With less than a week to go until the Cape Town Cycle Tour there’s not much more cyclists can do for their fitness levels but there is time to ensure that they and their trusty steeds are insured during the big event.
Whether it be that awful moment of discovering your bicycle has been stolen from where you were storing it, or damaging your prized carbon bike in a crash, Alexander Forbes Insurance (AFI) advises that all participants in the event have cover for themselves and their equipment – even if you’re an all-day pleasure cruiser rather than a racing snake at the front of the bunch.
With a number of cycling fatalities reported in recent weeks including the death of a father of young twins, AFI’s Managing Director Gari Dombo warns that all road riders should give thought to their cover for life and limb, medical costs as well as potential loss of earnings.
“Cyclists should ensure they have adequate life cover and a good medical aid.”
“They could also consider cheap personal accident cover, which gives lump sum options for death, and or permanent disablement, weekly benefits for temporarily being unable to work up to a year and medical expenses to a sum insured you select.”
“While income protection is a more expensive product, it covers for a much longer term,” Dombo said.
When it comes to considering how much your cycling equipment adds up to, Dombo believes the cost of insuring your bicycle is a small price to pay in case of theft or loss.
“Read and understand the small print of your policy and make sure you are covered for all eventualities.”
“This includes notifying your insurance of small but costly items, such as GPS bike computers or power meters, helmets and that light-as-a-feather but eye-wateringly expensive cycling shoes.”
Dombo advises asking the following questions of your insurer: Is my bicycle covered while in use, during a timed event as well as training; am I covered while the bike is being transported; what is my excess in the event of loss or damage; and am I covered for liability in the event of an accident?”
“If you specify your bicycle for ‘All Risks’ or ‘Portable Possessions’ cover with Alexander Forbes, this policy stipulates that bicycles in or on an unattended vehicle must be locked in or on the vehicle and bicycles otherwise unattended must be chained to an immovable object in order to be covered.”
Dombo concludes by saying that cycling is the “new golf, with increased interest from South Africans it is important that cyclists can also prepare and protect themselves by taking out:
- Cycle insurance – accidental damage or loss of the cycle itself;
- All Risks cover for the accessories that cyclists carry on them;
- Personal accident to cover death, permanent total disability, temporary total disability and medical expenses following an accident.
Article credit: http://www.itinews.co.za/companyview.aspx?cocategoryid=17&companyid=22619&itemid=C0A879F7-F478-4D1E-BD32-3EBAAA96B174
