Bike Insurance, a peace of mind.
“In all my searching, everything I found had basically the same amount of coverage EXCEPT BikeInsure not only provided a standard $10,000 limit Bicycle Physical Damage Coverage BUT also included a $10,000 limit Accidental Medical Payments Benefit which covers out of pocket medical expenses resulting from a bike accident. Furthermore, nothing came close to the BikeInsure price of $199 per year. Bikeinsure won the debate! So I signed up.”
I’ve always done a fair amount of riding and racing bikes. So I thought it was very important to have ‘standalone’ Bike Insurance while riding my bike that would NOT have any impact on my homeowners insurance which has a high deductible and is susceptible to a premium increase with each claim and cancellation with multiple claims within a five year period.
So, I went shopping for bicycle insurance. It was no surprise that there were a number of companies out there willing to insure my bike. I was surprised however, to find out that many of these companies insurance coverage, covers damage even if occurred during training or racing as well as travel.
I narrowed my search down to two companies. One was recommend by a friend, the other was found through an ad on Instagram. The company my friend suggested and was currently using, seemed to be the one. The coverage included Accidental/crash damage, theft, shipping and would allow you to add, optional rider injury as well. I was nearly set to pull the trigger on this one, when, conveniently, an add for Bikeinsure popped up in my Instagram feed. Funny how that all works. The add claimed $199, for a year’s worth of coverage. Right away, that was $250.00 less than the company suggested by my friend. I was intrigued and began my investigation. I soon found out that the $199 for insurance also included Accidental Medical Payment, Accidental Disability & Death Benefit and Bicycle accessories. Plus, additional bikes were only $149.00! Seemed too good to be true so I dug around some more and in the process, I struck up a phone conversation with Buzzy Cohn, President of Bikeinsure.
At the time, I figured Buzzy was just a salesmen, trying to get me to buy the product. I soon realized that Buzzy was’t trying to get me to buy the product, he was helping me make an important decision. We exchanged a few emails back and forth then he called me to answer a few looming questions I still had. It was quite possibly the bust customer service I’ve ever experienced and at no point was there any pressure to buy.
We went over the details of the coverage:
Bicycle Physical Damage Coverage: $199/yr for up to $10,000.00, with a $100 deductible.
Accidental Medical Payments: $10,000.00, with a $100 deductible.
Accidental Disability & Death Benefit: $5,000 limit.
Bicycle Accessories: $500 limit per occurrence. $1,000 aggregate. No deductible.
In all my searching, everything I found had basically the same amount of coverage but nothing came close to the initial price. Bikeinsure won the debate! So I signed up.
About six months into my coverage, countless road trips, training rides, races, and multiple flights; I found myself in Asheville North Carolina, at the USA Cycling, Cyclocross National Championships. It had been a very busy season of racing that was building up to this one event. I was beyond excited to race. I was feeling great, the course was one of the best cx courses I’d seen all year and I was seeded to do well. As the race began, I found my pace and settled in. I was riding in the front group, sitting in 4th place with a lap and a half to go. Through one of the technical sections near the end of the lap, I crashed. Hard. Hard enough that when my bike bounced the second time, the tire blew out. I was able to pick myself up make a few adjustment to the bike and get back on. Rolling with a flat tire for half a lap to the tech zone, I swapped to my B bike and finished the race. I was a bit devastated as the crash, flat tire and bike swap put me 10th place, but more importantly, I was not harmed during the crash.
It wasn’t until later that day, upon inspection of my bike, I realized I had cracked the top tube of my frame. It was a pretty significant crack, on both sides of the frame. I then realized the severity of my crash was pretty intense and again, was happy to have walked away from it.
When I got home from Asheville, I contacted Bikeinsure to obtain the necessary paperwork in order to file the claim. The few things on my end were pretty simple. Since none of my components were damaged during the crash, I just needed to obtain a replacement cost of my frame. I also needed to obtain a letter or bill of health from my doctor, claiming that I wasn’t injured due to the crash, as I was not claiming any medical injuries or expenses. Once I had all my information, I sent it off to Bikeinsure for the claims process to begin.
Fortunately, the cyclocross season was over so I wasn’t in need of my cross bike for the time the claim was in processing. Most insurance claims seem to take 4-8 weeks, sometimes even more. Buzzy was kind enough to touch base with me a few times during the process, but it was mostly to chat about items other than my claim.
In the end, I received a check equal to the replacement value of my cyclocross frame, minus the $100 deductible, and have a new frame on order.
I’ve taken Bikeinsure up on their additional bike discount for both my B bike and my current mountain bike. Their process and price is unbeatable and to have a peace of mind that my bikes are insured, it a huge weight and worry off my shoulders.
If you’re in the market for bike insurance, or maybe on the fence about purchasing it, I would highly recommend it. Race bikes can be worth a lot of money these days. They’re expensive to maintain but even more expensive to replace if something goes wrong. I’m more than happy with the decision I made to purchase from Bikeinsure. My hope is that I’ll never have to make a claim, but if the time comes, I feel comfortable and confident that the folks at Bikeinsure will take the absolute best care possible, to get me back on the bike.
