This article is sponsored by YellowJersey.co.uk
When booking any holiday there is always a list of jobs that aren’t fun but are super important. Travel insurance is definitely one of them but it’s such a vital task that it’s worth spending some time to get it right.
Standard holiday insurance, and I include that bog standard policy that often comes as a bolt on addition to your home insurance, will quite often include cycling, and scanning through my own insurance does reveal that mtb is part of my coverage. For lots of people that’s pretty much enough. But for mountain biking the way we tend to do things, it’s often not and that’s where specific mtb insurance like that offered by Yellow Jersey comes in.
Before I get to the details of what they offer I want to show you what’s in my own travel insurance policy that came with our home insurance plan from Lloyds.
Fist thing I noticed was this big catch all statement in the list of features.
“Includes golf cover and cover for certain sports and leisure activities.”
Rather vague, so I dug deeper into the policy to try and find what was and wasn’t covered.
Way down deep in the policy, on page 40 & 41 of my Allianz provided family travel cover I found the first reference to riding bikes. It simply says, “Cycling (no racing)“. Now, I’ve raced while on holiday in the past – it seems I probably wasn’t actually covered.
On page 41 I found a specific mention of mountain biking.
“Mountain biking on designated trail/route.”
That’s it. That’s all there is in the policy document and this raises some concerns. On my recent trip to Morzine there were areas called ‘freeride’ areas that are effectively off-piste ie. NOT on a ‘designated trail/route’. Also, how about riding the famous Passporte du Soleil event – a massive stage race event. 1000’s of riders participate in this event every year, many aren’t actually racing and just riding for fun but many are racing. Am I covered? I rather think I probably am not and if you travel to actually race then this policy definitely does not have you covered.
The vague nature of this common type of cover and the specific requirements of cover for us mountain bikers is part of the reason Yellow Jersey came along to provide a product that gives real peace of mind for mountain bikers who travel. Let’s have a look at what they offer.
Yellow Jersey’s Cycle Travel Insurance is designed specifically for cyclists, mountain bikers and triathletes.
Most travel insurance excludes anything other than leisure riding and will usually exclude all cycling if that is the primary reason for your trip.
Yellow Jersey cover cycling regardless of your event, be it a family holiday, charity cycle ride, the Ironman World Championships or downhill mountain bike racing in Morzine.
The policy even covers heli-rescue in a medical emergency.
Now, requirements vary and we aren’t all in need of racing cover on a holiday and that’s why Yellow Jersey have created three levels of cover.
Pack A covers the basics. It still includes racing but not downhill riding or racing. If you are taking your full face lid and heading for Morzine’s black runs then you will need Pack C. Specifically Pack C covers you for off piste or Freeriding activities, enduro riding and racing, dirt jumping and even mountain biking with a guide above 3500m.
Your bike itself is not covered but you can opt for specific extra cover if you are taking your own bikes.
It’s easy to get a free quote and you’ll enjoy your holiday all the more just for knowing you are covered for pretty much anything you do with your bike short of carrying it to the summit of a massive mountain.
Check out yellowjersey.co.uk for all the details included in their policies.
