Road membership for competitive mountain bikers. Both options offer 24/7 coverage when flying in Australia. Be sure to read what is not included in the insurance coverage that comes with your membership.

AusCycling does not offer personal bike insurance, so if you're keen to protect your equipment, check out our other categories below.

The insurance included in each AusCycling membership is summarized below.

Government-Based Advocacy Organizations

Another option is to become a member of your local association such as Bicycle Queensland, Bicycle New South Wales, Bicycle South Australia, Bicycle Network in Victoria and Tasmania, and WestCycle in Western Australia.

Like AusCycling, their membership (annual or monthly) includes public liability insurance, personal accident, and salary protection insurance comparable to the AusCycling product. Their membership also offers other benefits such as legal advice, rewards, and event negotiation service.

Director of Cycling Advocacy Queensland, Andrew Demack, says choosing membership with a state advocacy group “…is a great option to take if supporting your local cycling community is important to you and you're a recreational rider looking for peace of mind while you're out and about. along the roads.”

However, if you are after bike insurance or insurance while running, this is not an option for you because the insurance product included in the membership does not include personal insurance for the bike (eg, damage, fire, or theft) or passengers. participating in races.

Although, Bicycle Queensland's Director of Marketing and Communications, Mike Blewitt, let it slip that they are working to provide incentives to Bicycle Queensland members looking for bike insurance in the coming months. So go to their website for more details.

Your Home and Contents Insurance

Many people include their bikes in their home and contents insurance because it seems to make life easier to have insurance on one policy and renewing is a breeze. But unfortunately, it usually doesn't provide enough cover or the right kind of cover for all the risks involved in mountain biking.

Cycling Insurance

There are a growing number of specialist bike insurance companies offering specific bike and liability insurance at a reasonable cost.

Velosure offers mountain bike specific insurance coverage including theft, transport, accident damage, racing, personal accident cover, and more.