Travel insurance with amateur racing cover

[rjsmithcc]

Hi, what insurance do people use for personal cover (medical expenses) if they compete in cycling races overseas? Velosure is the only insurance company I can find which appears to cover medical expenses if injury is incurred during participation in a timed event.
Has anyone used this company for travel insurance with the amateur racing add-on? Has anyone had to make a claim using Velosure?

[Sparx]

I have used Velosure for racing and travel cover. I also claimed from them for an accident in training (they cover non-medicare medical expenses up to $1000) and it was extremely easy and hassle free.

[rjsmithcc]

Thanks for the reply - were you overseas when you had the accident that you claimed medical expenses for?

[Sparx]

No the accident was in Australia, the cover was provided under my regular bicycle insurance (for theft etc) rather than travel or racing cover.

But - given how pain free the experience was I'd anticipate no problems with claiming from them so long as the conditions were met.

[rjsmithcc]

Thanks again for the feedback! Good to hear.

[queequeg]

I used World Nomads, which was one of the insurers given to me by the Race Organiser (Haute Route in France/Italy). It also offered unlimited coverage for non-refundable expenses due to cancellation due to injury prior to travel.
As it turned out, I needed to use this as I had an unprovoked DVT 6 months out from the event and was unable to go on the trip for medical reasons. Without that insurance, I would have lost over $30,000 as the whole event and tour costs were all non-refundable.

Not sure of World Nomads still does Race Coverage. I looked at Velosure and they limited cancellation coverage to $12,000. Had I gone with them, I would have been out of pocket by around $20,000.

I am only just getting back into riding now (I was supposed to do the 2017 Triple Crown - 21 days). With the difficulty in getting insurance other than Velosure, I'd have to look at limiting participation to one event at a time (i.e. fly over, do event, fly home) because of the limits on the policy.

[rjsmithcc]

Thanks for the reply queequeg, I'll have a read through of the World Nomads Small print too - they do sound good!

[queequeg]

Thanks for the reply queequeg, I'll have a read through of the World Nomads Small print too - they do sound good!

Definitely check, because they might not cover racing anymore. They defintely cover bicycle "touring", but the second you pin a number on it is classified as a race. Maybe after I claimed back my $30,000 they had a rethink (though it had nothing to do with race coverage as I was injured prior to travel).

I suppose one thing you could do is take out multiple policies, so use one policy to cover pre-travel cancellation, and the other to cover you for injury. No idea if that is even possible, but even with a premium of around $500, it's cheap compares to losing all your hard earned money due to unforseen circumstances. Of course, it still won't help if you are riding in multiple events and then get injured in the first one...then the Velosure policy can still leave you out of pocket with non-refundable expenses.

[rjsmithcc]

Yes it appears they still do cover racing:
"You can participate in an amateur race or competition (excluding any motorsports) as long as you're not paid to participate in or train for the race or competition." From:
https://www.worldnomads.com/Document/Op ... ntTypeId=3

I'll just have to add-on a Level 3 sport extension to cover the altitude of the races I'd like to compete in.
Thanks for the referral queequeg, World Nomads looks like a winner!

[queequeg]

Yes it appears they still do cover racing:
"You can participate in an amateur race or competition (excluding any motorsports) as long as you're not paid to participate in or train for the race or competition." From:
https://www.worldnomads.com/Document/Op ... ntTypeId=3

I'll just have to add-on a Level 3 sport extension to cover the altitude of the races I'd like to compete in.
Thanks for the referral queequeg, World Nomads looks like a winner!

Yes, when I did it I had added the coverage for cycling up to an altitude of 6000m elevation. Glad to hear they still offer the coverage.

[ed.ausl]

Hi, what insurance do people use for personal cover (medical expenses) if they compete in cycling races overseas? Velosure is the only insurance company I can find which appears to cover medical expenses if injury is incurred during participation in a timed event.
Has anyone used this company for travel insurance with the amateur racing add-on? Has anyone had to make a claim using Velosure?

you may need to check their limited liability
https://velosure.com.au/most-frequently-asked-question/

Am I covered overseas?
Unfortunately no. In order to keep premiums at affordable levels to the average cyclist, our Cyclist Liability Cover provides you with financial protection for accidents that happen in Australia only.

[Derny Driver]

Are you a Cycling Australia member? And does this "timed event" fall under the umbrella of a UCI sanctioned event?
If so you simply need to apply for a CA International licence which will cover everything.

I could tell you dozens of stories .... how about a rider breaks a pelvis in an amateur tour in French Polynesia, is hospitalised a month, gets medivacced home to Sydney with an accompanying nurse, then ambulance home to Grafton. Total bill $80,000. CA didnt even flinch. No problem. Can't tell you how many overseas hospital bills CA has paid for Australian riders. Helicopter trips, the lot. Brilliant.

[queequeg]

Hi, what insurance do people use for personal cover (medical expenses) if they compete in cycling races overseas? Velosure is the only insurance company I can find which appears to cover medical expenses if injury is incurred during participation in a timed event.
Has anyone used this company for travel insurance with the amateur racing add-on? Has anyone had to make a claim using Velosure?

you may need to check their limited liability
https://velosure.com.au/most-frequently-asked-question/

Am I covered overseas?
Unfortunately no. In order to keep premiums at affordable levels to the average cyclist, our Cyclist Liability Cover provides you with financial protection for accidents that happen in Australia only.

You are confusing the bicycle insurance product with the travel insurance product. The bike insurance product gives you domestic liability insurance. If you travel overseas with your bike, you need travel insurance to get race coverage and liability while overseas.

[ed.ausl]

You are confusing the bicycle insurance product with the travel insurance product. The bike insurance product gives you domestic liability insurance. If you travel overseas with your bike, you need travel insurance to get race coverage and liability while overseas.

thanks for letting me know. I need tor research more about it