Cycling Travel Insurances: The Definitive Guide
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Discover the methodologyYou are crazy about cycling and you are about to plan cycling holidays to practice your favorite sport? You would like to find travel insurance that is tailored for your activity in case something goes wrong?
You’ve come at the right place.
In the below guide, we will tell you everything you need to know about cycling travel insurance: what does it cover exactly, which policy you should go for, how much does it cost and other tips.
Stay tuned!
What is cycling travel insurance?
You are a big fan of cycling and would like to go on cycling holidays or competition?
You should definitely get specific cycling travel insurance.
Whereas standard cycling insurance will only cover you for regular cycling, specific cycling travel insurance policy will cover you for any unexpected event that may go wrong during cycling holidays or racing such as your equipment being damaged, or any injuries made to yourself or others whilst racing or training for instance.
You can book cycling travel insurance for a year, or a definite period in time.
A specific cycling travel insurance will cover you for:
- your bike, bike box and cycling equipment being lost, stolen or damaged (you could get some additional security marking features), also during transit
- cover whilst training, racing, participating to charity event including roadside recovery
- emergency bike hire
- optional clothing and helmet cover.
Note that your bike will only be cover under personal belongings limit if you need purchase speicif cycling travel insurance. This means that you may get £1500 or £2000 in compensation if you make a claim, even though your expert cyclo cross worth £15000. Carefully check additional excess you may have to pay.
Why do you need travel insurance for cycling?
Getting travel insurance for your cycling trip is vital.
Just to show you how important applying for travel insurance is, here are a few examples of what an unfortunate and unexpected event might cost you during your cycling travel:
| What you will need to pay without cycling travel insurance | What you will need to pay with cycling travel insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| My bike has been damaged during flight | £7000 | £0 |
| I need to cancel my cycling trip as my competition has been postponed | £5,000 - £10,000 (real cost of trip) | £0 until trip cancellation limit is reached (check carefully cancellation reasons allowed) |
| I need air rescue | £4000 | £0 (if planned in policy) |
| I got severely injured while cycling and need surgery abroad | £30,000 (if not covered by European Health Insurance Card) | £0 until medical expense limit is reached |
Good to know
Depending on your destination, you may already have some financial assistance either with European Health Insurance Card (if your cycling trip is in Europe) or with healthcare cooperation systems between countries for example UK and Australia or New-Zealand. Note that your EHIC will only cover medical treatment in public hospital (you won't be covered for any air ambulance, surgery in private hospitals etc.). It can't be seen as a substitute for travel insurance.
Compare best cycling holiday insurance
To find the right cover for your cycling travel, you will need to explore the different options you have. You’ll have to answer a series of questions such as:
- what exactly you’d like to get covered for
- the length of your stay
- the destination
- how much are you planning to cycle etc.
We’ve came up with a non-exhaustive list of travel insurers that cover cycling breaks abroad as standard or as option:
| Insurer | Price | Our reviews |
|---|---|---|
 | £18,37 |
|
 | £18,67 |
|
 | £23,68 |
|
 | £27,02 |
|
 | 24.12 |
|
Prices above are for a 7 days single trip to Europe with cycling cover for a 30 years old people.
What does cycling travel insurance cover?
Travel insurance for cycling holidays should include:
- specific cover for your sport activity
- must-have features you need in any travel insurance.
Good to know
If cycling is included as standard in your travel insurance policy, carefully check limits and excess amounts that you will get / need to pay in case of claim.
Specific cycling cover that you could get
Travel insurances for cyclist usually include:
| Cycling cover options | Average amount |
|---|---|
| Pedal cycles damaged, lost or stolen | Up to £50 000 for pedal cycle / (£15 000 per pedal cycle)Up to £2000 for helmets and clothing |
| Accessories (helmets, GoPro device, wetsuit etc.) damaged, lost or stolen | Up to £2000 for helmets and clothing |
| Public liability whilst training or racing | £2M |
| Emergency replacement bike hire | Real fees |
| Non-refundable race fees | Up to £500 per period of insurance |
Watch out!
Note that if you injure someone else during your sport practice, you may not be covered unless it is clearly mentioned in your policy booklet.
Must-have features your cycling travel insurance should cover
| Compensation | Average amount | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | From £5M to £10M (depending on your medical situation and your destination) |
|
| Repatriation | Real fees |
|
| Trip cancellation / curtailment | £5000 – £10000 (depending on your destination) |
|
| Baggage or personal belongings | Minimum of £1500 limit |
|
| Missed departure, delay | Minimum £500 limit (minimum £200 limit for delay) |
|
| Personal liability | Average £2 million limit |
|
| Legal expenses | Average £15000 limit |
|
Watch out!
Always carefully check the age limit and compensation amounts as well as deductibles you’ll have to pay in case you need to make a claim. For medical expenses, always get your insurer to accept them before paying if you need to advance fees.
As nice-to-have features, you may want to get in addition to your cycling travel insurance included features:
- business trip insurance
- emergency dental treatment
- loss of passport or documentation
- gadget cover
- Schedule Airline Failure (at least £1500)
- money and cash cover.
Can I get cycling travel cover if I have pre-existing medical conditions?
Of course you can.
The best option would be to purchase a pre-existing medical condition travel insurance tailored for your holidays, and add a cycling cover option if not included as standard.
Watch out!
If you purchase cycling travel insurance or any other insurance without disclosing your medical condition, that is called “fronting”. Your claim can be invalidated by your insurer, such as your entire travel insurance policy.
Can cycling travel insurance be included if I purchase an annual multi-trip or a single trip policy?
Short answer: yes, it can be.
Cycling, as many other sports, can be included as standard or purchase as extras on both single and annual multi-trip travel insurance policies.
You will need to specifically dig into insurers policy booklets to see which activities are covered as standard.
As a reminder:
| Travel insurance type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Single trip insurance | These travel insurance policies are for one-off holidays. You will be covered from the start of the journey until the end. You can decide the number of days you want to be covered for. |
| Annual multi-trip insurance | These policies are made for frequent cyclist going away for cycling holidays several times a year. You would need to check whether it is more competitive to buy two or three single trip insurance policies or an annual multi-trip policy. |
Do I need to buy specific cycling travel insurance?
It depends on the travel insurance policy you purchased. This will be clearly outlined in your policy booklet.
If you haven’t bought your cycling travel cover yet, we would advise you to go for an insurer providing specific cover for cycling equipment, competition etc. either as standard or as full option for an extra fee.
How much does cycling travel insurance cost?
You will find below indicate travel insurance price including cycling cover:
| Age range | Single trip to Europe* | Annual multi-trip to Europe |
|---|---|---|
| 18 - 35 | £21,86 | £47,01 |
| 36 - 54 | £29,00 | £29,00 |
| 55+ | £32,07 | £32,07 |
*Quotes above are for a 7 days cycling holidays.
It is, however, quite difficult to give precise ranges of how much a travel insurance will cost for you as prices are based on a wide range of criteria. It will mainly depend on:
- How often will you cycle
- If you are going on single cycling trip or annual multi_trips
- If you purchase other upgrades in addition to your cycling cover such as gadget cover
- If your teen has pre-existing medical conditions
- The duration and destination of your stay
- The financial limits you’d like to get in case of a claim
- The excess amount you’re willing to pay.
What else should I check before purchasing my cycling travel cover?
While shopping around for sport_name holiday insurance, always pay attention to:
- The compensation amounts you will get for each claim (especially personal belongings compensation limit if cycling is included as standard in your policy)
- The deductible amounts you’ll have to pay in case of claim (don't forget that extreme sports or hazardous activities lovers often need to pay extra medical excess if they got injured whilst practicing their sport) - opt for excess waiver cover if you are practicing adventurous sports
- The exclusions you may have in your policy
- The claim process (100% online? How many days do you have to make a claim?)
- The maximum duration of each trip included as standard (at least 31 days)
- The upper age limit (if you are a senior travelling).
