Unfortunately, things happen out mountain biking. As I’m typing this, my hand is sore because a bit of leaf litter on the crux of a feature I’ve ridden millions of times sent me careening off trail and over the handlebars.
While I came up laughing this time, it could have been a whole lot worse for my body and bike. Had that happened, there would have been several phone calls and emails exchanged with insurance agents to try and recoup some costs.
But it’s not just on the trail; we’ve had bike bags appear from the oversized luggage doors with giant holes in them, seen them bouncing down the highway after falling off of car racks, and we also know a few folks whose packed up bike boxes have disappeared from European train stations.
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Insurance is one of those things you lament when the policy renewal hits your inbox but are thankful for when you need it. That is until you try to claim something that is explicitly excluded because you missed one line in Appendix S in the Product Disclosure Statement.
Insuring your mountain bike can be tricky at the best of times, and even with bike-specific policies, figuring out what is actually covered can feel like you need to have legal counsel reading over your shoulder. When you throw travel and racing into the mix, the complexity, exclusions and excesses increase tenfold.
A lot of folks have their mountain bike insured as removable items on the home and contents insurance; there’s also bike-specific coverage out there. BUT — and this is a big one — even when you think you’re covered sometimes, buried deep inside the appendices and add-on policy wording sometimes has a caveat that allows the provider to deny your claim and hang you out to dry.
Everyone’s situation is different, and we can’t provide advice or point you towards a specific policy or provider that will have you completely sorted. However, having navigated this ourselves on a few occasions, here are a few things to keep an eye out for when it’s time to renew your insurance.
Is mountain biking covered?
The key, a-number-one, most vital thing to take into account is to ensure that mountain biking is actually covered under your chosen insurance policy.
While some home and contents insurance will cover your mountain bike away from the home, it’s extremely common for loss or damage while it’s being ridden or in use not to be covered. Others will offer coverage while in use but have exclusions for racing.
Even if your bike is covered by a home or contents insurance policy, sometimes they will only pay out as little as $500 or $1,000 AUD for a bike, unless you specify it as a removable item in the policy and attach a dollar value.
Worse, some bicycle and cycle cover add-ons have wording that specifically excludes loss or damage from, “any off-road riding on loose or severe terrain or surfaces,” “any riding over jumps, ramps or other obstacles,” or “performing tricks or stunts.”
If you are looking into bike-specific insurance, sometimes there is wording that applies additional excesses or exclusions for carbon fibre, batteries, upgraded parts or accessories like your Garmin or Wahoo computer — those things ain’t cheap, and they are often the first thing to disappear in a crash.
When it comes to travel insurance, there may be similar exclusions for extreme sports, an umbrella which mountain biking usually falls under in the eyes of an insurance company. Sometimes, there is an extra or add-on that will increase the premium or excess by a bit for coverage while riding.
When in doubt, never make assumptions, ask questions and be sure things are explained completely and in plain English.
Is your location covered, and what about in transit and travelling?
Usually a policy will lay out pretty clearly the boundaries of its coverage. Obviously for policies purchased in Australia, you are covered for….well… Australia. Some will even cover New Zealand and transit across the Tasman Sea. A number of products we’ve come across have carve-outs for riding in North America, so if you break yourself or your bike at Whistler or checking out trails in Marin County, you could be SOL. When in doubt, contact your insurance provider, and it never hurts to get things in writing, either.
Keep an eye out for lines about loss or damage in transit. Some policies won’t cover your ride if it’s lost or damaged in transit through the post, commercial courier, or other similar commercial service. Others will specify that coverage only extends to a bike in transit while it’s contained inside a vehicle or aeroplane, meaning it’s the Wild West attached to roof racks or on a shuttle trailer.
When it comes to bike-specific insurance, your bike needs to be locked in a secure space and/or with an approved lock. If your garage does not lock — like most that use an electric opener — it often isn’t considered secure in the eyes of many insurance companies, and so you may need to have your bike locked — with an approved lock — inside your garage to abide by the terms of the policy.
Is mountain bike racing covered?
When you sign up for a race in Australia, you’ll need an AusCycling licence. Attached to this is public liability and personal accident insurance that is valid everywhere in the world except the US and Canada. This coverage extends beyond just racing and will back you out riding recreationally and, of course, riding on the road, commuting or anything else.
However, most other insurance will have wording that excludes coverage for incidents, damage and loss that occur during racing without the purchase of additional coverage. Sometimes the wording is vague enough that any event, even something non-competitive like Ignition Mountain Bike Festival might not be covered. This includes travel insurance. Again when in doubt, ask questions and get answers in writing.
Professionals, brand ambassadors and bike industry folk
Did you get a screaming deal on a bike because you do huge numbers on Instagram, and your TikTok sketches are so on point Mr Beast is ringing you up asking for tips? Or maybe you finally scored a deal to race for your local shop, and they provided you with a bike to take on the big dogs in the National Series. Heck, maybe you work in a bike shop and pulled some strings to get a new ride at 30% off wholesale.
If this is you and you’re hoping to take out insurance on this sweet ride just in case, you’d better read your policy VERY carefully. Several of home and contents and bike-specific policies won’t cover a bike you paid less than 50% of the retail price for, or if they determine you are a sponsored rider — and yes, it is a safe bet the person assessing your claim will Google you and look at your social media.
The other common exclusion is if you use your bike for work. Do you run a guiding business or coaching as a side hustle that sees you riding your bike? Well, your bike may need to be insured as equipment under your business insurance, as many policies have wording that excludes coverage for bikes used for any commercial activity.
Ambulance cover, Income protection, Personal Accident and Public Liability
While this quartet of coverages may not be specific to mountain biking, each is worth of consideration if your looking at insurance.
Mountain biking is an inherently dangerous sport and there is a distinct chance you may see the inside of an ambulance at some point in your riding career.
If you live in Queensland, you’re in luck. The State Government provides ambulance cover to all its residents whether you go for a ride within the borders of the Sunshine State, or anywhere else within the boundaries of Australia. If you are not a Queensland resident and need a ride to the hospital while visiting the state, you will be responsible for the cost of the ambulance, as at the time of writing, there are no reciprocal agreements between the QLD Ambulance service and interstate providers.
The Tassie State Government also provides ambulance cover for its residents; however, there are a few caveats. In WA and ACT, you have partial cover, while in SA and QLD, you’re on your own. Everywhere else in the country you’re covered.
For anyone else, ambulance cover is an excellent idea to have as the call fee alone can be north of $1,000 AUD.
The same goes for income protection and public liability insurance. So if you’re hurt riding and are unable to work, or something you do on the bike causes someone else to be hurt or damage something — say someone else’s bike or you crash into a car, you won’t be stuck with the cost.
As we mentioned above, an AusCycling licence has this coverage built in. However, this type of coverage can also be obtained through third-party outfits.
Insurance and mountain biking aren’t typically things we’d group together, but given how quickly things can go wrong, and how litigious some folks are it’s a good idea to take these things into consideration.