Sportive

Beginner’s guide: why should you purchase specialist cycling insurance?

Why choose a bike insurance specialist over home insurance add-ons or British Cycling?

As your bike investment grows, be it financially or in terms of time vested in the saddle, there comes a point when insurance should be a serious consideration. Perhaps the cost of your bikes outweighs an easy financial replacement. Or maybe your cycling calendar now includes sportives or other weekend events?

For some it takes a near miss, or a story from a friend, or even a friend of a friend. But it’s safe to say the topic of insurance is never too far away, as we share the Queen’s highways and urban areas with cars, buses and distracted pedestrians.

The question then advances to where do I get covered? Home insurance, British Cycling or a specialist cycling insurance company?

Phil Cooper, marketing director at our partner PedalSure, explains why the latter option is better suited to both commuters and more serious riders…

PedalSure offers specialist cycling insurance, covering you and your bike (Pic: PedalSure)

Why not just put your bike on home insurance?

In a recent study of the top 20 home insurance providers, undertaken by one of the leading home insurance brokers, it was revealed most home policies fail to provide bike cover out of the home.

The one’s that do tend to only cover bikes up to £1,500. Of those that cover outside the home, very few cover accidental damage. Personal cover or extensions for competitive or overseas use are also scarce.

Aren’t I just covered under my British Cycling membership?

Think again! We are all fans of British Cycling. We found many people thought the Personal Liability cover in their Race Gold, Race Silver and Ride Memberships (which only costs about £1 per month for £1m at PedalSure) may be inadequate by itself because it only covers the damage you do to others, and not to yourself or your bike.

And, if you go for the more expensive Gold option with British Cycling, you lose some of the cost benefit of buying direct.

While British Cycling offer Personal Liability Cover, it may be inadequate for your needs compared to those offered by a dedicated cycling insurance (Pic: PedalSure)

What are the benefits of PedalSure’s personal cover?

So, you can see the merit in using a specialist over home insurance and British Cycling, and now you need to choose which one.

PedalSure has some of the highest personal cover options, up to £150,000 with allowances for Dental, Physio and Legal Expenses. We also offer Loss of Earnings to help you in the event of an accident on your bike that prevents you from working.

Am I covered overseas?

At PedalSure, we allow our policy holders to add 30 or 60 days overseas extension to their policy. This also includes your bike during air-transit (subject to retaining the receipt on check-in from the airline).

I do sportive and sometimes triathlon events, can you help?

PedalSure covers sportive and charity events as standard. If you do more serious competitions, then this can be catered for in our policy as an option.

What’s more, if you do triathlons, we offer one of the only policies that will cover all stages including the run and the swim, and even your bike in transition.

PedalSure’s commitment to triathlon is seen in our sponsorship this year of both the AJ Bell London, Blenheim Palace and Royal Windsor triathlons.

PedalSure covers bike races, sportives and all stages of a triathlon plus you can claim a 50 per cent Multi-Bike discount

I have more than one bike – what is PedalSure’s Multi-Bike Discount?

Why pay the same for cover on a second or third bike? At PedalSure you will get a 50 per cent discount.

Phil adds: “We are not the only specialist cycling insurance provider, but we do have a well-founded cover available that considers cycling and triathlon at its heart. PedalSure does not currently offer any other insurance.

“This is our business and we work hard to bring you one of the widest selections in the market place. And don’t just take our word for it – check out independent reviews from Trust Pilot and Feefo.

To find our more about PedalSure and get insurance cover for both you and your bike, with a special discount for RCUK readers, visit the PedalSure website.

PedalSure is a trading name of MGA Capital Limited is registered in England and Wales number 6701370 at Unit 2 Kildegaard Business Park, Easthorpe Road, Colchester, Essex, CO5 9HE and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, registration number 497552. All policies are underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyds of London. The details expressed in this transmission and accompanying documents are for information purposes only. Pedalsure Limited accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss or damages suffered through any act or omission taken as a result of reading or interpreting any of the above information. Pedalsure is a limited company registered in England and Wales.