travel insurance for cycling in europe

Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance: All You Need To Know (& Popular Insurers)

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This is a detailed post about understanding and choosing insurance for cycle touring and bikepacking trips, both short-term and long-term.

I do get a lot of questions on the topic of insurance for cycle tours, so this article is my attempt to answer all of them in one thoroughly researched, human-written, 100% AI-free post.

And this advice is for everyone looking to insure a cycle tour or bikepacking trip, whatever length, duration or destination you have in mind, and whether it’s your first ever bike trip or you’re just looking for up-to-date information about insurers who cover cycling as an activity while travelling.

Later on, I’ll make introductions to some of the insurance providers people are using right now for cycle touring and bikepacking trips. There is a slight bias towards UK-based insurers, as this is where most of my readers call home, but many of the companies listed below will insure residents of almost any country, so keep reading.

The Two Different Things People Mean By “Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance”

We all see cycle touring and bikepacking through slightly different lenses. Which lens usually depends on where we came to cycle touring from – usually either a cycling background, or a travelling background. This affects how we think about the intersection of cycling, travel, and insurance.

Cyclists tend to think about insurance policies that’ll cover damage to or theft of their bicycles while they’re travelling with them.

Travellers tend to think about insurance policies that’ll insure a range of travel, medical and personal expenses while they’re riding a bike .

This is relevant because these are two totally different insurance products .

One is a special type of bicycle insurance policy.

The other is a special type of travel insurance policy.

Some bicycle insurance policies will also insure a rider for overseas medical expenses. And some travel insurance policies will also insure an expensive bicycle for damage or theft.

But in general, if you want to be covered for accidents and medical emergencies and your very expensive touring bike covered for damage or theft at the same time , it’s quite hard to achieve without buying two separate insurance policies – one for you, and another for your bike.

And if you’re looking to cover a long-term, multi-year worldwide bike trips, the unfortunate truth is that such policies are even harder to find .

Hard… but not impossible.

Bicycle Insurance Covering Overseas Travel

If you’re looking to get your bicycle insured against theft or damage abroad, what you will quickly find is that some such policies do exist, but that:

• they are usually limited to trips of a couple of months at most,
• they depend upon you using the same kind of security precautions as you would at home (namely locking the bike with a certified lock to an immovable object), and
• they’re expensive.

Given that, if you are looking for bicycle insurance for overseas tours of up to two or three months in duration, there are a couple of such options available:

1. ETA offer an annual  cycle insurance policy that covers bikes and accessories for up to 90 days abroad, up to a value of £5,000, including a new-for-old replacement policy and emergency cycle hire, leaving you free to arrange your personal travel insurance separately. In Europe, personal accident cover is also included (but not liability). This one is for UK residents only. Read the full details on their  website .

2. Yellow Jersey  is a provider of specialist bicycle and travel insurance, with cycle travel policy options covering loss, theft and damage of bicycles, luggage and accessories, medical costs, and other costs in the context of overseas travel with a bicycle. Again, it’s for UK residents only. More details in a new tab .

I’d love to hear readers’ suggestions for companies providing bicycle insurance for overseas trips by residents of other countries – just leave a comment below .

Travel Insurance Covering Cycle Touring & Bikepacking

If you’re looking to travel for longer than a month or so, you’re willing to rely on your wits to keep your expensive bike safe, and/or your bike is worthless and not worth insuring anyway, you’ll be looking primarily at travel insurance policies that cover cycle touring (aka: bikepacking) .

At which point you must understand that (in insurance-policy-style bullet points):

• most so-called ‘annual’ travel insurance policies actually only cover individual trips of up to 30–90 days within that year,
• many long-term travel insurance policies (aka: ‘backpacker’ policies) do not explicitly cover cycle touring and bikepacking , only cycling that is ‘incidental’ to the trip,
• most long-term travel insurance policies that do cover cycle touring and bikepacking still exclude intercontinental  trips, and
• even the most comprehensive of these are unlikely to cover the loss, theft or damage of a very expensive expedition touring bike or bikepacking bike.

Cycle touring and bikepacking is considered by many insurers to be a ‘hazardous activity’ or ‘extreme sport’, involving increased risk and thus either incurring an additional premium or being excluded from the list of activities covered. Expensive touring bikes and bikepacking bikes are also considered to be extremely steal-able things. Which they are.

Yes. This sucks. But at least it narrows the field when it comes to choosing from the few travel insurance policies that explicitly do cover cycle touring and bikepacking.

Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance Providers

The following insurance providers cover cycle touring (whose definition includes bikepacking) as an activity or will do so on request. They typically won’t insure the bicycle itself for more than the maximum single item value of the personal belongings cover, which is usually well below the price of a new touring bike.

I’ve listed these providers in ascending order of the prices I was quoted when I last updated this post, but you should of course request your own quotes if you choose to follow up.

1. Insure And Go have grown into one of the UK’s biggest ‘basic’ travel insurance providers, and all of their policies (including backpacker policies) explicitly cover cycle touring, though it’s worth mentioning that personal accident and personal liability are excluded. Starting cover is basic, but aspects (including valuables cover) can be upgraded. Visit insureandgo.com .

2. Adventures Insurance  specialise in bespoke insurance for more adventurous pursuits, and cycle touring can be specified as an activity. They’ll allow for individual items of equipment up to £600 in value to be covered. Quotes for long-term cover may require a phone call. Visit quote.adventurescover.co.uk .

3. WorldNomads ’ backpacker-oriented policy is available to residents of 130+ countries, can be taken out when you’re already abroad, can be extended online, and covers a range of activities. You’ll need to add Level 2 activities cover for ‘independent cycle touring’, for which personal liability cover is excluded. Intercontinental cycle touring is also not covered. Altogether, this makes a WorldNomads policy suitable for a tour that’ll be taking place on a single continent. Visit worldnomads.com .

4. Campbell Irvine are often used by participants of professional expeditions. They specialise in adventure travel, covering a vast range of activities, with the ability to extend a long-term single trip policy over the phone. It covers volunteering but not employment. While ‘cycling’ is covered, the policy wording is not explicit about cycle touring. During a previous update to this post, I made a phone call to confirm that cycle touring was indeed covered in a leisure (ie: non-professional) capacity, but you should certainly make your own enquiries if in doubt. Visit campbellirvinedirect.com* .

5. The BMC  (British Mountaineering Council), who I used for some of my earliest trips, offer cycle touring cover for up to 12 months at a time. You’ll need the ‘Trek’ policy for cycle touring to be covered as an activity, and while you get plenty of mountain activities and BMC membership benefits thrown in, the cover isn’t cheap. Visit thebmc.com .

Key Things To Remember About Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance

Remember that these companies are operating in a highly competitive and lucrative field, and that  negotiation over what’s covered and for how much is perfectly possible – over the phone .

Indeed, calling a potential insurer direct is my top tip to make sure you get the cover you need at a decent price.

It’s also worth mentioning that, in the event of a medical emergency abroad, the claims agent’s job is to manage your case in a way that also minimises the cost to the insurer. 

Unless you’re too incapacitated to fly, this often means you’ll be advised to return to your country of residence as soon as possible. Why? Because your insurance cover can then be considered terminated: you’ve curtailed your trip, your domestic healthcare system takes over, and the exposure to your insurer is limited to the cost of a one-way economy flight, plus any curtailment benefit you may be due. (Depending on your country of residence, this may have implications regarding domestic health insurance too.)

Finally, whether or not you insure  your trip, it’s common sense to  ensure your safety in the first place by cultivating a healthy attitude to safety and security . My bet is that doing so will have a much greater effect on whether or not you still have your body and belongings intact at the end of your trip.

And that, I think, is a topic for a future article.

Bogged down in research for your next big bicycle adventure?

I wrote a whole book to help with that. How To Hit The Road is designed to be read at your leisure, making planning a bike tour simple and achievable, no matter the length, duration or budget. Available globally as an ebook or paperback.

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Also relevant to this post:

• What’s Really The Difference Between Bikepacking & Cycle Touring?
• Do I Really Need Ortliebs? A Buyer’s Guide To Panniers For Cycle Touring
• No Stupid Questions: How To Secure My Bike & Gear While Riding Across The USA?

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48 responses to “cycle touring & bikepacking insurance: all you need to know (& popular insurers)”.

One option, at least for your U.S. readers, is to check into whether your home owners or renters insurance policy will cover the cost of a stolen bike while traveling. My insurer does, though it took a few phone calls to get it verified and confirmed. Not sure how insurers other countries handle this. (My insurer is USAA, though this company limits itself to covering current and former members of the US armed services and their families.)

As far as other types of insurance, instead of medical insurance, I went with a medical evacuation & repatriation (also covers unexpected security issues requiring evacuation like invasions, etc.) insurance instead of a policy or plan that covers medical expenses in a third country. These policies are paid on a yearly membership fee basis and while they don’t cover routine or urgent care, do fully cover evacuation and repatriation to the U.S.

My reasoning for this is that in the developing world visits for routine and urgent care are generally significantly cheaper than in the U.S. (heck, they’re significantly cheaper in Western Europe than the U.S.) and for me, using my insurance dollars for a policy that includes evacuation and return to the U.S. if I need emergency or long term care was a better option.

I use a company called “Global Rescue,” and my policy covers medical and security situation evacuation worldwide for about $1800.00 USD per year. I have not had to use this policy, so I cannot comment from first hand experience, but I am happy with their customer service when I’ve called, and they had good reviews. The reason I chose them over the other major player evacuation insurance market, MedJet, was that MedJet would only insure me if I started my policy while being physically in the U.S. and I was already in Europe when I decided a policy was a good idea. Global Rescue was willing to start a policy regardless of where I currently was at the time of opening it. Both companies may be limited to covering U.S. citizens, so please look into that if you’re not.

Thanks for sharing, Michael, it’s really useful to have this level of detail from someone with first hand experience. The insurance picture is certainly very different for riders coming from the US healthcare system.

Hi I’m an Australian and have found and bought Travel Insurance Direct, and 1Cover for this bikepacking trip.. both are not ‘incidental’ cover. Anyone with exp for aussies for a 2 year stay in Canada (including bikepacking)? Cheers

Hi Tiffany, Have you tried getting quotes, through a house “contents” policy. If you have an address, where you can register insurance, and add your bike to the contents as an “extra” to the usual list of things like computers etc. My touring bike is worth approx £4000 and it just cost an extra £10 a year on top of the usual rate. Just thinking there might be a way of getting insurance. Make sure the cover is for damage/theft away from the house (mine covers Europe too) Hope this helps, or at least some investigation. Good luck..

Great idea, Mark – thanks for sharing. Tiffany, I don’t have any other suggestions regarding insurance in this situation, unfortunately, but there is another approach you might consider, which is to get yourself a rated lock (which most insurers will demand anyway) and adopt a strict policy regarding leaving your bike unattended. I’ve posted a few more thoughts on security here . Hope this helps, even if only a little!

Hi, I am Australian and am in the UK for a week before heading to Europe to cycle for 3–4 months, then back to UK for more cycling, on repeat for a year working with visas etc. I have travel I surance that covers me and personal injury etc but what I failed to do was have a policy that covers my actual.bike and can’t do an add on. I have left my country of residence now and it’s proving to be a minefield trying to find out how to Insure my actual touring bike for theft/damage. I purchased the touring bike a few days ago here in the UK. Any suggestions on a bike insurance, for already departed non UK residents?

09 May 2023 i just tried Insure & Go . They refuse to insure 90 days in europe . No policy whatsoever . Was looking for France , Italy , Spain so give or take 30 days in each but they stated that thier underwriter refuses anything more than 60 days … Ive used these for twenty years way back in my backpacking days . They still can insure 365 days dependant on which countries but for more than 60 in Europe they won t do it ….

Hey Dean and thanks for the update. I also just asked for a quote for 90 days in France, Italy & Spain and was also unable to get one. It was possible to get 90 days cover in each of these countries separately, but for a 3 month multi-country trip in Europe it seems you might need to look elsewhere right now. Let’s hope they change it back!

Nice article, plenty of useful advice. Not sure where you found the information that SafetyWing covers bicycle touring. They specify in their policy that cycling and other sports need to be “incidental” to the trip. I verified with their customer service team and they confirmed: SafetyWing doesn’t cover bicycle touring, unfortunately… Only day trips by bike can be considered “incidental”.

Thanks for the note, Joanna – I’ve updated the post with this new information. At the time of original research, it was considered that cycling was covered in a non-professional, non-competitive capacity, so it seems the definition may have changed in the time since.

As a US citizen, this last little caveat in the post raises a question I can’t seem to find addressed anyhere online: “…deliver your immediately to your home country in economy class on a scheduled airline, at which point your insurance cover is terminated as you’ve ‘gone home’ and it’s up to the local health service to look after you.” Desn’t this mean that there’s still a huge financial risk in the event of a serious injury while on tour even if you’re covered with travel medical insurance? For example, if I were injured, couldn’t the travel insurance simply cover the relatively cheap medical evacuation back to the USA, allow the coverage to terminate, and then I’d be stuck with all of the medical treatment expenses since the USA has no public health safety net? Does that mean that for the risk to really be mitigated, US citizens touring need to carry both travel medical and domestic medical insurance for the entire duration of their trip? Since health insurance in the US is so expensive if you’re not covered through your employer, carrying both insurance policies seems a bit absurd. I haven’t read of anyone carrying both, but I’m worried about this situation.

Hi Aaron. This is a good point, but by no means exclusive to US residents. The country I currently live in also has very limited public healthcare provisions, and almost anything beyond a basic consultation with your GP requires upfront payment. Because of that, I also have private medical insurance to cover the costs of emergency treatment. If I were injured abroad and evacuated here, the same situation you’re describing would apply. So while I don’t want you to take my word as gospel, and I think you should pose this question to other US citizens travelling abroad (as well as to the insurance companies!), the answer may well be that you’d be best off with both travel and domestic medical cover if you want to ensure all possible financial risks are mitigated.

Worth mentioning that every travel insurance policy I’ve ever bought has charged me a hefty additional premium if the US has been on my itinerary, such are the costs of medical care.

Hi — that’s such good advice from Stephen Peel — I contacted Trailfinders and you’re right they were really helpful and quoted me £400.00 a year which can be rolled over to the next year so three years away would £1200.00. Another question as I’m a pensioner is it ok to allow the pension to be paid into your bank account whilst you’re out of the country ??

The only I know of, that I’ve used myself for halfway around the world, is Trailfinders. Most of the others require you to be in your home country when you review after 6 or 12 months, or they won’t cover you for solo cycle touring, or repatriating if severely injured. Trailfinders will let you review from wherever you are in the world online and will cover solo cycle tourists medical and worse. Don’t go without insurance, unless you have no family, because if anything serious happens to you, they will be left with the bill. Steve

Good blog Tom — can you advise me — I am or will be 70 when starting my world tour — can I get insurance cover for this or am I doomed !! Dudley Walter — starting March 2022

I’ve bought an annual policy from cycle cover for the past 2 years. I do short (under a month) tours in Europe.

I had the misfortune to need to use it on my last tour — my partner got his passport and various bits stolen while we were cycling through Naples (they went through the pannier while we sat in a traffic jam!). The claim was processed quickly and with minimal fuss — they covered the emergency passport cost, the cost of everything that was stolen, travel to/from the embassy, the accommodation while we waited and a replacement ferry ticket. 

The reason I went with cycle cover was that they provided a really high level of cover for the actual touring bike and kit, as well as ‘normal’ travel insurance, which I’d buy anyway. I think it was around £160 for the year for us both. 

Thanks for the website Tom, it really spurred me on to start bike touring!

Thanks Jenny! Nice to hear good things about a travel insurance company for a change! 🙂

Just called adventures insurance and they do cover bicycle touring but there is a caveat — if you go above 1000m above sea level at any point in the trip you are not covered. 

So it would be ok for flat touring around scandi and parts of Europe but not so good elsewhere.

Thanks for this post, very useful! 

Worth noting that Campbell Irvine do not insure for solo trips. I just tried to get a quote for a solo trip in South America and they told me they didn’t have a policy for me if I am not in a group of 3 or more people.

Really… that’s news to me. They always used to! Thanks for the update!

I’ve just done a little extra research to add to this excellent post. We are currently travelling in North and South America and have decided to swap to bikes. Unfortunately, World Nomads will not extend our current policy, or even give us a new one as they count it as Inter-continental travel insurance, and won’t cover Central America. 

Anyway, I found three other options – all who would do Cycle Touring (between 12–18 months long) and all who would allow a trip to start away from the UK. 

These were: Worldwide Insure – £1596.00 (for two people for 12 months, Worldwide) Trailfinders – £1020.00 (for two people for 12 months, Worldwide excl Canada and USA) Globelink – £819.14 (for two people for 15 months, Worldwide, including a £70 add on for mountain biking). 

They each had varying levels of personal effects cover (Trailfinders was the best from memory). 

Happy cycling!

I agree with Trailfinders, they were the only ones I could find that would let me renew my insurance without having to return to the UK to do it. They don’t insure pre-existing condition, but non of them do. No messing online form with Trailfinders, but I don’t know of anyone who has had to make a claim and if they did, how it went.

Thanks for the great info, as always

Just been looking through policy wordings and also chatting to a sales advisor at insure and go

It’s worth noting that Insure & Go’s cover excludes Personal Injury and Personal Liability for cycle touring. I asked for clarification on this: basically you’ll have your medical/repatriation expenses covered but won’t be entitled to the payout should you be disabled/unable to work as a result of an accident or injury whilst cycling, and also won’t be covered for liability to others whilst cycling (e.g. knocking someone over).

I think I still may buy a policy from insure and go, as their’s works out £160 cheaper than everyone else’s (for a three month trip within europe, europe including turkey)

Finally worth noting that Insure & Go’s ‘backpacking’ policy seems to be cheaper and better than their ‘single trip’ policy

AXA travel insurance have a cycle touring add on.

Hi Tom Just about to cycle from the UK to Prague and I discovered that my free travel insurance through my bank (HSBC) covers me for medical, (10 million) baggage, repatriation on injury, cancelled journeys/bookings etc, etc all well and good for 30 days max (extendable to 120 days on a small fee) As for the bike ? well I found out that a small additional premium of £9 turns my house contents insurance into a worldwide cover for my bike (during cycle touring) for theft, malicious damage and accidental damage if I fall off. Cycle touring comes under leisure activity, although if I start to race someone in an professional event, I get zilch, (can’t imagine racing with a full set of panniers on, but there you are) Hope this helps. I was going to go down the CTC route but started to investigate the insurances I already have. One quicky minor issue is that the bike is not covered while I am on transportation of any kind, ie:- ferry, train and plane as they are not on the ground 🙂 Hope this helps.….Cheers Mark

Hey Tom, Do you have any info on cycle touring insurance for South Africa? When, I toured in NZ, I used a Canadian company. But, it looks like they don’t have any coverage for Africa. Thanks in advance!

Can you clarify the question? Are you asking for an insurance provider to cover touring in South Africa? In which country are you resident? Have you enquired with all of the suggested companies on this list?

I struggled to find insurance for my husband and myself for a long cycle tour due to the time scale, which could be up to 2 years, and our ages. Both over 55. Tried all the companies mentioned above, none of which would cover us. Finally got cover through Trailfinders. Phone them rather than online. Inter-continental cycle touring was not counted as hazardous so no extra premium, and no extra premium for our age. Many back-packer type insurances wouldn’t cover at our age. Also they would cover for as long as we wanted, renewing on the road. Didn’t try for bike cover as would be too expensive. Have not claimed, so don’t know what that would be like.

[…] A lot of regular travel insurance does not cover cycle touring so you may need a specialist policy. Tom’s Bike Trip has useful advice on cycle touring […]

[…] (Edit: Tom Allen’s written an article about travel insurance specifically for cycle touring too. See Insurance). […]

Hi, thought I’d add my recent experience. I tried a few of the recommended above but was looking for 6 months + which some seemed not to be covered often and wanted explicit return dates (seemes “until my sanity and/or budget hits rock bottom” wasn’t acceptable). I ended up going with Travel Nation https://www.travelnation.co.uk/round-the-world-travel-insurance after comparing 7 or so https://drive.google.com/open?id=1L_s03_XjHpb5ihGohIV7A21QXIqsOp56-yijLFet0ZM&authuser=0

They seemed to provide good cover, competitive rate, cycle touring, extendable (both duration and regions) during and I was able to add my bike onto the policy. I asked about countries on the FCO blacklist (Iran) and they said, although not covered with them, I was ok to take out another policy if need just for Iran and run in parallel.

12-month trip around the world: £528.18 The bike (£900) added about £60 to the £205 4 month quote I got.

Hi there, So here is what I think a lot of people will be looking for, I wish I had this info yesterday, would have saved a lot of headbanging.

We are UK residents and have started a round the world bike trip (duration — 5years, ish).

Because we started in Europe we didn’t get insurance because we have EU health cards. Now we are in Spain and heading to Morocco and beyond.

So I ran into all of the problems states above, absolute nightmare tried 10 companies (all recommended on this blog/commenrs).

I think someone has already mentioned TRAIL FINDERS. They are the only one it seems to cover for what I needed.

I spoke to one of the senior guys (ask for john Mclennan, phone number is +44 20 7368 1200 and say extension 0496). He now know’s the score.

I took out a 12 month policy which can be toppesd up wherever you are in the world.

Worldwide cover ex. N America — £489 Worldwide cover inc. N.America £555

I got my pre existing asthma added for £14.95

So I didn’t have to start in UK (i said that I would literally Take a plane home, start the cover and fly back out and they agreed this was not necessary).

Iran is now not blacklisted by UK FCO (it was when we started but since reopen embassy), but still covered in FCO blacklisted countries if you have a ‘Normal accident’ i.e. As long as any ‘baddies’ don’t cause the accident. I suppose getting shot by rebels in East Ukraine for example, but if Mr John Ukraine knocks you down in his car, then a‑ok.

Hope this is useful, I spent an hour talking to them (4 hours trying everywhere else) and now at least we are covered.

Peace. Paul Threeblazinsaddles

Thanks for your comment as you will have saved me some hard work. I am off to Morocco in a month or so and after that no idea and no idea for how long. The prospect of finding correct travel insurance it so difficult and appreciate all your hard work

Hi Paul, I don’t know whether your still about and receive this, but I too am now just into the last few months prep on my own world cycle and have been struggling to find insurance due to pre existing medical conditions and of course the duration. 

Everyone I have tried have had a max of 12 months before I have to return to the UK in order to take out further insurance. Having to return home was not a part of my plan. 

I have contacted Trailfinders as you suggest, and although they only allow 12 months at one time, you can take out a further policy without having to return to the UK to do it, simply doing it online is fine with them. Nice.

The cover is a basic cover with no pre-existing issues covered, which is fine. It doesn’t cover loss of equipment or damage to equipment, so not fine, but beggers at this point. It is not cheap as you have stated, with a current price for 2017 being £600 for 12 months Worldwide including North America. 

Now that was just a trial run with them on their website, followed by a phone call from me to double check everything. The number was given to speak with their pre-existing health issue department to take out extra cover for those condition’s, if I wish. 

I too am travelling through Europe for the around 8 months to a year, before heading out to Asia, and so will make use of my European Health Insurance Card for that time, making sure to have the card around my neck so that anyone taking me to the hospital (god forbid) will see that I am exempt’ish. 

Thanks for you help Paul, best wishes. Steve

I just spoke to TravelNation, who told me that my bike wouldn’t be included in the insurance but that I can do a 6 month policy which does include cycle touring for £335. FYI for October 2017 current rates.

Hi Tom, once again, I find myself on your incredible website, filled with almost everything I need to prepare for my own trip. I am in a slightly different situation, that I am a Brit living as ex-pat in Germany. I was having a nightmare finding an insurance for my trip that covered my health for more than 18 months, firstly because I’ll probably be on the road for over two years, and secondly that I’m already almost 40. All policies I could find clearly stated that I either could not renew after 12/18 months, and if it was possible to renew, I would need to be back home or go for a further health check up, which was not feasible. I then popped into a local branch of STA Travel (in Göttingen) in order to enquire about Visas and travel permits along my route, and just out of curiosity asked about Insurance. I can now have total peace of mind (albeit 1,860€ lighter in pocket) that for the next three years (yes, I managed to cover myself for 36 months!!!.…with option to further extend!!) I have personal health insurance, personal belongings insurance up to 3,000€ as well a personal indemnity insurance just in case I cause damage to another person or property. This policy was offered by Allianz, which is a German company, however from my days of working in finance in London, I know they do exist in UK as well. I do not know if such a policy would be possible for a UK resident to take out, but certainly worth looking into. Anyway, thought this may help anyone looking for something similar. Keep up the good work and looking forward to the next release of A Tale of Two Rivers (I’m originally Persian, so I was fascinated by what you and Leon did) Purak

Very good advice, thanks.

My experience suggests that it’s worth looking at “mainstream” insurers. The AA do single trip cover (up to 6 months, I think) with a bolt on that covers cycle touring. 

In response to my email to clarify the terms, I got this reply from the AA: “I am pleased to confirm that you would be covered for Cycle Touring throughout the duration of your trip (providing you wear a helmet) from 07/04/2015 to 14/08/2015 as you have purchased the relevant upgrade (Hazardous Activities Grade 2).”.

Premium for 2 people for 4 months in Europe excluding Spain (including Balearic & Canary Islands), Cyprus, Turkey and Malta was £106.87

Insure and Go may have dropped ‘cycle touring’ from their cover.

It now says ‘no’ next to it on the website in the activities covered list and isn’t in the hazardous activities list either.

Great info here. Many thanks. So many variables to factor in. Having just turned 60, at least one of the companies you quoted won’t take me. Oh, the joys of age! Thanks again. Onwards.…. Matt

I am considering doing a world wide cycle tour, commencing in the spring 2016. I will be 61 when I ‘kick’ off the tour. Please can advise on the insurance company that you finally opted to go with and why? Thanks Steve

See my comment below re age!

Ann Wilson (who turned 60yrs on her RTW trip — see CGOAB journal) used Navigator until she reached 65yrs. And you can renew online too, without too much difficulty apparently. Like you, I’m planning starting out next Spring — a tad younger than you (at 58yrs!).

Hi Tom, One point worth mentioning is different people define ‘intercontinental’ differently. It’s well worth checking. World Nomads count South and North America as one continent. So my trip from Ushuaia in Argentina to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska is covered. I had this confirmed twice, by email and verbally on the phone! (October 2014) They told me they don’t extend indefinitely, you can only extend up to 18 months but you can take out a new policy then. I am yet to discover what the difference is, and hopefully won’t! cheers Iain

Great reading about the credit card rewards and the insurance. I am wondering if you or anyone knows if the free travel insurance that comes with Amex is any good

Cheers for this Tom — always useful to get information and insight into the confusing world of policies to cover a bike trip! I’ve looked into a few of the ones you mention in the past, and like many used to go with the BMC. My last few trips however I phoned the BMC, and though the website said that you could be covered for cycle touring, on the phone I was told that this was only for short trips (ie 2–3 weeks of cycle touring) and that they wouldn’t cover longer amounts of touring within a longer trip policy. It’d be good if they’ve changed that rule since 2012, as they have some of the best cover for hiking and climbing expeditions… thanks again Neil

Great advice, cheers!

My pleasure. Loved your story of ‘hardship’ on tour. We all have days like that!

So well said. Thanks.

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Essential information before racing and riding abroad

If you are taking part in a cycling event abroad, it is always a good idea to purchase adequate travel insurance for the full duration of your trip, in addition to liability insurance such as that provided by your  british cycling membership ..

The liability insurance which comes with British Cycling membership provides cover of up to £20 million in the event of a claim being made against you for an incident which is your fault, but will not cover items such as medical bills, re-patriation and legal support in the event of an incident abroad.

Travel insurance for cyclists is available from a number of providers. British Cycling has secured discounted rates with one leading travel insurance provider for cyclists - check out our   travel insurance page  for more information. In all cases, we advise that you choose an insurance provider regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). If you are travelling as part of a team, please check with your Team Manager that proper arrangements have been made for travel insurance.

It is important to take with you a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) if you are travelling in Europe. However, please be aware that the medical cover provided by GHIC/EHIC does not extend to cover the costs of all medical treatments or transportation, particularly if you need to be flown home. If you have a EHIC it will be valid until the expiry date on the card. Once it expires, you’ll need to apply for a GHIC to replace it. Information on GHIC/EHIC and how to apply is available on the Government Website .   

Please note that, while not a requirement for sportives in the UK, some sportives abroad require participants to hold a Full Racing Licence. A Full Racing Licence can be obtained from British Cycling as an additional purchase to your membership. Applications should be made at least 21 days before the date of departure where this is a requirement.

Specific requirements for Etape du Tour (France)

British Cycling members taking part in the Etape du Tour (France) need to present a medical certificate at registration.  Full details here .

Racing abroad

It is a requirement of UCI that members of British Cycling obtain a letter of authority to race abroad. To qualify for a letter of authority, you must be in possession of a current Full Racing Licence. Requests should be sent with your membership number  and stating the name/s of the countries you will be racing in to  [email protected]

It is a requirement of UCI that all riders must be covered by adequate medical insurance when racing overseas. While the National Health Service in the UK provides for British riders competing in Britain, it may be necessary for you to take out additional travel insurance to cover you whilst you are racing abroad. For races in Europe, it is strongly advised that riders also carry a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Please refer to the advice above on GHIC/EHIC cards.

If you hold a racing licence issued by British Cycling and need to submit an international race result, you can submit the details by completing the form HERE

Specific requirements for racing in France

As above, when competing abroad, you may be required to present a letter of authority from British Cycling in order for you to race in that country, this letter can be e-mailed over to you by the Membership Team. When racing in France, you are also required to be registered on a national list issued by the French Federation of approved riders to race there. In order to be registered on this list, we are required to contact the French Federation on your behalf to register you. Please be aware of this if you are planning to race in France and allow a minimum of 14 days when requesting a letter of authority to race there. To request the letter of authority, please contact the Membership Team on 0161 274 2010 or [email protected]

Anti-doping

If you are racing abroad you are reminded that you must comply with all  anti-doping control when racing. If you are using any prohibited substance or method to treat a documented medical condition, you must be able to show a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate, which must have been approved by the UCI in advance of competing. If you think you may need a TUE, please contact the British Cycling Compliance department [email protected]

To check whether a medication you are taking contains a prohibited substance visit Global DRO . Please ensure you save your search result from this, so you have evidence of the checks you have completed. In addition, if you are choosing to use supplements, please check whether the batch contains any prohibited substances by visiting Informed Sport . Please note, there is no guarantee that a supplement is free from banned substances. 

If you have any questions about your anti-doping responsibilities as a British Cycling member, please do not hesitate to contact our Compliance team [email protected]    

Olympic silver medallist Ryan Owens to retire from track cycling

Ryan Owens has today announced his retirement from the Great Britain Cycling Team, after a stellar career in track sprinting that has seen him amass Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth medals over almost a decade. 

Challis storms to double wins in third and fourth rounds of National BMX Series

Freia Challis took back-to-back wins in the third and fourth rounds of the National BMX Series in Cyclopark, Kent, while Jos Marnham and Eddie Moore battled the wind for the superclass titles.

Maclean Howell crowned cross-country queen in Kirroughtree’s opening national round

Ella Maclean Howell was crowned the cross-country queen in Kirroughtree, claiming the elite short track and Olympic title in the opening round of the National Cross-country Series, as Hope continued to dominate with Max Greensill taking his first elite short track win and Thomas Mein securing the Olympic victory.

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Cycle Touring Insurance: What You Need To Know and the 6 Best Insurance Providers

Finding a good travel insurance policy to cover you for a cycle tour is really important. The risks of cycling in foreign places are generally higher than cycling at home, and being stuck with a huge medical bill is something you really want to avoid.

And while it’s important to be covered for your trip, finding good cycle touring insurance can be a headache. A real headache.

Most travel insurance providers will only cover cycling if it’s incidental to your trip, i.e. if you hired a bike for a day during your two-week vacation, but not if the primary purpose of the trip is cycling. As you can see, cycle touring is not covered under these grounds.

Many travel insurance providers see cycle touring as an “extreme sport,” which means they usually won’t cover it in their policies. Cycle tourists, therefore, need to find a travel insurance policy that explicitly includes cycle touring as an activity. This can make the search for cycle touring insurance a little challenging.

In this article, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about choosing a cycle touring insurance policy and show you 6 providers that I recommend.

Bicycle insurance vs cycle touring insurance

Remember when I said that finding good cycle touring insurance can be a real headache? Well, one of these headaches is that most travel insurance policies won’t cover the theft of your bicycle. This is because bicycle insurance and cycle touring insurance are, unfortunately, two different things.

Bicycle insurance covers theft, damage and vandalism to your bicycle .

Cycle touring insurance is travel insurance that will cover you for medical expenses, personal liability etc while you are cycling abroad.

Most insurance providers will either protect you or your bicycle, but very few will protect both under one policy. Those that do usually only cover a bike worth £1,000 or less. If this is you, then great! But if you’re the proud owner of a £1,000+ touring bike, this might not be good enough.

SportsCover Direct is the only provider I’ve been able to find that will allow you to add over £1,000 of equipment cover onto your travel insurance policy. They allow a whopping £5,600 of sporting equipment (bikes included) to be added to your plan, but you will pay through the nose for this.

If you want your bicycle to be covered as well as yourself, and don’t want to spend a small fortune on insurance, you’ll likely need to take out two separate policies: 1) Travel insurance to cover you for medical expenses etc while cycling. 2) Bicycle insurance to cover your bike against theft and vandalism.

If you own an expensive touring bike, you probably already have insurance for it. Just check that this insurance covers you in the countries you’ll be visiting and allows for cycle touring as an activity. You’ll also want to check if the insurance will still cover theft of the bike if it were to be taken from, say, a campsite or while it’s locked up outside a shop.

Luckily for me, my bike is not worth much in terms of actual money, so I don’t bother insuring it while I tour.

What you need to know when choosing cycle touring insurance

What doesn’t insurance cover.

Cycle touring insurance is unlikely to cover accidents that happen if:

• You are under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• You are not wearing a helmet
• You are cycling recklessly or unlawfully, such as passing through a red light
• You crash on a path or road where cycling is prohibited
• You travel to countries against FCDO advice, e.g. Syria, Afghanistan

Make sure to read up on the small print to understand what might make any claims void.

Does the policy protect your bicycle as well as you?

As I mentioned previously, there are very few travel insurance policies that will cover the loss, theft or damage of an expensive bicycle. Those that do will usually only cover a bike up to the value of £1,000. If your bike is worth more than this, consider taking out a separate bicycle insurance policy to protect it.

How long will you be touring?

Some cycle touring insurance policies have a limit on how long they will cover you. For example, Snowcard will cover up to 60 days of cycling touring only.

6 best cycle touring insurance providers

Below are my recommendations for some of the best cycle touring insurance providers. I’ll give an overview of each insurance policy and detail what it covers, as well as the quote I received for 3 months touring in Europe and 12 months touring worldwide to give you an idea of costs. (As a 28-year-old with no pre-existing medical conditions).

Note: The information provided below is accurate as of July 2023. Policy details and prices are likely to change; make sure to check the terms to ensure you’re covered for what you need.

1) World Nomads

I’ve used World Nomads extensively over the last decade, as their flexibility and great customer service have always made them an excellent choice. Their policy is available to residents from 130+ countries, covers over 200 adventure activities (including cycle touring), and can be extended indefinitely. The only caveat is that they do not cover personal liability for cycle touring. This is why I stopped using them for cycle touring trips, but the choice is, of course, yours.

You can read World Nomads’ policy on cycling-related travel here , but essentially, you’ll need to select the ‘cycling – level 2 – independent cycle touring’  add-on when buying your policy. World Nomads do not cover intercontinental cycle touring, but they are a good choice for a tour of any length that’ll be taking place on a single continent.

For 3 months touring in Europe, I was quoted £261. For 12 months touring worldwide, I was quoted £1,073.

2) Adventures Cover

The policy offered by Adventures Cover is, in my opinion, the most comprehensive and best-value option out there for cycle tours of 6 months or less. They offer a generous cover of £10 million in medical expenses, £2 million in personal liability and up to £1,000 for activity equipment. Just make sure to add ‘cycle touring’ from the activity options when buying your policy.

I was quoted £155 for 3 months touring in Europe and £605 for 6 months touring worldwide.

3) Big Cat Travel Insurance

Big Cat Travel Insurance prides itself on “whatever you’re doing, we’ve got you covered” and offers specialist travel insurance for backpacking, winter sports and extreme activities. When buying their policy, you can “add on” a range of different things to tailor the plan to your needs.

You must ensure you select the ‘activity pack’ when choosing your add-ons, otherwise, cycle touring will not be covered. You can also choose the ‘gadgets and valuables’ add-on to cover your bicycle against theft, loss and damage up to a value of £1,000.

For 3 months in Europe, I was quoted £84 on the Standard Plan with the “activity pack” add-on included. With “gadgets and valuables” added also to this, the total came to £140. For a 12-month worldwide trip, I was quoted £563 on the Standard Plan with the “activity pack” add-on included. With “gadgets and valuables” added to this, the total came to £733.

4) Yellow Jersey

Yellow Jersey are a UK-based insurance company designed specifically for cyclists. They offer policies for both bicycles AND for cycle travel. Their policies will cover you for up to 120 days.

Under their cycle travel policy , you’ll get £10 million in medical expenses and £2 million in personal liability. You’ll also get some great cycling-related benefits such as a £200 bike breakdown benefit, £250 cycle repatriation benefit and £2,000 gadget cover. If you’d like to add cover for your bicycle against theft, damage and vandalism as well, Yellow Jersey offers a separate bicycle insurance policy.

For a 30-day tour in Europe, I was quoted £99. For a 120-day worldwide tour, I was quoted £363. If your tour will be more than 30 days, you’ll have to choose “annual multi-trip” and select the number of days your trip will be.

5) SportsCover Direct

Under SportsCover Direct’s policy, you’ll need to select ‘cycle touring’ as an activity to be covered. They offer a comprehensive £10 million in medical expenses and £2 million in personal liability under their Bronze Plan. For a 3-month tour in Europe, I was quoted £154. For a 12-month worldwide tour, I was quoted £612.

SportsCover Direct’s Gold Plan will also provide extensive cover for lost, damaged or stolen bikes and equipment. This plan allows you to choose the total amount of sports equipment you want to cover — up to an incredible £5,600. Bear in mind that it does make the policy very expensive when you add on, for example, a £2,100 bike.

6) Snowcard

Snowcard are a UK travel insurance provider that specialises in winter and adventure sports cover. They can cover up to 60 days of cycle touring, which includes £10 million in emergency medical and rescue insurance and £2 million in personal liability.

The cost of their insurance plan varies depending on whether you’ll be touring on tarmac roads or off-road tracks, so be sure to check their activities covered page to see which level of insurance you’ll need to take out.

For a 30-day tour in Europe on tarmac roads, I was quoted £53.17. For a 60-day tour in USA/Canada on off-road tracks, I was quoted £409.31.

And there we have it — everything you need to know about choosing a cycle touring insurance policy and 6 great providers to choose from. What’s your experience with insurance for touring? Why not drop any positive/negative reviews of providers in the comments below to help out the cycle touring community? 😊

About The Author

Lauren Pears is a freelance travel writer and blogger based in London. She writes about active adventure travel, aiming to encourage and inspire travellers to make the most of the great outdoors.

Thank you for reading! If you found this post useful, I’d be grateful if you would consider using the affiliate links below when planning your travels. I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you. This will help me to keep this blog running. Thanks for your support – Lauren. Hotels –  Booking.com Hostels –  Hostelworld Cheap flights –  Skyscanner Travel insurance –  World Nomads Outdoor gear –  Decathlon  /  GO Outdoors Cycling gear –  Chain Reaction Cycles Alternatively, you could buy me a coffee to say thanks!

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Very helpful…but not more me. I am a bit of an oddball because I am a British citizen but have no NHS ID in the UK and I live permanently in the Philippines. This last point means that these insurers won’t cover me. Also, I’m going to join a 12 day cycling endurance event (not a race) in Japan – The Japanese Odyssey. Again, this is a reason for excluding me. Nevermind, I’ll keep looking

After a year of being insured by SafetyWing, I realised they also specify in their policy that cycling and other sports need to be “incidental” to the trip. I verified with their customer service team and they confirmed: SafetyWing doesn’t cover bicycle touring, unfortunately…

Joanna, thank you so much for leaving this comment. I’ve just spoken with SafetyWing’s customer service team as well, and they have confirmed what you said. I’m quite shocked because I reached out to them when I first wrote this article and they told me it was covered. Perhaps the policy changed recently. Anyway, thanks again, I really appreciate it! I’ve removed them now 🙂

No worries 🙂 I don’t know when the policy changed but I was equally shocked as you 😉

There I was seeing the word “planet” and thinking this is about insurance for anyone on, well, the planet.

Not sure I follow? 😂

Only one of the six insurers, the last one, SportsCover Direct would insure me at the age of 72! And their website worked very well, all was understandable. Thanks

Hi Barry, thank you for letting me know about the age limits imposed by most insurers! That’s sad to hear, but I’m glad you were able to get a policy from SportsCover Direct. Have a great trip 🙂

Very helpful, thanks.

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Why do I need cycling travel insurance?

Cycling travel insurance is a must-have if cycling is the primary purpose of your holiday or trip, and it also covers you if you’re taking part in timed events.

Typical travel insurance excludes anything other than leisure riding. You need cycling travel insurance if you’re on a road cycling holiday with your club, a downhill mountain bike trip with friends, or competing in a sportive or triathlon abroad.

Our cycling holiday insurance covers emergency medical care and repatriation, including emergency mountain rescue and heli-rescue if you are injured riding in the mountains. The policy also has generous cancellation and Covid covers as standard.

Cycling travel insurance reviews

Travel insurance built for cycling holidays

If you are planning a cycling holiday, you need to make sure you have sufficient cycling travel insurance for cycling.

Pedal Cover travel insurance for cycling will cover medical mishaps and emergencies on your holiday, along with essential covers like cancelled trips, lost luggage and holiday money. 

We cover all forms of cycling as standard, including cycle tours, bike packing, multi-stage events, mountain biking (including downhill) and triathlon . We even cover emergency mountain rescue and heli-rescue if you are injured riding in the mountains

Please be aware bikes are not covered by our travel insurance. You can find more information on how to cover your bikes here .

Looking to cover your bikes?

What activities does cycling travel insurance cover?

Our cycle holiday insurance covers almost all cycling disciplines. Pedal Cover should be your natural choice if you’re going on a cycling holiday. If you don’t see an activity listed below, do not hesitate to contact our team, and we can check that out for you. Our policy also covers several other sports and pastimes as standard, listed in the policy wording or our FAQs below.

Cycling disciplines A-L

• BMX Racing (recognised track only)
• Criterium Racing
• Cycle Touring / Bike Packing
• Downhill Mountain Biking (incl. racing)
• Gravel Riding
• Leisure Cycling

Cycling disciplines M-T

• Mountain Biking (all mountain, enduro, freeride, slopestyle, speed & style, cross country, four-cross, marathon, pump track, and trail riding)
• Multi-stage / Ultra Endurance Cycling Events (e.g. RAAM/ Haute Route/ Transcontinental)
• Road Cycling (charity events, gran fondo, road racing, sportives, time trials and training holidays)
• Track Cycling
• Triathlon / Duathlon / Aquabike (half ironman distance, ironman distance, olympic distance, sprint distance and training holidays)

Our cycling travel insurance cover explained

Our cycle travel insurance covers everything you’d expect from a premium travel policy and other benefits unique to a cycle travel insurance provider—Below is a summary. Please read the policy wording to understand the requirements and limits of cover.

Emergency Medical Expenses

Covering medical mishaps while riding is crucial and is the primary feature of our cycling travel insurance. It is also frequently missing from standard travel insurance policies. We cover the costs of emergency medical care to £10 million. The cover includes mountain rescue and heli-rescue if you are injured riding in the mountains.

Our travel insurance policies include cover for Covid 19, emergency medical care, and other expenses such as cancellation and curtailment related to COVID 19.

We have a separate section below explaining the cover; click  here .

Cancellation, Curtailment

We will cover up to £5,000 for your travel and accommodation costs if you have to cancel your cycling holiday due to unforeseen illness or injury. Unlike standard travel insurance, our cycle holiday insurance also covers you for withdrawing due to an injury that prevents you from cycling on the trip, even if you could fly.

Do you need bike cover?

Remember, this policy doesn’t cover your bicycle. For this, you can purchase our bundled home and bike insurance , or we offer a no strings attached rolling monthly cycle insurance.

Cycling Specific Covers

We offer a cycle breakdown benefit if you have a mechanical and need to make it back to the hotel. Repatriation for your bike if you have to return home in an emergency. Bike hire if your bike fails to arrive or is stolen, and cover for your race fee if you have to withdraw or the event is cancelled due to bad weather. All these are included as standard on our cycle travel policies.

Cycling Liability Insurance

If you damage somebody’s property or injure another road user while cycling, you could find yourself liable for damages. Every Pedal Cover travel product includes £2 million public liability cover while cycling on a trip, including in races.

Multi or Single Trip

Whether you want a one-off policy for a cycling trip or a multi-trip policy for the whole year, we can put together a package to suit you.

Racing and Training

Some travel insurance policies include limited cover for cycling. You should check the small print; there are usually severe exclusions, particularly for racing or serious training. We can cover you for a family cycling holiday, training camp, during events such as Mallorca 312 or even downhill mountain biking.

Winter Sports Cover

Cancellation, medical expenses and repatriation are all covered as standard for winter activities for up to 17 days a year on our annual package. You get benefits like loss or damage to ski equipment, lost ski pasess, avalanche cover or resort closure.

Repatriation

If you injure yourself cycling abroad, our cycle travel insurance will cover mountain rescue and heli-rescue if you are injured riding in the mountains, and if necessary, we’ll cover the costs of repatriating you back to the UK.

Baggage & Money

We include cover up to £250 for lost or delayed baggage, up to £500 for holiday money, and up to £5,000 for valuables (which includes cycling clothing, helmets and shoes). Bicycles are not included under the baggage cover. If you need cover for theft or damage to your bicycles, we can insure them separately . 

We cover cycling gadgets, for example, your Garmin, Wahoo, GoPro or other high-value electrical items. Please read the policy to know you’re getting the right cover for your trip and activities.

Our cycle holiday insurance at a glance

Our policies have all the covers you’d expect from top-notch travel insurance and cover almost all cycling activities. Remember, this policy doesn’t cover your bicycle. For this, you can purchase our bundled home and bike insurance , or we also offer a no strings attached rolling monthly cycle insurance.

Core travel section

Cycle specific covers, winter sports (annual only), whatever your needs, we have you covered.

Single trip or an annual policy?

It is cheaper to purchase an annual policy if you plan to take a few trips over the course of a year, while still providing coverage for every race, and training camp you attend overseas.

Our annual policies also cover winter sports, so buying an annual cycle travel insurance policy before your summer bike trip could save you the trouble of finding another insurer.

However, if you have ‘standard’ travel insurance for most of the year, but need a top-up for a training camp, then one of our single trip policies might be best.

Do you need competition cover?

Cyclists taking part in races, tours, triathlons and charity events will need to consider choosing a policy with competition cover. If you have a crash during a competition or are injured, you need coverage for liability and medical costs. Most other travel insurance suppliers exclude competitions, but it’s available with us.

We even offer you cover if you have to withdraw from an event, which prevents you from being out of pocket for expensive entry fees.

Welcome to our cycling travel FAQ section

We can hopefully answer all your questions related to our travel insurance built for cyclists offered by Allianz. For customers with questions about other policies, you should go to the relevant product page or contact the team.

Cycle travel insurance predominately covers your medical expenses when travelling abroad. Amongst over things, it also covers costs if your trip is cancelled.

Cycle travel insurance does not, however, protect your bike. If you need cover for your bike, you can purchase our combined home & bike insurance , which bundles home contents, buildings, and bicycle insurance under one roof. If you don’t qualify for our home insurance or prefer dedicated cycle insurance , we also offer this as an annual contract or on a no-obligation rolling monthly basis.

Yes, our travel insurance provides coverage for downhill mountain biking, including participation in competitive events, emergency medical care and repatriation.

The policy also covers emergency helicopter evacuation.

Our cycling holiday insurance covers emergency medical care and repatriation, including emergency mountain rescue and heli-rescue if you are injured riding in the mountains.

Yes, we want you to be able to enjoy the warm weather and beautiful roads during your training camp with confidence, so we’ll pay for your emergency medical costs and return travel if a sickness or accident prevents you from enjoying the trip.

Our triathlon travel insurance covers all distances, including Ironman events. Along with a raft of other covers, we provide emergency medical or repatriation expenses should something go wrong abroad. We also cover your trip cancellation, including being unable to travel due to an injury leading up to your event.

Yes – When buying our travel insurance, be sure to choose Worldwide protection, which includes the USA.

If you don’t have any immediate plans to travel over the Atlantic, look at our European-only coverage, which is more affordable.

No – If you need cover for your bike, you can purchase our home insurance for cyclists , which bundles home contents, buildings cover (if you need it) and bicycle insurance under one roof.

If you don’t qualify for our home insurance or prefer cycle insurance only , we offer this either as an annual contract or on a no-obligation rolling monthly basis.

Yes. Our travel insurance is built to pay for unexpected medical needs. This is true for triathlons of any length and all types of bicycle racing, including mountain biking.

Our travel insurance is built to cover repatriation costs due to injuries sustained while on holiday, even when riding or competing on your bicycle. 

If a serious injury prevents you from attending an event that you have entered, we offer entry fee cancellation coverage. Before the incident that prevents you from participating in your race, you must have taken out an insurance policy with us. Additionally, we need documentation of the injury from a licenced medical professional.

On a yearly policy, there is no cap on the number of trips. However, no journey may last longer than 60 days away from the UK.

Our annual multi-trip travel insurance policy has a 120-day trip maximum, but you can take as many trips as you like during the year as long as no individual trip exceeds that length.

Our annual cycling travel insurance includes winter sports coverage as an extra benefit. You can go for a maximum of 17 days per trip for winter sports holidays.

If you are planning an epic touring excursion, we might be able to assist with a personalised insurance policy, but you’ll need to give us a call.

Please remember that once you start travelling, we can’t provide you with extended cover.

Our travel insurance covers up to five gadgets with a combined value of £2,000; this will cover any unintentional damage to your belongings while travelling or theft (e.g. from your hotel). The policy includes Garmins and also items like laptops, tablets, and cameras.

Please remember gadgets are not covered for damage while you are cycling. It’s best to look at the policy wording or call us if you are unsure.

We cover lots of of other sports – It is best to look at the policy wording for a complete list. 

Annual policies cover winter sports, so if you enjoy skiing or snowboarding over the winter, you won’t need to purchase an additional policy.

Our policy automatically covers you for one pre-existing medical condition from our list of automatically covered conditions .

If you have two or more conditions from the list below or a condition not on the list, the cover is excluded unless disclosed to the medical screening helpline, and the additional cover is agreed to in writing.

Automatically covered pre-existing medical conditions:

• Allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) provided that you have not needed hospital treatment for this in the last two years.
• Allergic rhinitis
• Arthritis (the affected person must be able to walk independently at home without using mobility aids)
• Asthma (the diagnosis must have been made when the affected person was under the age of 50, and the asthma be controlled by no more than two inhalers and no other medication)
• Blindness or partial sightedness
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Chickenpox – if wholly resolved
• Common cold or flu
• Cuts and abrasions that are not self-inflicted and require no further treatment
• Cystitis – provided there is no ongoing treatment
• Diabetes (which is controlled by diet or tablets only)
• Diarrhoea and vomiting – if wholly resolved
• Enlarged prostate – benign only
• Essential tremor
• Haemorrhoids
• Ligament or tendon injury – provided you are not currently being treated
• Macular degeneration
• Migraine – provided there are no ongoing investigations
• Nasal polyps
• Sinusitis – provided there is no ongoing treatment
• Skin or wound infections that have entirely resolved with no current treatment
• Underactive thyroid (Hypothyroidism)
• Varicose veins in the legs

Alternatively you can view a directory set up by the Money and Pensions Service. This directory provides easy access to companies that specialise in providing cover for pre-existing medical conditions, to enable customers to find the best value cover.

The directory can be accessed at https://traveldirectory.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en or by calling 0800 138 7777.

Pedal Cover are not connected to the insurers provided by the directory. As we offer a travel insurance product aimed at cyclists you should ensure that, if using a firm on the directory, they are able to cover your intended cycling activities.

Our travel policy does not cover pre-existing medical conditions as standard. We offer a confidential, independent medical screening service to provide a top-up if you need cover for a pre-existing medical condition. Contact their helpline at + 44(0)1702 427 237.

After answering questions about your medical conditions, the screening service will confirm if they can cover them. They may need to charge a premium, and they will explain any additional requirements, such as an increased excess.

If the helpline can provide the additional coverage and you elect to purchase it, you must first buy our Pedal Cover cycling travel policy. You will supply the helpline with your Pedal Cover policy number. You will pay any premium for the additional cover directly to the screening helpline, not Pedal Cover.

Once the medical conditions are covered, the helpline will give you a screening reference number. The helpline will send a letter confirming cover, cost, and requirements. Please keep this safe as it is required in the event of a claim.

If you purchase our Pedal Cover travel insurance before speaking to the medical screening helpline, and subsequently, they cannot offer a top-up, or you are unhappy with the extra cost quoted, you can cancel your travel insurance with us. We will provide a complete, no-quibble refund within the first 14 days of purchase.

Yes, but the insurance will not provide coverage for any claims directly or indirectly related to the pre-existing medical condition.

Sports, pastimes and activities

• Abseiling (within organisers guidelines)
• Administrative or clerical occupations 1, 2
• Amateur athletics (track and field)
• American football
• Archaeological digging 1, 2
• Assault course
• Banana boating (as a passenger only) 3
• Big game hunting 1, 2
• Billiards/snooker/pool
• Bobsleigh 1
• Body boarding (boogie boarding)
• Bungee jumping (only as short duration incidental day excursion with licensed public hirer) 2
• Camel riding 1, 2
• Canoeing (up to grade 2 rivers)
• Cave diving (no solo diving) 2
• Clay pigeon shooting 1, 2
• Climbing (on climbing wall only)
• Climbing up to 3,500 metres on slopes classified as facile or easy including rock scrambling
• Deep sea fishing
• Driving any motorised vehicle that you are licensed to drive in your home country (other than in motor rallies or competitions) 1, 2
• Elephant riding/trekking 2
• Fell walking/running
• Fishing Fives
• Flying as pilot 1, 2
• Football (amateur only and not main purpose of trip)
• Glass bottom boats/bubbles (as a passenger only) 1
• Gliding 1, 2
• Go karting (within organiser’s guidelines) 1
• Golf Handball
• Hang gliding 1, 2
• High diving over 9 meters (supervised pools only, no rock diving/jumping) 2
• Hockey (must wear protective head gear)
• Horse riding (wearing a helmet and excluding competitions, racing, jumping and hunting) 1, 2
• Hot air ballooning (organised rides only) 2
• Hovercraft driving/passenger 1, 2
• Hurling (amateur only and not main purpose of trip)
• Indoor climbing (on climbing wall only) Jet boating 1, 2, 4
• Jet skiing 1, 2, 4
• Karting (wearing a helmet) 1, 2, 4
• Kayaking (up to grade 2 waters only)
• Kite Surfing 2
• Marathon running
• Motor sport (any type) 1, 2
• Orienteering
• Paintball/war games (wearing eye protection) 1, 2
• Parachuting 1, 2
• Paragliding (over water only – not over Must be licensed operator with professional guide and only in EU, EEA, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.) 1, 2
• Parascending (over water only – not over Must be licensed operator with professional guide and only in EU, EEA, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) 1, 2
• Pony trekking 2, 4
• Pot holing (must be a licensed operator with professional guide and wearing helmets)
• Power boating (no racing and no competitions) 1, 2
• Quad biking (wearing a helmet) 1, 2, 4
• Racket ball Rambling Refereeing
• Ringo (as a passenger only) 1
• Roller skating/blading/in line skating (wearing pads and helmets)
• Rugby (Union/League) not professional
• Running (non-competitive)
• Safari trekking (must be organised tour) 1, 2
• Sailing/yachting (includes amateur racing competitions) 1, 2
• Sand boarding 1, 2
• Sand dune surfing/skiing 1
• Sand yachting 1, 2, 4
• Scuba diving up to a depth of 40 metres (must be PADI/BSAC No solo diving and subject to scuba diving endorsement below)
• Scuba diving up to a depth of 9 metres (No solo diving and subject to scuba diving endorsement below)
• Shooting/small bore target/rifle range Shooting (within organisers guidelines) 1, 2
• Skateboarding (wearing pads and helmets)
• Sledging (not on snow)
• Snorkelling
• Spear fishing (without tanks)
• Speed sailing 1, 2, 4
• Street hockey
• Students working as counsellors or university exchanges for practical course work (non- manual) 2
• (no competitions,inland and coastal waters only 1
• Swimming with dolphins
• Swimming/bathing with elephants
• Sydney Harbour Bridge walk (walking across roped)
• Table tennis
• Tall ship crewing 1, 2, 4
• Ten pin bowling
• Trampolining
• Tree canopy walking (walking across roped)
• Trekking/hiking between 2,500 and 5,000 metres above sea level. (On organised tour along recognised routes No search and rescue other than for medical reasons.)
• Trekking/hiking/walking up to 2,500 metres above sea level
• Wake boarding
• War game/paint balling (wearing eye protection) 1, 2
• Water skiing/water ski jumping 1, 2
• Weight lifting
• Whale watching
• White water rafting (grades 4-6 waters only) 1
• White water rafting (up to grade 3 waters, as a passenger only, life jacket to be worn)
• Wind surfing/sailboarding 1
• Wind tunnel flying (pads/helmets to be worn)
• Zip lining/trekking (safety helmets to be worn)
• Zorbing/hydro zorbing/sphering 1
• Cover under Section G – Personal liability is excluded.
• Cover under Section C – Personal accident is excluded.
• Cover is excluded unless within organisers guidelines and as part of an organised activity led or instructed by professional guides or licensed organisers and all claims will be subject to three (3) times the standard policy excess .
• Cover is excluded when racing.
• Diving by persons not holding a recognised certificate for the type of diving being undertaken, or not under professional instruction.
• Diving without proper equipment and/or contrary to codes of good practice according to bona fide organisations such as PADI or BSAC.
• Diving to depths greater than 30 metres (or 40 metres if additional premium paid and shown on your validation certificate ).
• Solo diving or night diving or specifically organised cave diving or diving for hire or reward.
• Flying within 24 hours of last dive or diving whilst suffering from a cold, influenza, infection or obstruction of the sinuses or ears.
• Diving by persons aged under 12 years of age or over 65.

Our policy automatically covers you for one pre-existing medical condition from our list of automatically covered conditions . If you have two or more conditions from the list or a condition not on the list, all pre-existing medical conditions will be excluded from cover unless disclosed to the medical screening helpline and additional cover agreed in writing.

• Diarrhoea and vomiting – if completely resolved

Yes, all medical emergencies and associated costs will be covered.

Yes, you must have gotten an inoculation or vaccination against Coronavirus as recommended by the World Health Organization or the health authority in your country of residency to be compensated for any expenses incurred from contracting the disease.

The above is true for every contagious disease for which the World Health Organization or your country’s health authority recommends an inoculation or immunisation. Travellers to portions of Sub-Saharan Africa and South America, for example, are advised to get a Yellow Fever vaccine, and you would need to show proof of this vaccination to submit a claim for any expenditures incurred as a result of catching the disease while on vacation.

Yes, as long as you’re all covered by our insurance and all asked to quarantine. To confirm the quarantine order, you must be able to present medical evidence from the treating doctor or the local authority.

If you’ve been diagnosed with Coronavirus and are unable to travel, you’ll be covered as long as your doctor confirms the diagnosis and your inability to travel.

The policy covers cancellation as long as you have documented evidence from your airline that you were denied boarding because you were showing symptoms of a contagious condition.

If you have a valid cancellation claim, the cancellation section will refund you for all non-recoverable fees, including Visas, but only for the length of your cancelled trip.

No, if the UK is put in ‘Lockdown’ once again, there will be no coverage under the insurance for cancellation claims.

No, any charges (accommodation/travel) incurred in the event that the country you are visiting is “locked down” would not be covered.

If you can show medical proof that you have been diagnosed with Coronavirus or have been directly exposed to Coronavirus, you will be compensated for any additional lodging or travel expenditures.

Any essential medical expenses, as well as any additional travel or accommodation charges, are covered under the medical expenses part of the insurance.

All insured persons are covered for quarantine under the medical section, which includes coverage for additional lodging and flights.

The policy will cover you if a close family is diagnosed with Coronavirus and becomes extremely ill, necessitating your presence due to medical reasons. Their doctor will have to sign off on this.

Your insurance will cover the cost of any additional lodging incurred while you are under quarantine based on your unique symptoms or probable COVID-19 exposure, but it will not reimburse any pre-booked lodging fees. If you have any unused pre-booked and paid for excursions that are non-refundable, your insurance will reimburse you less the standard policy excess if you can provide documentary evidence to support the quarantine order from either the government, a public authority in the country you are visiting, or the treating doctor.

If you travel somewhere that is against FCDO guidelines, you will not be covered.

If you bought your single trip travel insurance before the change in FCDO guidelines and have not yet left, your policy will no longer give any coverage. You have the option of deferring your policy’s coverage period or requesting a full refund of your money.

If you bought your single trip policy before the change in FCDO advise and have already left, full policy coverage will apply as long as you follow all UK, local government, or equivalent instructions.

If after looking through the FAQs you can’t find the answer you are looking for you can click our live chat open Mon to Fri from 9 am to 5 pm

Home & Bike Insurance

Dedicated cycle insurance, cycling travel insurance, health insurance, information, useful documents, claims information, our cycling blog, compare cycle insurance, home & bike insurance faqs, dedicated cycle insurance faqs, travel insurance faqs, health insurance faqs.

  Call us on 01494 484800 Open Mon - Fri | 9:00 - 5:30

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CYCLING TRAVEL INSURANCE

• Worldwide travel insurance for cycling
• Cover for Sportives and Events
• Bike & equipment cover available

Buy your Cycle Travel Insurance online in minutes

10% OFF ONLINE*

Independent Service Rating based on 4661 verified reviews.

Our Cycling Travel Insurance policy options

Put simply, we offer three different cycle travel insurance policy options…

1. Cycling Travel Insurance

Our worldwide Cycling Travel Insurance can cover you whilst cycling abroad for leisure or competition, and includes cover for medical and repatriation costs, trip cancellation and curtailment, and more.

2. Cycling Travel Insurance Bolt-On

If you have a travel insurance policy with another provider, such as your bank, but it does not include cover for cycling, we can provide a bolt-on style of protection under our Activity TopUp policy.

3. Sports Accident Insurance

Our Sports Accident Insurance is designed to protect you for cycling in the UK. Our policy provides a range of benefits including cover for serious injury, and if selected, will include income protection.

Making claims clearer

AVERAGE PAY OUT 

 FOR EACH TRAVEL INSURANCE CLAIM**

OF OUR POLICY HOLDERS

NEEDED TO MAKE A CLAIM**

OUR AVERAGE CLAIMS RATING

ACCORDING TO OUR FEEFO SCORE***

Get an instant quote for Cycle Travel Insurance

Join thousands of cycling enthusiasts who choose us every year

Or Call us on 01494 484800

Why choose us for Cycling Travel Insurance

30 years experience.

We have been providing tailored Sports Insurance policies for over 30 years, and today protect more than 57,000 customers a year.

Professional Claims Handling

We work with leading claims handlers to make sure our customers experience a prompt and professional service when making a claim.

Underwritten by Experts

We’re pleased to offer tailored cycling holiday insurance which is underwritten by AXA XL, a leading insurer in the sports and leisure industry.

UK Based Customer Service Team

Our highly experienced Sales team are available to help support you with any questions that you might have.

5-Star Customer Service Rating

Thousands of happy customers have awarded us a 5-star customer service score on the independent feedback platform, Feefo.

500+ Sports Covered

Being a specialist in Sports Insurance, we provide cover for over 500 different sports & activities, far more than other providers.

What makes our cycling travel insurance different?

Having a specialist cycling insurance policy can avoid the risk that certain activities are excluded.

Many standard travel insurance policies do not cover cycling, and could specifically exclude cycling holidays, cycling sportives and cycle racing. So, it’s important to check you select appropriate cover, whether you need triathlon insurance  or more extreme sports such as mountain biking insurance .

Our policy includes additional benefits such as cover for Race Entry Fees – which would pay out if you were ill or disabled from taking part; up to £5,600 cover for lost, damaged or stolen bikes and other cycling equipment; and liability cover in case you injured a third party or damaged their belongings.

Our Bike Travel Insurance can cover multiple cycling activities, just choose from our list of options when you get a quote. We’ve been covering people for specialist sports activities for over 30 years and understand the requirements of cyclists who wish to be comprehensively protected whilst cycling abroad. Compare prices when you get a tailored quote .

What does cycling travel insurance cover?

From covering medical expenses to protecting your bike should it get stolen whilst you’re on holiday, our Cycle Travel Insurance provides comprehensive cover. 

• Emergency Medical Expenses & Repatriation
• Cancellation & Curtailment
• Personal Accident cover
• Personal Liability
• Delayed, lost or stolen baggage
• Activity & Race Entry Fees
• Sports Equipment

Why you need cycling insurance?

Whether you’re taking part in cycling day to day or you need cycling holiday insurance, having the correct cover is important. Storing or travelling with your bike comes with risks of damage and loss. Plus sustaining an injury, especially whilst abroad could result in expensive medical and repatriation costs. Read our blog on the benefits of cycling insurance UK.

Insurance for multiple sports

Our Sports Travel Insurance covers over 500 sports and activities, so if you’re an active traveller you can include multiple sports on your policy. You can also choose our Activity Top-Up insurance , this applies if you want short term cover for a one-off activity that isn’t covered on your standard policy. Compare your options by g etting a quote online .

Frequently Asked Questions

We can provide travel insurance for cyclists including cover the following types of cycling:

• Road Cycling
• Cycle Touring
• Track Cycling 
• Downhill Mountain Biking 
• Mountain Biking
• Recumbent Cycling

Not always, some policies will only include cover for recreational cycling. Our policy can cover a large range of cycling activities including road cycling, downhill mountain biking, and cycle touring.

There is some cover for your bike, or a bike hired to you on your trip, under the standard cycling policy. However, if needed, you can add on additional cover up to maximum £5,600 against theft or accidental damage.

Yes, our Cycling Travel Insurance can generally be taken out even if you have a medical condition. We can almost always offer cover at no extra cost, but occasionally our underwriters may apply special terms if you subsequently needed to make a claim relating to your condition.

You can purchase our cycling holiday insurance online up until 74 years old. Above this age, you would need to call us on 01494 484800 and we will be able to refer your quote to our underwriters. Please note, our quotes are based on your age at the start date of cover.

Get an instant quote and buy  online now!

* 10% online discount applies to our Sports Travel Insurance and Activity TopUp policies only. 

** Data relates to Sports Travel Insurance claims from Jan 2023 to Dec 2023 inclusive.

*** Feefo rating relates to Sports Travel Insurance claims review score from Jan 2023 to Dec 2023 inclusive. 

Your essential guide to choosing cycling travel insurance

Cycling travel insurance. Let’s be honest – it’s not the most exciting of things to organise before your trip, but it is important…

If you’re going on a cycling-specific holiday, or just planning to do a bit of cycling while you’re abroad, you’ll want to know that you’re covered should anything go wrong. If you have a cycling accident, it’s important to know that your medical expenses will be taken care of and that any damage to your bike or other people’s property will be paid for.

Since we recently had to look at taking out cycle holiday insurance ourselves, we thought we’d share the points we thought about.

We’re not experts on the subject, but hopefully these pointers will be of use!

How to choose the right cycling insurance policy for you

We were quite surprised to find that there are many different kinds of cycling travel insurance policies – and that travel insurance doesn’t always cover the kind of cycling you want to do.

Like bikes, not all policies are created equal – and what’s right for one cyclist might not be right for another.

For example, do you need standard travel insurance that covers your medical expenses as well as cover for your bike? Are you looking for cover for your bike at home? Are you after travel insurance for cycling holidays in Europe or further afield? Do you need an annual policy that covers events if you’re only planning to do one or two a year – perhaps you could take out insurance just for that/those events? Will your policy cover Covid-related cancellations or curtailments?

Different policies cover different things, so you need to know what you’re looking for – and what you’ve already got under other insurance policies.

(Not sure what cycling travel insurance might look like/cover? Our list of what to look out for in a policy might help (go here now) .)

To help you pick a policy that works for you, below we’ve set out our thoughts on:

• some of the key questions we found it helpful to have answers to before getting quotes   (go here now)
• cycling travel insurance v other insurance you may have   (go here now)
• some points to consider in a bike travel insurance policy (go here now)

The big questions to ask yourself (before you compare bicycle insurance for travel)

Decide the answers to the five questions below before you start your research and it should save you some time. That’s because your answers may exclude you from being eligible from some policies, so these things should help you decide whether your current policies cover you and/or help you narrow down the policies you’re comparing.

1. How much cover is needed?

To make sure that you get quotes for the right level of cover, think about how much it would cost to replace your bike as well as any cycling accessories such as gadgets, helmets, clothing and additional wheelsets.

Also be clear in your mind about the sort of cycling you’re planning on doing, to ensure your policy covers you. For example, if you’re planning on entering cycling competitions, races or triathlons, and want to be insured for them, you’ll want to make sure that you have the right level of cover, and can for example, claim back race entry fees if you’re unable to participate for any reason (but bear in mind what we said above about how many you’ll be doing each year).

2. Cycle trip insurance cover AND general bike insurance?

Some travel insurance companies require that, in addition to bicycle travel insurance, you also have general bike insurance for when your bike is at home. Or, you may be offered a combined bicycle insurance policy which covers both home and holiday.

Do you want/need this?

If not, you might want to look at a provider that will let you just take up cycle travel insurance.

3. Single trip cycle insurance or an annual policy?

Is your cycling holiday a one-off trip, or do you plan to travel several times per year? If you plan on cycling abroad more than twice per year, it often makes financial sense to consider an annual policy rather than a policy which only covers a single trip.

How long will your trips be for? You’ll need to make sure the policy permits the length of your trip.

4. Solo, couple, family or group cycling insurance?

When travelling with a partner, your children or a group of friends or family members, it can be more cost-effective to take out a joint travel insurance policy.

5. Where do you want to travel?

Consider the countries which you plan to visit and how long you will spend on holiday. Premiums can vary according to the countries that you visit, and you may have options to choose between cycling travel insurance for Europe only or worldwide cover.

(As an aside, the Foreign & Commonwealth office advises against travel to certain countries, and these are unlikely to be covered by travel insurance policies. So, be sure to check the FCO website for the latest travel advice.)

Do I need additional cycling travel insurance?

You might already have various insurance policies such as standard travel insurance, home insurance and specialist bicycle insurance for your bike at home in the UK.

You’re probably asking yourself: does travel insurance cover cycling? Do I really need a specialist travel insurance cycling policy?!

So, once you’ve answered the questions above and are clear on the general sort and level of cycling travel insurance you’re after, then check the terms of any existing policies to see what it covers and whether there are any gaps between that and what you want cover for.

For example:

• Standard travel insurance policy: check whether your normal travel insurance covers the specific type of cycling you plan to do on holiday, such as point to point riding, racing or sportive riding. A general travel insurance policy might cover the odd day of recreational riding, but what if the main purpose of your trip is cycling? Are you covered?
• Home insurance policy: this may cover your bicycle if it’s stolen or damaged whilst in your home, but does it cover it in other places such as a hotel abroad or whilst on the road?
• Bike insurance policy: if you already have bicycle insurance, does this extend abroad, and if so, what does it cover?
• Club membership: for example British Cycling membership includes some cycling travel insurance. Check exactly what it covers and whether it’s enough for your needs.

If, after reading your current insurance policies, you think you’re not fully covered for the kind of riding you’ll be doing or your current policies don’t give you enough cover (e.g. things like lost/stolen/damaged bikes whilst riding sportives abroad, medical treatment needed as a result of a cycling injury, personal liability, cover for your bike while it’s in transit) then you should consider taking out further insurance, perhaps via topping up an existing policy or by taking out a specialist cycling travel insurance policy.

What should you check when comparing bike travel insurance policies?

So, you’re considering taking out some cycle specific travel insurance.

You’ll probably want to be sure that your cycle insurance covers you for every eventuality, to guarantee that you’ll get paid out should the worst happen.

Don’t just go straight in for the cheapest cycle insurance. It might be a bit time consuming and boring, but it’s better to spend some time taking a good look at the terms and conditions and policy wording to find the right insurance for your cycling holiday.

There’s lots of articles out there on what to look for in a normal travel insurance policy (things like medical expenses, hospital benefit, delayed/missed departure, delayed baggage, lost money/documents, legal advice). Since early 2020, it’s also become important to check you’ve got cover for missed departure, early return home, medical expenses etc. due to Covid-19 (and be aware some eventualities might be uninsurable, so you need to cover them off in the agreement you have with your operator/accommodation provider).

Of course you’ll want to know you’re covered for all of these “normal travel” kinds of things, but below we focus on some of the more cycling specific things you’ll also want to consider:

1. Bike cover limits for theft/damage

Your bike travel insurance policy will have a limit if they have to pay out for loss/damage/theft of your bike and possibly also for any cycling accessories/gadgets. Check these are sufficient and the exclusions (more on those below).

You may be asked to enter an estimate of how much your bike is worth. To ensure that you’re fully covered we’ve been told it’s best to enter the value that you paid for the bike, assuming you bought it recently, rather than what you think it might be worth currently (you’ll probably underestimate it/would you actually be able to find one and buy it back for that amount?).

2. Multi-bike insurance

If you have more than one bike, you’ll want to look out for multi-bike insurance.

We guess it’s possible you may have some non-road bikes that’ll need insuring too so you’ll have to admit if you have any mountain bikes, recumbent bicycles, electric bikes, trikes etc! E-bikes are something that many insurers raise premiums for.

3. Repair or replace

Carbon fibre bike frames have the advantage of being light, but they can also be easily damaged and expensive to repair. Can a repaired frame ever be quite as reliable, or safe, as a new one? Ideally, if your carbon fibre frame breaks, you’d want to replace it. So, check what your road bike insurance policy states about this and whether your cover is on a ‘new for old’ basis.

4. Transit cover

If you’re taking your bike on a train, plane or ferry, you’ll want to know that it’s covered should it get lost, stolen or damaged during the journey. You should be sure to pack your bicycle securely using an enclosed bike bag or box and to get a receipt from the carrier which shows that you have placed your bicycle with them.

5. Destinations and length of trip

If you’re planning a cycling tour of multiple countries, you’ll need to make sure that this is covered under your policy. Each policy may also have a limit to the number of consecutive days you can be away. So, if you’re planning on travelling multiple weeks, look for one with a higher maximum trip duration.

6. Liability

Cycling liability insurance covers your third-party liability as a rider, meaning that if you injure someone or damage their property, those costs should be covered. There is no legal requirement in the UK for cyclists to have third party cycle insurance. But, if (for example) you hit a car and it’s deemed to be your fault, these claims can be very expensive. So, it’s worth making sure that cyclists liability insurance is included in your quote.

See the section below for more information on liability where you’re taking part in an event.

7. Cover for competitive cycling or racing

If you plan to do anything like cycle racing, time trialling, cyclosportives, gran fondos, triathlons or cyclocross, then you’ll probably want to make sure that you’re covered specifically for that. This should include third-party liability mentioned above, so that if you injure or damage a fellow competitor/their bike, as well as your personal injury, damage to your bike and kit and theft from transitions is all covered.

Some policies also include cover if the event you’re due to take part in is cancelled or if you get injured before an event and can’t attend. Particularly in the Covid era, it’s important to check this detail; does your policy cover you if the event is cancelled due to Covid or travel restrictions would require you to quarantine? Are you covered if you or one of your dependents gets Covid or gets told to isolate?

Bear in mind that if you’re doing a sportive or event, they will generally require you have a licence to take part (which often includes third party liability insurance). Don’t assume that this licence will cover everything a cycling travel policy would cover (or that if you have the travel insurance, you don’t need the licence – these tend to be a mandatory requirement for taking part in the event).

On a separate note: if you ride your bike for work or are deemed a professional rider, then you may need specialist cover.

8. Cycle breakdown cover

If your bike breaks while you’re on the road, how will you get back to where you’re staying? Roadside assistance isn’t covered as standard with many policies. But, if this is something that’s important to you, and you’re going on a guided cycling holiday that doesn’t provide a roving mechanic, check whether the policy you’re taking out includes it, and/or consider standalone bicycle roadside assistance insurance which can rescue you and transport you and your bicycle to your destination.

Alternatively, you may be happy with a policy that just includes taxi fare reimbursement in this situation. Again, the message is: if you want it, make sure it’s included in the policy you select! It’s much better to be over-prepared for these eventualities than to not have suitable policies and find out you needed them.

9. Replacement cycle hire

Some policies include a benefit that means if your bike is stolen/lost/delayed or gets broken abroad, they’ll pay for cycle hire so that you can keep riding.

10. Repatriation for bike

If (heaven forbid) you have to finish your trip early/be repatriated, what will happen to your bike? Will your insurer repatriate that too? Make sure you check the fine print.

11. Insurance for hire bikes

The cost of flying with your bicycle can be expensive, so some people opt to leave it at home and instead hire a bicycle abroad. This can be cost effective, as for the price of buying a bike box and a plane ticket for your own bike, you could instead hire a fantastic carbon fibre bike worth twice the value of your own.

You may be able to get hire bike insurance from the company you hire the bike from, but the excesses can be hefty. Instead, you could take out a short term bicycle insurance policy to cover the hire bike, with a much lower excess. You’ll need to think about this though – be warned that standard bicycle insurance policies won’t usually include this, as they only cover against a bicycle which you actually own.

12. Medical expenses and personal accident

We’ve talked a lot about damage to your bike, but what if you damage yourself while riding? It’s important to check you’ve got appropriate cover for your medical expenses – whether under your normal travel policy, a specialist bike travel insurance policy or the EHIC or GHIC cards (but UK residents, bear in mind the EHIC/GHIC only gives access to state hospitals and things have changed due to Brexit, more info from the NHS, here ).

Be aware that many of the bike insurance policies that aren’t specifically for travel don’t include medical expenses – there’s more detail on this distinction in the chart below.

Some cycling policies also include provision for a lump sum pay out where you are killed or injured when riding a bicycle. They may also help cover medical costs such as physiotherapy and dental work.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, many sports travel insurance providers have included a clause that states they exclude any claims relating to Covid-19. With this in mind, it’s incredibly important you check the fine print when buying any cycling holiday insurance and compare cycle insurance across multiple providers to make sure you’re happy with what level of cover you will receive.

13. Security requirements and policy exclusions

Certain bicycle insurance policies require that a ‘Sold Secure Gold’ lock is used whenever you leave your bicycle unattended away from home or that you have your bike tagged with a security mark. There may also be requirements about where you can leave your bike overnight. You MUST comply with these requirements or else the insurer may well not pay out if you claim.

Other points to be aware of:

• Some policies won’t cover certain kinds of crashes – for example if you drive your car into the garage while it’s on a bike rack on top of your car (whoops, been there!), you crash into a parked car or hit a pot hole.
• Will you be with a guide? Some policies require this.
• Does the accidental damage cover replacing individual components and accessories?
• Does the policy cover you if the bike is in use at the point that it’s stolen?
• How long can you leave the bike unattended when it’s locked up away from your home? 12 hours? 24 hours?
• Is your bike insured if you let someone else ride it? Or if you’re riding someone else’s bike?
• Have you got any pre-existing medical conditions? You’ll need to disclose these before you take out the policy…
• If you ride recklessly or whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you’re unlikely to be covered in the event of an accident.
• Can you prove your ownership of the bike? This is usually a policy requirement, so retain those receipts and take photos of you and your bike, especially if you make any upgrades from what it was like when you bought it. A photograph of the frame number on the bottom bracket will also help in finding your bike if it’s stolen.

There will undoubtedly also be other exclusions/loopholes/things to consider on your policy; insurance wouldn’t be the profitable industry it is if insurers paid out every time… Check your policy well, it’s a minefield!

Cycle insurance comparison

So, you’ve worked out what cover you’ve got and what cover you need.

Now it’s time to look at the details of some policies to get the cover you need.

It’s always a good idea to get a few quotes before you take out a bike insurance policy – that way you can compare the terms and pricing that are applicable to you.

Choosing a provider that’s also received a good DeFaqto score and/or has won industry awards can also be a useful indicator, though as you’ll have seen from the points above, the right policy for you is a very individual thing depending on your exact requirements.

As part of your checks, remember to look at the policy’s Covid cover – there’s considerable variety on who covers (or doesn’t cover) what in the insurers listed below.

Also, the exact terms of the bike cover will also vary – and change frequently.

Check the terms carefully!

Finding the best cycle insurance: a few providers

Here are a few names in the business that target cyclists (because we’re talking about insurance, we have to let you know we aren’t endorsing or recommending them – just letting you know they exist!).

Head to their sites to get the detail on their products and find out if they’re suitable for your needs:

Yellow Jersey

Sportscover Direct

This is a long article on what seems like a relatively simple subject – but it’s pretty complicated and there’s lots to consider.

Check the small print before you buy, and after you’ve got the policy, comply with it!

While choosing the right policy might seem a big hassle now, it’ll feel like nothing if and when you ever need to claim on it…

Which insurer do you use for your cycling insurance? Have you ever had to claim on the policy? How was it? Let us know in the comments below!

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Clare Dewey is a cyclist with a passion for travel. She set up epicroadrides.com in 2018 to help make it easy for cyclists to explore the world by bike. Today her mission is still inspiring cyclists to discover new places on two wheels – and doing what she can to make sure they have the best possible time while they’re there. Clare has visited 50+ destinations around the world, many of them by bike.

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3 Responses to “Your essential guide to choosing cycling travel insurance”

Great information! Thanks!

Do you know any companies that insure European residents?

It’s not something we’ve looked into I’m afraid. If you find any options please do let us know! Clare

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Cycle Trekkers

Adventures around the world on two wheels!

Choosing Travel Insurance for Cycle Touring

Article updated: 29th June 2020

Having the appropriate travel insurance for cycle touring is essential! It gives you peace of mind in case something happens, and ensures you won’t end up forking out unnecessary money.

I know a lot of people take the risk and don’t buy travel insurance. Personally, I think that’s insane! I used to work as a travel consultant and I’ve heard MANY horror stories related to not being covered.

The horror stories were from people that were on holiday or travelling, when something bad happened, and they either weren’t covered or weren’t covered for the activities they were doing. It always ended up costing them. So it’s important to not only have travel insurance, but to make sure you are sufficiently covered for the activities you plan on doing.

A few things to consider when choosing Travel Insurance for Cycle Touring:

Does the policy cover your bicycle.

I’ve discovered that most travel insurance policies won’t cover bicycle thief! Actually, I have not found one policy (for Australians) that does. Most policies also won’t cover damages to your bike. Most will however cover damages or thief to bicycle accessories (panniers, phone mounts etc.). It’s important to check and be aware of this. It’s better to know up front than think you’re covered just to find out later you’re not.

Does the insurance company cover long-term cycle touring?

This is something I always confirm directly with the insurance company, as it’s not always listed on the ‘included activities’ section of the policy. Some insurance policies may only cover cycle touring on roads or paths (ie. not mountain bike trails/ bikepacking). Or only cover cycle touring if it’s not the main activity taking place (ie. it’s not more than X% of the trip).

Other insurance companies may not cover cycle touring at all or it might be considered to be an additional extra or ‘extreme activity’. Make sure you get confirmation directly from the provider before purchasing your travel insurance for cycle touring.

And, what are the conditions?

You will usually find that the insurance provider will only cover you for cycle touring if you are following the country’s rules and regulations. For example, if it’s law to wear a helmet, then you must be wearing a helmet to be covered. Or, if you legally can’t cycle on a specific road, then you won’t be covered if you cycle on that road.

It’s important to familiarise yourself with the country’s cycling rules. And if you do break some laws (face it, we all do at some point), then be mindful that you might not be covered if something was to happen.

How long do you plan to be cycling for? Will the policy cover you for the entire duration? Or will you need to renew you policy each year?

Most insurance companies only provide insurance policies for a maximum of one year. If you plan on cycling for longer than that, then it’s important to check:

1) Whether the policy can be extend.

2) Whether you can purchase or extend a new policy while travelling.

A lot of policies cannot be extended, which means purchasing a new policy. However, some policies have to be purchased while you are in your home country, before the start of your trip.

It’s also worth checking whether your travel insurance policy will become void if you decide to visit home during your trip.

Also, make sure the policy isn’t a multi-trip policy, as these policies are annual policies that only cover you for travel that is up to specific time period (ie. 60 or 90 days) at a time. After that you have to return home for the policy to still be valid. That said, if you plan to take a few shorter cycle tours throughout the year, where you return home in between trips, then a multi-trip policy might actually work best for you.

I can almost hear some of you ask, “ How will the insurance company find out if I wasn’t wearing my helmet, or that I went home for a couple of weeks?” The truth is, they might not find out unless they request specific documents that contradicts your story or if something happens to you while you are breaking one of the policy conditions. It’s whether you want to take that risk or not. If you are forking out all that money for travel insurance, then you probably want to be covered.

Will my insurance cover COVID-19?

Unless you purchased your travel insurance prior to mid-March, then it’s highly unlikely. I’ve not come across a policy that will provide you with cover for any loss or event related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) – this includes cancellations, disruptions and restrictions resulting from COVID-19. That said, don’t let that prevent you from purchasing travel insurance, as there are plenty of other things that will be covered.

This is one reason why it’s so important to purchase travel insurance as soon as you start booking anything for your trip . Travel insurance doesn’t just cover you for your trip, it covers you leading up to your trip as well. If you purchased your travel insurance prior to mid-March then you may have been covered for any cancellations to your flights in say, April.

A few other things to consider:

Are you travelling solo, or as a group, a family or a couple? Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy a policy that covers you as a group, couple of family, instead of individually.

What countries are you visiting? Different countries usually cost different amounts to cover. Make sure you’re covered for all the countries you plan on visiting.

What’s your nationality? You nationality will affect the policy, even if it’s the same insurance provider. For example, World Nomad ’s policy for British nationals covers completely different activities than World Nomad’s policy for Australians.

If you are unsure about anything, confirm in writing with the insurance provider.

When choosing my insurance provider and policy, I always email the insurance company to confirm my inclusions and anything I’m unsure about. I actually did this once, and was told I was covered for something. It turned out I wasn’t, however because I wrote the to insurance company and had in writing that I was covered. They honoured the claim and paid me out. This experience was with World Nomads Insurance Company.

However, boring it is, I also recommend reading through the policy and comparing a few different policy options before choosing your travel insurance for cycle touring. Just like choosing your touring bike – picking an insurance policy is an investment, and it does take some time and research to get it right.

Our Experience with Travel Insurance for Cycle Touring

We used World Nomads Travel Insurance for our France to China trip , and DUInsure (which is actually part of the Alliance group) for our cycle trip across Canada . I’ve made claims under both policies and overall had a good experience with both insurance companies. However, I did find World Nomad’s system much more user friendly and less complicated for submitting claims online.

The overall process with World Nomad’s was also a lot quicker, and I got paid out within days. Opposed to DUInsure where I had to wait weeks. I found DUInsure was slightly cheaper for travel in Canada and the USA, which is why I changed insurance companies for the Canada trip. However I think I will be changing back to World Nomads  if we were to do long term trip again in future.

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about my experience with either of these insurance companies or anything else insurance related.

We would also love to hear from you if you’ve used either of these insurance companies and want to share your experience. Likewise, if you have any other tips for picking travel insurance for cycle touring.

If you enjoyed this article on choosing travel insurance for cycle touring, then you might also enjoy our article on  Accommodation Options for Cycle Tourists .

8 Replies to “Choosing Travel Insurance for Cycle Touring”

Definitely get insurance if, like the lead photo, you prefer to ride in the center or wrong side of the road!

In the photo you are referring to, the road was actually closed to cars. Thanks for pointing it out though. You should definitely cycle on the correct side of the road in normal situations. For argument sake, I’ll change this photo.

It’s very good for me. Thank for share.

I know a lot of people that don’t bother with insurance at all. I guess with all the small print it feels like you’d never win a claim. This helps out a lot though, thanks 🙂

This article is very helpful for me because i learn travel insurance for bike tour. Now i got confidence for travel bike tour.

I just thought I would add that we found an Australian insurer (Zoom Travel Insurance) who cover both travel and the bikes. However, you are meant to have a D-lock worth more than $100 on the bikes if they aren’t within eye sight. They insure you for a year at a maximum of $5000 per bike and can insure up to 5 bikes. You can also extend the insurance if you want to continue using them after a year. I confirmed that they cover longterm cycle touring if you pay for a comprehensive cover plus a Bike Package premium too.

The travel insurance is the usual medical, transport delays, family illness and luggage.

Sorry just got a new email from Zoom Insurance. They do not permit you to extend that insurance after the first 12 months unless you head back to Australia and get a new policy. Disappointing because I really thought we had found the perfect cover all travel insurance.

Oh no! That’s a shame. Yes, it definitely can be difficult finding the perfect travel insurance for cycle touring. I used World Nomads and made a few claims, and I had no issues with them. DUInsure, I also used and made a couple of claims with no issues.

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Everything you need to know about cycling in France your independent guide

Cycle Insurance

Here’s our guide to choosing the right insurance policy for your french cycling holiday – for you and your bike. .

Scare thieves away with a decent bike lock (or two) – it's the best insurance policy you can buy. Photo: Nir Nussbaum

Good cycle insurance policies are hard to find, especially for cyclists undertaking extended trips. Leave plenty of time to find the best policy that covers you AND your bike. Depending on your trip, it may be necessary to insure yourself and your bike and accessories separately.

Make sure you ask plenty of questions of insurance companies and read the fine print to make sure you understand the policy’s conditions, and what is and isn’t included. It’s also important to know what caveats the insurance company has put in place to avoid having to pay out in the event of a claim: using a lock not on the insurer’s approved list; not having evidence of ownership of your bike and your lock (eg a sales receipt, photographs, etc); not locking the bike to a fixed object; or not using an 'official' cycle rack at a train station can all render a policy useless.

It is also a good idea to photograph your bike and accessories prior to departure. If you opt not to wear a helmet, check that the personal liability component of any policy doesn’t require that you wear one.

Insurance for cycling in France

Here are some cycle insurance companies that may offer suitable insurance for your trip to France.

We're listing them here as general guidance only – every policy and every trip is different, so you should make sure you research the right one for you and ALWAYS read the fineprint.

Worldwide policies:

World Nomads has travel insurance cover for residents worldwide and is recommended by Lonely Planet and Rough Guides, among others. Its travel insurance policies last from one week to 18 months and, for a premium. For some (but not all) countries of residence, you can add bikes as 'high-value items as you progress through the quote stages. This add-on appears to differ from country to country, depending on your residency, so double-check that it is possible where you live. The medical aspect of the policy covers cycle touring and mountain biking (see the activities section), but again you need to play around with the search functions to see if you're covered in your country.  

For UK residents:  

Yellow Jersey Insurance , as the name suggests, offers insurance cover for cyclists. They have general insurance cover for theft as well as a dedicated travel policy for cyclists and triathletes. They offer worldwide cover as standard, and also cover trip cancellation, as well as cover if your bike is damaged while being shipped to the start of your ride. There are discounts for couples, families and groups.

CyclePlan offers European and worldwide cover, including bike hire and breakdown assistance. It covers theft and accidents, and covers both holiday and commuter cycling. They also offer a best-price guarantee on similar policies elsewhere.

The UK-based Cyclists Touring Club endorses Cyclecover insurance that includes worldwide cover for up to 90 days a year for one or more bikes worth up to a total of £12,500. Cover includes theft as well as accidental damage. There are options also for public liability cover, as well as cover for family groups and competitive cyclists.

CycleSure   includes a family option, plus the usual public liability, theft etc.

If you are a member of a cycling organisation such as  CTC  or  London Cycling Campaign , check the policies offered under the umbrella of those organisations.

For residents of France:

For people living in France,  Staysure  offers travel insurance for 'expats'. It includes a single item add-on up to the value of €1000.

For residents of the rest of the world (sort of):

Ireland: The  CycleSure  policy offers a discount for Cycling Ireland members. Family cover is available, plus options for road riding, MTB, triathlons etc.

South Africa: There is CycleSure in South Africa that a cyclist recommended to us (it is a different company to the one mentioned above for the UK and Ireland. 

Australia:  The  CyclingTips website has an informative article for people living Down Under, including some useful discussion and recommendations in the comments are underneath. VeloSure has been used by our readers in the past. 

USA:  The Adventure Cycling Association in the United States endorses  MH Ross . 

I'd be happy to include other recommendations here from readers around the world – just email me at [email protected]

Travel insurance

The market is much wider for travel insurance policies that cover you and your health – as opposed to that of you AND your bike – with everyone from regular insurers, banks and supermarket chains offering deals on travel insurance. It’s best to shop around and read all the fineprint to find a policy that suits you and your trip.

For shorter cycling tours and holidays, single-trip policies are usually both adequate and cheap. However multi-trip cover might work out more cost-effective if you’re planning on making return trips to see more of France by bike. Some but not all insurance companies also offer long-trip cover for people on extended cycle tours, though most cover personal health and safety only, and not that of your bike. Note that some travel insurance policies deem mountain biking to be a ‘dangerous activity’ that requires extra cover.

Firstly check your household insurance policy and whether it includes any travel-related insurance options. Your bank, credit card provider or post office may also offer suitable cover.

Again, the following are intended as guidance and starting points only, not endorsements of policies that may or may not suit your circumstances.

Yellow Jersey Insurance   has cover for  cyclists and triathletes travelling abroad from the UK. They cover longer trips as well as shorter trips for sportives etc. They also cover damage to your bike if you get it shipped ahead. 

If you're in the UK, try companies such as Columbus Direct ,   Avanti  and All Clear Insurance . See also World Nomads  above in the 'worldwide' section.

For people living in France,  Staysure  offers travel insurance for 'expats'.

Reducing the risk of bike theft 

Prevention is, of course, your best defence against losing your bike while you are on the road. In France, there is a lot of respect for cyclists and bike theft is much less common than in many other countries. However, a decent bike lock (or two) and ensuring that you leave your bike in the safest possible place are the two most sensible means of protection.

In a city like Paris, I'm always nervous about leaving my bike chained up outside (I've often chosen to leave it at my hotel while I'm sightseeing and use a public hire bike instead). However, while cycle touring in the countryside or away from major tourist sites I've never had any problems with theft and am usually always fine leaving it chained up outside restaurants. I ALWAYS stay overnight at bike-friendly places where I know there is safe parking ( we have vetted every hotel, B&B and gite on this list ).

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• Tour de France 2019 route: Stage-by-stage guide
• Cycling book review: Travels with a Brompton by Sue Birley
• House and gite business for sale in the Pyrenees – a perfect cycling base or B&B
• Tour de France 2023 route: Stage-by-stage guide
• Cutting carbon by cycling in France
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• Cycling in the rain - lessons from the road

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Cycling Travel Insurance

£10m emergency medical expenses - search and rescue included and £2m personal liability standard on ALL policies.

A GUIDE TO OBTAINING A QUOTE and PRE QUOTE INFORMATION -  questions answered

please ensure you select the correct activity level  for the sports you are insuring and that you insure the full duration of your trip from the UK including departure and return dates on your Snowcard policy - for downhill skiing you will need at least Adventure Plus or Max Adventure for snowboarding

If you have any questions or need guidance on selecting your policy - email [email protected]

N.B. Insurance policies available from this website can only be used by UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man residents.

Levels of cover

Please start typing your activity in the box below. You are covered for all activities in the level you select and those in lower levels. If you are taking part in multiple activities, make sure you select the highest level that will cover all of your activities.

What is your most extreme activity?

Please check our full activity levels information table - if you cant find a match for your activity - let us know so we can add it.

IMPORTANT - for downhill skiing , you will need at least the Adventure Plus level of cover, do not select Adventure Basic for on and off piste skiing or snowboarding.

If you are taking part in an activity that might be considered out of the ordinary or you are travelling to unusual or remote destinations , please refer full details before proceeding and we will confirm if your trip can be covered.

Annual multi-trip insurance

Cancellation cover (if selected) starts when you book each trip or on the start date entered here and shown on your Insurance Schedule, if this is later. Cover under all other sections of the policy begins when you leave home to go on a trip and ends when you return home from that trip.  The start and finish dates of the trip must fall within the 12 month period of insurance. For trips booked during the 12 month period and that start after the end of the 12 month period, we will provide cancellation cover until the policy ends. Please note that annual multi-trip policies can not be purchased more than 2 months in advance of the policy start date and must be purchased in the UK before departure of your first trip. Cancellation cover commences from the policy start date you specify here.

Single trip limits

Winter sports limits on annual multi-trip policies

Single trip policies

You must insure the full duration of your trip and purchase your insurance before departing from the UK. If you have an annual policy with another insurer and you require higher risk cover with Snowcard for a short duration only, we CANNOT help topping up another insurers policy. You must insure your full trip duration with Snowcard for your policy to be valid.

If you select cancellation cover, it takes effect from the date of policy purchase until your departure date. The insurance for personal belongings, equipment and techno pack (if shown on your Insurance Schedule) is only valid if you have insured the whole duration of each individual trip and starts when you depart from the UK. If you have a Snowcard annual multi trip policy at a lower level of cover, you can purchase single trip top up cover  (medical and emergency expenses only) at a higher level for short durations.

The age band selected must be that of the person who is the lead insured name or the oldest person in the family or group. If a group member is older than 56+, it will be cheaper for the group if the older traveller is insured seperately. For persons aged over 75 contact  https://www.biba.org.uk  for advice.

For annual multi trip policies, use the age band applicable on the policy start date. For single trip policies, use the age band applicable on the date of departure.

Please note a family is 1 or 2 adults and up to 4 children up to the age of 18 – a couple is 2 persons married or living together as married – a group is 2 or more persons travelling together on the same holiday. 

To insure a minor <18 travelling alone, the parent must register their details but insert the name and age of the child when prompted to enter the name of the person to be insured.

Snowcard offer the best cycling holiday insurance. We’ve been providing cycling insurance for over 30 years, discover our tried and tested specialist road cycling trip insurance today .

Freedom, the wind in your face, exploring stunning landscapes to your heart’s content, cycling is undoubtedly one of the best ways to enjoy and experience the natural world around you. Insurance, whilst the last thing we want to think about before heading overseas on a cycling trip, is a vital piece of kit. Insure yourself with our cycling travel insurance and free yourself, your bike and your mind!

At Snowcard our policies aren’t just for hitting the ski slopes. As the UK’s longest running specialist provider of activity cover including, of course, cycle holiday insurance, we have a wealth of experience providing cycling travel insurance as well as skiing, snowboard, and winter sports insurance.

With our flexible policies, you have the power to tailor a policy that matches your needs, this is a unique service not available elsewhere in the UK. Whether you're planning a relaxing cycling holiday with the family or looking to take part in challenging iron man competitions or cycle touring sportive events, at Snowcard we have the right cycling trip insurance for you!

We provide cycling holiday insurance for a range of bike sports depending on the  cover options  you choose for;

• Cycle touring
• Cycle touring - road racing
• Endurance cycling events
• Iron man amateur events
• Triathlon amateur events.

If you prefer to explore offroad then you’ll be pleased to know that we also provide specialist  mountain biking travel insurance .

Will Standard Travel Insurance Provide Cycle Holiday Insurance Cover?

If you already have travel insurance be sure to always consult your policy wording and documentation to ensure you have adequate cycling holiday insurance.

Standard cover, like that provided free with bank accounts, will not necessarily always provide cycle trip insurance for cycle touring or indeed other cycling activities. Should you have an accident whilst on a cycling holiday you will need cycle trip insurance and remember the EHIC will no longer be valid after Brexit.  Be wary of general travel policies as they do not always provide cover for road riding or competitions and will typically not include cover for your bike or personal liability. With a Snowcard cycle holiday insurance, you can insure your bike for values upto £5000..

With a Snowcard policy, you can enjoy your cycling holiday safe in the knowledge that you have specialist cycling holiday insurance which is tailored and personalised to you. 

Single Trip Cycle Insurance

At Snowcard we offer single trip cycling travel insurance cover for durations up to 60 days. We also provide multi-trip policies, which provide cover for several cycling holidays a year. For single trip and annual multi-trip policies  we offer 5 options ;

• Adventure basic
• Adventure plus
• Max adventure
• Extreme adventure
• Pro adventure

Please ensure that you select the option covering your highest risk activity should your holiday adventure include several activities as well as cycling.  Use the 'find my level of cover' tool in part 1 above. 

If you would like to find out further information about our cycling holiday insurance then please get in touch with us by using our contact form or by email . We would be more than happy to answer any questions or queries you may have about our cycling trip insurance. 

Do I Need Specialist Cycling Travel Insurance?

Cycling has been the growth sport in recent years and has become hugely popular both in the UK and on the continent where cycling is treated almost like a religion. In Europe, the roads, routes, views and facilities for cyclists offer no bounds, and the traffic is quieter than in the UK! Depending on the type of cycling you are doing, you will need to take a specialist cycle touring policy.

Snowcard provides specialist cycling travel insurance and have been a top provider of activity-travel insurance for cycling for over 30 years. Snowcard have a tried and tested policy that can cover your touring or competitive needs.

What Does Cycling Travel Insurance Cover?

With a Snowcard policy you will be safe and secure on your cycling travel adventure. Cover provides specialist medical assistance for road and trail accidents should you fall or be involved in a collision with another road user. Snowcard offer 5 levels of cover, each covers progressively higher risk sports and activities.

With our travel insurance, as standard you will receive medical and liability cover, £10 million for emergency medical expenses and £2 million for personal liability. All policies include ambulance and airlift expenses. You can customise your insurance to cover personal belongings, sports equipment including bikes, electronics (techno pack), cancellation and travel interruption.

Cycling Holiday Insurance What We Cover

see all activities covered

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Travel Insurance

Medical travel insurance, seniors travel insurance, europe travel insurance, worldwide travel insurance, coronavirus travel insurance, cycling travel insurance.

• Unlimited medical emergency expenses¹
• Up to £10K cancellation cover
• 24/7 emergency medical helpline

Covered 27 million+ travellers

Trusted for 20+ years

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Cycling travel insurance

We know travel insurance is nowhere near as much fun as cycling. So fortunately, with InsureandGo, you don’t need to put in nearly as much effort to get covered as you do pedalling up and down hills!

What is covered with cycling travel insurance?

All of our insurance policies come with over 50 sports and activities covered as standard, including cycling,  cycle touring  and  motorcycling . This means you can get cycling travel insurance quickly and easily without the fuss.

If you want to try cycling on your holiday, you’ll be covered by our policies. However, please note that you will not be covered if this is the main purpose of your trip.

With a cycling travel insurance policy from InsureandGo, we’ll cover you for:

• Medical and hospital expenses
• Abandoning, cancelling or cutting your holiday short
• Belongings and baggage cover
• Passport, money and documents cover
• Delayed departure cover
• Accommodation cover

Will my bike be insured?

While cycling is automatically covered under all our policies, sports equipment can be expensive, so if you’re travelling with yours it’s important that it’s fully insured. All our policies include cover for valuables, including sports equipment, so make sure you choose the right level of cover for your needs. If your bike is particularly expensive, you can even add extended valuables cover to your policy, which covers up to £1,000 per item – see our  policy wordings  for more details.

If you want to do more than just cycling on your holiday, we include cover for over 50 other activities including  horse riding ,  hiking ,  kayaking  and so much more.

We’ve tried to make getting holiday insurance as quick and as simple as possible, so you can get on and look forward to your trip. We also include cover for cycling and over 50 other activities as standard with all our policies.

For a full list of what’s included with your cycling travel insurance policy, please see our  policy documents .

• Unlimited emergency medical expenses available on Black level policies.
• Based on 2,050 responses, correct as of 22/01/2024

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Travel Insurance for Europe: 4 Best Options for 2024

Allianz Travel Insurance »

Travelex Insurance Services »

Generali Global Assistance »

WorldTrips »

Why Trust Us

U.S. News evaluates ratings, data and scores of more than 50 travel insurance companies from comparison websites like TravelInsurance.com, Squaremouth and InsureMyTrip, plus renowned credit rating agency AM Best, in addition to reviews and recommendations from top travel industry sources and consumers to determine the Best Travel Insurance for Europe.

Table of Contents

• Allianz Travel Insurance
• Travelex Insurance Services

You almost certainly will want travel insurance for Europe, mostly because the high cost for international trips is worth protecting against travel delays and trip cancellations. Since your U.S. medical coverage will not apply overseas, you also need international health insurance that covers surprise medical expenses and medical evacuation.

If you're searching for the best Europe travel insurance that money can buy, consider the following plans and all they have to offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most people need travel health insurance at a bare minimum when traveling to European destinations like France, Italy or Switzerland, as well as additional countries inside and outside of the Schengen area. After all, U.S. health insurance plans do not provide coverage for medical emergencies overseas, and the same is true for government health plans like Medicare. Check out our article on whether your health insurance covers international travel .

Other benefits built into Europe travel insurance plans can also protect the money that's been spent on airfare, hotel stays, Europe cruises and tours. For example, travelers can benefit from having coverage for trip cancellation, trip delays, lost or delayed baggage, and more.

Every travel insurance policy is unique, so you'll want to read over individual travel insurance plans to see what they protect against. That said, the bulk of travel insurance plans for trips to Europe provide the following coverages:

• Trip cancellation
• Trip interruption
• Travel delays
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Baggage delay coverage
• Medical expenses
• Emergency medical evacuation
• Rental car damage

Some travel insurance plans also offer additional or optional coverage for sports equipment or sports equipment delays, missed connections, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), adventure sports and more.

Some visitors to countries in the Schengen area are required to have a visa for short stays that can last for up to 90 days within a timeline of up to 180 days. However, this is not the case for American citizens, who can stay in Europe for up to 90 days at a time without meeting specific visa requirements.

The U.S. Department of State also notes that American citizens who want to stay in Europe for more than 90 days should reach out to the country they plan on visiting to inquire about their visa process.

If you live in a country that requires a Schengen visa, you are required to purchase Schengen visa insurance that pays for overseas medical expenses. This coverage must provide at least 30,000 euros in protection against medical expenses that result from hospitalization, emergency treatment and repatriation of remains in the case of accident or death.

• Allianz Travel Insurance: Best Overall
• Travelex Insurance Services: Best Cost
• Generali Global Assistance: Best for Medical Emergencies
• WorldTrips: Best for Groups

Optional cancel for any reason (CFAR) and preexisting medical conditions coverage available

Kids 17 and younger covered for free

Lower coverage amount for medical expenses than some providers

• $100,000 per traveler in coverage for trip cancellation
• $150,000 per traveler in coverage for trip interruptions
• $500 in coverage for eligible trip changes
• $50,000 in emergency medical coverage
• $500,000 for emergency medical transportation
• $1,000 toward baggage loss or damage
• $300 in coverage for baggage delays of 12 hours or more
• $800 in protection for travel delays (daily limit of $200 applies)
• $100 per insured person per day in SmartBenefits coverage for eligible delays
• 24-hour hotline assistance
• Concierge services

Optional CFAR and preexisting medical conditions coverages available

Kids 17 and younger are covered for free

Many coverages cost extra

• 100% of trip cost for trip cancellation (up to $50,000)
• 150% of trip cost for trip interruption (up to $75,000)
• $2,000 in coverage for trip delays of five hours or longer
• $750 in coverage for missed connections
• $50,000 in coverage for emergency medical expenses ($500 dental sublimit included)
• $500,000 in coverage for emergency medical evacuation and repatriation
• $1,000 in coverage for baggage and personal effects
• $200 for baggage delays of 12 hours or longer
• $200 for sporting equipment delays of 24 hours or longer
• $25,000 for accidental death and dismemberment coverage
• 24/7 travel assistance
• 100% of the insured trip cost for financial default of a travel provider (maximum of $50,000)
• Trip cancellation and interruption coverage for preexisting medical conditions (maximum of $50,000)
• Cancel for work reasons coverage
• CFAR insurance
• Car rental coverage worth up to $35,000
• $50,000 in additional emergency medical coverage
• $500,000 in additional coverage for emergency medical evacuation and repatriation
• Adventure sports exclusions waiver
• $200,000 in coverage for flight accidental death and dismemberment

CFAR and preexisting medical conditions coverages available

High coverage limits for medical expenses and evacuation

CFAR coverage only reimburses at 60%

• $1,000,000 coverage limit for emergency medical evacuation and transportation
• $250,000 coverage limit for medical expenses ($500 limit for dental emergencies)
• 100% of trip cost for trip cancellation
• 175% of trip cost for trip interruption
• $1,000 per person for travel delays ($300 per person daily limit applies)
• $2,000 per person in coverage for baggage and $500 for baggage delays
• $2,000 per person in coverage for sporting equipment and $500 for sporting equipment delays
• $1,000 per person in coverage for missed connections
• Air flight accident AD&D coverage worth $100,000 per person and $200,000 per plan
• Travel accident AD&D coverage worth $50,000 per person and $100,000 per plan
• $25,000 in coverage for rental cars
• 24-hour travel support

Discounts for groups of five or more

Potential for high coverage limits for medical expenses

No coverage for trip cancellation

Available coverage limits vary by age

• $5,000 for local burial or cremation
• Up to $25,000 in AD&D coverage
• $100,000 in coverage for emergency reunions
• $10,000 in coverage for trip interruption
• $1,000 for lost checked luggage
• $100 in coverage for lost or stolen passports or visas
• $100 in coverage per day for travel delays of at least 12 hours (two days of coverage maximum)
• Up to $25,000 in personal liability coverage

Why Trust U.S. News Travel

Holly Johnson is a travel writer who has created content about travel insurance, family travel, cruises, all-inclusive resorts and more for over a decade. She has visited more than 50 countries around the world and has an annual travel insurance plan of her own. Johnson also has experience navigating the claims process for travel insurance plans and has successfully filed several travel insurance claims for trip delays and trip cancellations over the years. Johnson works with her husband, Greg, who is licensed to sell travel insurance and owns the travel agency Travel Blue Book .

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Best bike insurance: The best policies for cyclist

The best bike insurance can offer cover for cyclists from infrequent commuters to committed racers

Best tailored bike insurance policies

Best bike insurance for casual commuters, best bike insurance for serious athletes, how to find the best bike insurance for you.

The best bike insurance for you will depend on the type of riding you do. You can find bike insurance policies appropriate for everyone from the casual recreational rider to dedicated racers riding some of the best road bikes , best time trial bikes or best gravel bikes .

The best bike insurance doesn't just cover your bike if it's stolen, you can buy a policy to protect your bike from accidental damage and that will help you get riding again if you're injured. Most will offer you the option of third-party damage cover as well.

Bike theft remains a major hazard though and one that the best bike insurance will protect you from. Many insurance policies offer you a new-for-old option if your bike is lost. 

You do need to show that you've taken steps to avoid or prevent theft though. Using one of the best bike locks and knowing how to lock your bike is important - if you're not doing both, you may invalidate your insurance.

Often an insurance company will specify the level of security that a bike lock must provide for your cover to be valid, although that might be met by even the best budget bike locks .

If you’re new to navigating the world of bike insurance, it can be overwhelming due to the sheer number of insurers and policies on offer, so we’ve rounded up the best bike insurance policies available today. Some of the criteria we have looked at are whether the policies cover multiple bikes, legal fees, public liability, travel and whether they offer new replacement bikes for old. 

We've split this guide up into the best-tailored bike insurance, the best bike insurance for commuters, and the best bike insurance for racing. It's geared toward UK riders, with the companies listed below offering insurance to UK residents.

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And if you're looking for a fast quote UK readers can click on the Compare Bike Insurance Quotes banner below. We've partnered with QuoteZone to create a handy bike insurance comparison tool for UK readers that allows you to compare over 30 quotes from specialist cycling insurance providers.

At the bottom of this list, we've answered some of the most-asked queries in a section on how to find the best bike insurance for you. 

While some insurers offer a single blanket policy designed to suit most cyclists’ needs, there are several who offer tailored insurance policies for the individual. These may consist of three tiers to choose from, or actually form a bespoke policy where you can pick and choose the cover you need.

1. Yellow Jersey

Zero depreciation and DNA security marking

Multi-bike discount: Yes | Public liability: Yes | Travel cover: Yes | New for old: Yes (unlimited)

Yellow Jersey offers three tiers of cover: Essentials, Performance, and Ultimate. One of its greatest benefits is the Zero Depreciation offer, which means you’ll always be compensated for the original value of the bike when new, regardless of how old it is.

For commuters, urban riders and casual cyclists, Essentials offers cover for accidental damage (at home and while out riding), vandalism and theft, personal injury, physiotherapy, dental and public liability insurance. On top of that, you’ll also get DNA security marking to deter thieves (a clear liquid with a unique chemical fingerprint that you dab onto your frame in strategic places), family cover and a multi-bike discount, £250 of accessory cover and up to £10,000 for permanent injury.

The Performance package offers all this, plus travel cover in Europe, damage and injury cover while taking part in sportives and charity events, in-vehicle theft and in-transit cover, plus optional cover for extra wheelsets, plus permanent injury up to £15,000.

On top of all this, if you opt for Ultimate, you also get a 60 per cent multi-bike discount and cover for worldwide travel, crash damage, theft from a triathlon transition area, bike boxes, competitions, and the cost of a UK taxi back home following an accident or mechanical failing.

Tailored insurance that can be paid monthly interest-free

Bikmo offers bespoke insurance policies to cover you for whatever it is you need. Pick and choose from a menu of benefits, including (but not limited to) £ 2 million public liability insurance, accidental damage and vandalism, theft (you must adhere to Bikmo’s locking requirements), cover for bike boxes, accessories, clothing and headgear, emergency hire, £100,000 legal expenses cover and 24/7 cycle hangar parking.

Bikmo also offers up to 50 per cent multi-bike discount and, like Yellow Jersey, doesn’t recognise depreciation of value when estimating the cost of damages. Their team of bike geeks are on hand with specialist knowledge, and there’s an option to pay in monthly instalments, interest-free.

3. Wiggle Insurance

Promises instant action so you won’t be left waiting by the roadside

Multi-bike discount: Yes (Essential & Elite packages) | Public liability: Yes | Travel cover: Yes (Elite package) | New for old: Yes (Essential & Elite packages)

Wiggle’s insurance comes with three levels to choose from – Assist, Essential and Elite – and promises to be the fastest-acting provider of all. While most insurance providers will require you to provide proof of costs – whether it’s for a taxi home following a mechanical breakdown or dental treatment – before reimbursing, Wiggle promises to act immediately, providing instant medical care and transportation. It also offers interest-free monthly payments.

The Assist policy is extremely basic and only offers personal accident and public liability insurance, plus access to emergency medical, dental and physio treatment.

The Essential package is most likely to appeal to casual cyclists and commuters, covering you for theft and accidental damage on top of these.

Their most comprehensive package, Elite, offers all this, plus cover for global travel, sports and transition, as well as replacement bike hire.

4. Velosure

Discipline-specific insurance policies

Multi-bike discount: Yes | Public liability: Yes | Travel cover: Yes (optional) | New for old: Yes (unlimited)

Velosure offers insurance policies based on your chosen discipline and type of bike, with policies for road bikes, mountain bikes, urban bikes, electric bikes, sports bikes and leisure bikes. Standard cover includes accidental damage and theft, up to £ 2 million public liability, and new-for-old replacement. There’s also a multi-bike discount.

Depending on your needs, you can add optional extras to your policy, including European and worldwide travel, sports and competition cover, personal accident and accessories cover, and replacement bike hire, among others. 

5. Pedalsure

Simple policy with a long list of customisation and personal cover options

Multi-bike discount: Yes | Public liability: Yes | Travel cover: Yes | New for old: Yes

Pedalsure offers a comprehensive tailorable quote system which enables the rider to pick and choose their required cover, including the option to add extra bikes with a 50 per cent multi-bike discount, as well as accessories, race cover, up to 60 days' travel cover, three tiers of personal cover, and more. 

The standard cover is basic in order to keep the cost down, but the list of added extras is long. 

Pedalsure’s policy provides personal accident cover, which includes the cost of physiotherapy and dental treatment, as well as theft, accidental damage and vandalism. If you need to hire a replacement bike while making a claim, they will reimburse you for up to £500 to cover this. Their insurance also provides you with legal protection and personal liability.

If your time on the bike is mostly limited to the daily commute, weekend leisure rides or the occasional holiday, you don’t need a super comprehensive insurance policy. The main things you should prioritise are accidental damage cover, personal injury, theft and legal protection if you were to make a claim.

Best for a personal touch

Laka’s insurance policies come with a personal touch. Two policies are available: Bicycle insurance and Recovery insurance. The former offers cover for your bike, helmet, clothing, GPS device and more, plus you’re insured against theft (including from a vehicle), damage and vandalism, and loss. In addition, they cover you and your belongings at races and triathlons, provide global travel insurance for up to 60 days per trip, and will give you £200 of emergency cash after an incident to help you rent a bike or get a taxi home. 

While your possessions are covered by the Bicycle policy, Laka’s Recovery policy takes care of your mind and body. In addition to accident and injury cover (for home and abroad), you’ll gain access to sports specialists and virtual GPs to quickly diagnose and treat your injuries, performance coaching to improve your recovery, and have your physio, dental and mental health bills covered up to £1,500. They even include copies of Rouleur magazine, the hire of a turbo trainer, and nutritional advice from the pros, to help you recover as quickly and comfortably as possible. 

Great for casual cyclists and holidayers

Multi-bike discount: No | Public liability: Yes | Travel cover: Yes | New for old: Yes (2 years maximum)

Bicy’s insurance policy covers cyclists for accidental damage, theft and personal injury, plus it comes with up to £ 1 million public liability insurance and mechanical breakdown cover. If you’re in the habit of holidaying with your bike, then you’d benefit from worldwide cover for up to 60 days at a time, and Bicy offers new-for-old cover (meaning that they’ll pay out the original value of your bike when it was new, without taking any depreciation of value into account) – but unlike Yellow Jersey's unlimited offer, it only applies if your bike is less than three years old. Finally, Bicy has a legal team who are on hand 24 hours a day. If you’re making a claim, they can offer specialist advice, and even take over the claim where appropriate.

Whether you're entering crits in your home city or flying across the world to participate in cross-continental races, if you're a serious athlete you'll need a lot more from your insurance policy. Look for one that offers worldwide travel insurance, competition cover that includes lost entry fees, transit cover for bike boxes and a way of getting home if all goes wrong.

Two policy options, with a 10% discount for both

Multi-bike discount: Yes | Public liability: Yes | Travel cover: Yes (optional) | New for old: Yes (3 years maximum)

Similarly to Laka, Sundays offer two different policies - Bicycle and Cyclist - so you can choose to either insure just your bike or your body or opt for both with a 10 per cent discount. Bicycle insurance covers you for accidental damage, crash damage, malicious damage, theft, domestic in-transit and cycle hire. There’s even a specific cover for damage caused to a bike while on a roof rack. Sundays has a three-year limit on its new-for-old offer, and you can add extras like worldwide travel insurance, competition cover, and extra wheelsets cover.

Paid Strava subscribers get a more limited range of included benefits through Sundays, covering GPS device damage, running race entry and a taxi home if you're stranded by a cycling accident or mechanical.

2. CycleGuard

Comprehensive insurance for risk-takers

CycleGuard’s insurance policy is pretty comprehensive and offers a multi-bike discount with a maximum of 10 bikes per policy. Your bike is insured against accidental damage and theft, including theft from a vehicle, and you can insure up to £2,500 worth of accessories. 30 days of EU travel is also included in the standard policy, alongside 24/7 roadside assistance, new-for-old replacement or compensation, family cover for the same address, and bike hire for up to £500.

Serious athletes may want to opt for some of the extras available, including global travel insurance with £300 cover for bike box transit damage, personal injury cover up to £25,000, including dental treatment, broken bones, physiotherapy and more, and £ 5 million public liability (excluding North America). There’s also competition cover available, which helps you recover lost race fees, travel and accommodation, and – like Yellow Jersey – it is looking out for triathletes with cover for clothes lost in a transition area.

3. Cycleplan

Insurance for racers, teams and coaches

Cycleplan is a subsidiary of Ripe Insurance (providers of specialist insurance cover), offering cover against accidental damage, vandalism and theft, whether at home or away. They also offer an additional policy for worldwide and European travel, which includes competitive cover. Other benefits include public liability insurance, personal accident cover, including medical expenses, physio or loss of income, and replacement bike hire. You’re also covered for legal expenses, should you need to make a claim.

As part of Ripe Insurance, you can also get special insurance for race teams and coaches, via Insure4Sport (another Ripe Insurance subsidiary). 

Cycleplan currently has a 40 per cent introductory discount, and they also offer a free downloadable cycling training guide.

4. British Cycling Membership

Best for multiple discounts and benefits

While this isn’t technically an insurance policy recommendation, membership to British Cycling does come with the added benefit of third-party liability insurance up to £ 20 million, as well as legal support and assistance if you need to make a claim. If you opt for the Race membership, you’ll also be entitled to personal accident insurance. Travel insurance isn’t included with British Cycling membership but, as a member, you’d also get discounted access to Bikmo insurance (mentioned above), as well as priority access to tickets and a racing licence, and a whole host of discounts at Evans, Halfords, Science In Sport, Chain Reaction Cycles, TrainingPeaks, Muc-Off, and more.

Insurance can be complicated, although the insurance companies we've listed above strive to make details of their cover more accessible to the buyer. So here, we've broken down the key questions that you need to ask to find the best bike insurance for your needs. Consider your budget and insurance requirements, make a list and see which insurers meet your needs at the most competitive price. 

Which type of bike insurance is best?

The best bicycle insurance policies for you, like most things in life, will depend on your personal needs. The perfect cover for someone else may not suit you. Consider what your needs are and what the nice-to-haves might be. The more of these you add to a policy, the more expensive it's likely to become, so remain realistic and remember you can always adjust your cover down the line.

Is there any benefit in being covered for racing for a year just in case you decide to join a race? Probably not. Are you hoping to do a sportive later in the year? Consider adding that cover to the policy then, rather than now. Additionally, if you never let your £10k carbon race bike out of sight, then you mightn't need to add away-from-home theft cover. 

Consider the true value of replacing your bike should it be damaged or stolen. You might have bought your bike for £2,000 in the sales, but replacing it with a like-for-like replacement today might cost you twice that. Many insurers account for this by offering a like-for-like replacement guarantee - especially useful if your 2015 carbon wheels are totalled and are no longer available. 

Is bike insurance worth buying?

While cyclists aren't legally required to have insurance, it's a good idea to protect yourself in the event of an incident. Even if you aren't concerned about damaging your bike, you can be liable to cover the costs of damage to another person's property, should you be found at fault – so insurance can protect you in that scenario. If your bike is stolen, insurance will cover the financial blow that will come as a result of replacing it. 

But don't assume that insurance is your get-out-of-jail-free card and let your guard down. Many insurers stipulate rules around how to lock your bike – and what with – to maintain cover against theft. If a thief happens to take your bike off your hands because you left it unlocked and unattended "just for five minutes", your insurer is unlikely to pay out. 

Make sure you read the fine print!

Does bike insurance cover damage?

Many bicycle insurance policies are tailorable, meaning you can choose your level of coverage when first taking out the policy. Many even offer an insurance dashboard on which you are able to adjust your policy at any given time.

The most basic policies will cover third-party damage – so, damage to someone else's property. Others add theft protection and accidental damage to your own property, while the higher levels of cover add competition insurance, should your bike become damaged during a race or sportive.

Does my car insurance cover me on a bicycle?

Usually not, but there are rare instances where bicycle insurance is given as added value to a policy. Of course, this purely depends on the individual policy and insurer in question. Our advice would be to check your policy and, if unsure, speak with your car insurance provider. 

Does home insurance cover bike theft?

If you’ve taken out home insurance, then you’ll likely already have some cover, but there’s a reason specialist bike insurance exists in the first place. With home insurance policies, there can often be a low maximum claim (some are as low as £350/$450), and you might not be covered if your bike is stolen while locked up in a public space.

Specialist bike insurance policies, on the other hand, offer several benefits that you won’t get with home insurance. For example, some will offer discounts for multiple bikes, while others may include travel cover. You can also insure accessories such as helmets, locks and lights, which is especially useful if they get damaged or stolen. 

Specialist insurance often also includes personal accident cover, and public liability cover in case you injure someone else or damage property. Finally, if you’re a dedicated racer, it’s worth looking for an insurance policy that covers damage during racing, lost race fees, and personal accident cover. It’s more expensive than home insurance, but you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

What do I do if I'm uninsured, but already been involved in a cycling accident?

If you’ve already been involved in an accident, but you're not covered by insurance, you're not without options. Many cycle accident solicitors operate on a no-win-no-fee basis and can help you make a claim to recover your costs. 

Online cycling retailer Wiggle has set up a branch called Wiggle Legal for this very purpose, and other similar companies, including Cycle SOS and Alyson France, can help you claim against the local council for potholes or guilty parties in road traffic collisions. Of course, it's not guaranteed that you'll win, and if there's no guilty party to claim against, you may come unstuck.

Should I report a stolen bike?

Absolutely. While the likelihood of recovering a stolen bike can often be quite low, it's even lower when not reported. It should be reported to the police, who will log it into their database. Should the bike ever be recovered, they will know its owner and reunite you with your steed. 

If you've not already had your bike stolen, then the first thing we'd recommend doing is noting down the frame's serial number, as this is unique to each bike. Then, if the bike is ever stolen, you can provide this serial number to the police and give them concrete proof that the bike belongs to you. 

It's common practice for a bike shop to attach the serial number to any bike transaction. Therefore, if your bike has already been stolen and you didn't write it down yourself, check your receipt. If that's lost, contact the shop where you bought the bike, they may be able to help. 

Do you legally need to have insurance to ride an e-bike?

This largely depends on your local laws, as they differ from country to country. Most commonly, however, if your bike complies with local laws pertaining to pedelecs – the details of which you can find in our best electric bikes guide – then from a tax and insurance standpoint your e-bike is classed as a bicycle and doesn't require insurance. 

However, as with any bicycle, it's a good idea to ensure you're covered in case of accident or theft. With electric bikes usually faster and heavier than standard bikes, there's more likelihood that you will cause third-party damage or injury in an accident.

Thieves are attracted to electric bikes for their higher value as well.

Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton.

Josh has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews. On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years.

He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. 

These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.

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DIS COVER A trip less ordinary

Non-competitive and competitive cycle travel insurance designed for peace-of-mind travel, allowing you to explore further or race harder. choose your cover level and let your adventures begin., why bikmo for your travel insurance.

NON-COMPETITIVE

COMPETITIVE

Travel insurance faqs.

Whenever you travel abroad, there are certain scenarios that you may require cover for, such as:

• Travel delays & cancellations
• Lost baggage, passport & money
• Medical treatment & hospital stays

You may also be considering taking part in adventurous activities that are more risky than just relaxing by the pool, such as:

• Hill walking

With a Bikmo Travel Insurance policy, should something happen and you require medical treatment after taking part in an included activity, then you would be covered for associated medical costs up to the insured value.

Now, if you were to take your own bike with you on holiday, this is where the Bikmo Cycle Insurance policy provides cover.

If you were to have a fall on a tricky descent and you damaged your wheels, shifters, saddle, shorts and helmet, you would have the following cover:

• Accidental damage to the bike
• Accidental damage to clothing
• Alternative cycle hire

Provided your road rash isn’t too sore, this would allow you to hire a bike to continue exploring, and then claim for damage to your own bike & kit when you return.

In addition to the travel-related benefits, depending on the type of riding you’re taking part in will depend on the cover you need.

Racing your bike is much higher risk than a leisurely ride to explore your resort or an MTB ride along the coastal path, which is why we have a policy available for both

So, to ensure that you have the cover you need for the level of adventurous cycling activity you’re planning, here’s which cycling activities are covered.

Non-competitive Bikmo Travel policy

• Cycling – No competitions or racing (helmet required)
• Mountain Biking – No competitions or racing (helmet required), up to 2,500m above sea level

Competitive Bikmo Travel policy

• Cycling – Road, TT and track competitions & races
• Cyclocross – Racing
• Triathlon (inc Ironman)
• Mountain Biking – Competitions & races on designated tracks. Up to 5,380m above sea level
• BMX – Racing and training

What our customers are saying

• Travel Insurance

The journalists on the editorial team at Forbes Advisor Australia base their research and opinions on objective, independent information-gathering.

When covering investment and personal finance stories, we aim to inform our readers rather than recommend specific financial product or asset classes. While we may highlight certain positives of a financial product or asset class, there is no guarantee that readers will benefit from the product or investment approach and may, in fact, make a loss if they acquire the product or adopt the approach.

To the extent any recommendations or statements of opinion or fact made in a story may constitute financial advice, they constitute general information and not personal financial advice in any form. As such, any recommendations or statements do not take into account the financial circumstances, investment objectives, tax implications, or any specific requirements of readers.

Readers of our stories should not act on any recommendation without first taking appropriate steps to verify the information in the stories consulting their independent financial adviser in order to ascertain whether the recommendation (if any) is appropriate, having regard to their investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs. Providing access to our stories should not be construed as investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any security or product, or to engage in or refrain from engaging in any transaction by Forbes Advisor Australia. In comparing various financial products and services, we are unable to compare every provider in the market so our rankings do not constitute a comprehensive review of a particular sector. While we do go to great lengths to ensure our ranking criteria matches the concerns of consumers, we cannot guarantee that every relevant feature of a financial product will be reviewed. We make every effort to provide accurate and up-to-date information. However, Forbes Advisor Australia cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of this website. Forbes Advisor Australia accepts no responsibility to update any person regarding any inaccuracy, omission or change in information in our stories or any other information made available to a person, nor any obligation to furnish the person with any further information.

Travel Insurance For Vietnam: Everything You Need To Know

Updated: Apr 26, 2024, 11:14am

Table of Contents

Do australians need travel insurance for vietnam, what does travel insurance for vietnam cover, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Vietnam is an increasingly popular travel destination for Australians, with the country even hoping to encourage more Aussies to visit by potentially waiving visa requirements in due time.

The Southeast Asian country is set to be high on the list for Aussies going overseas in 2024. The number of Australian tourists in Vietnam now exceeds pre-pandemic levels: more than 317,000 Australians visited Vietnam in 2019 , while there were 390,000 Aussie visitors in 2023.

Plus, as more and more flights become available, such as low-cost carrier Vietjet Air launching a direct service between Hanoi and Melbourne earlier this year, getting to Vietnam is becoming easier for Australians.

If the direct flights, fascinating history, vast scenery and delicious food aren’t enough to convince Australian travellers, the cost may be. Vietnam is considered one of the cheapest travel destinations in the world for Australian tourists due to our strong conversion rate against the Vietnamese Dong and the nation’s low cost of living in comparison to our own.

And while cheap thrills may be what you’re after on your vacation, it’s important not to skimp on the necessities that may cost that little bit extra—such as travel insurance. This guide outlines what you need to know regarding travel insurance in Vietnam.

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Unlimited, (Trip Disruption $50,000)

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Cover-More Travel Insurance

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Unlimited, with a $2000 limit to dental

Yes, amount chosen by customer

Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Medical Cover

Including medical treatment, doctors’ visits, prescribed medication, specialist treatment & medical transport costs

$2,500 with option to increase to unlimited

Investing in travel insurance is a good idea for any overseas trip. Travel insurance policies can help protect you from having to dive deep into your pockets, with many offering unlimited medical treatment while abroad and cancellation cover for your trip should the unexpected occur.

Travel insurance is not just handy for medical purposes or travel changes, either. Your personal items can be covered, should any baggage go missing or an important item be stolen—which, unfortunately, often occurs in Vietnam.

Smarttraveller warns Australians to be alert at all times in Vietnam, considering petty theft–including bag slashing–is common in tourist areas and crowded places, especially during holiday times. Snatch-and-grab theft by thieves on motorcycles is also common, the website states.

Like most international travel insurance policies, you will be able to find basic coverage for your trip to Vietnam, or choose to opt for a more comprehensive, albeit more expensive, policy.

While a basic policy will often cover medical expenses and lost luggage,a comprehensive policy includes a lot more. Most basic policies also likely won’t offer compensation for travel delays, stolen cash, accidental death and more.

Additionally, if you are going on a trip to multiple countries within the year, it may be worth opting for an ‘annual multi trip’ insurance instead—making sure that there are no exclusions to the regions you are wishing to visit.

Visa Requirements For Australians Travelling to Vietnam

You’ll still be allowed to travel to Vietnam if you don’t invest in travel insurance, but you do so at your own risk—and, as stated, it is highly advised to have a travel insurance policy for any overseas trip.

However, what you cannot do is enter Vietnam as an Australian tourist without a tourist visa. While Vietnam will grant Australian citizens visas on arrival, applying for one online is much easier.

A tourist visa costs under $100 AUD; however the exact price depends on your length of stay.

The Vietnamese government may consider waiving visas for Australian citizens, especially since many other SEA countries have done so such as Indonesia and Thailand .

However, at the time of writing, Forbes Advisor Australia has confirmed that Australian citizens must still obtain a visa to visit Vietnam for tourism purposes.

The exact inclusions of your travel insurance will be dependent on your personal policy and the provider.

However, generally speaking, you can expect a travel insurance policy for Vietnam to offer some level of cover for:

• Medical expenses;
• Lost, damaged or stolen luggage;
• Travel cancellations or delays ;
• Personal liability;
• Credit card fraud;
• Covid-19 expenses;

If you are partaking in certain sports and activities, you will need to make sure that you choose a policy that covers them. You’ll also need to make sure that your policy covers any pre-existing medical conditions as well.

Plus, if you are travelling with valuables, you may wish to opt for a policy that lets you increase the protection cover on your items.

Ultimately, you need to consider what your trip consists of, what you will be taking with you, and your physical health to establish what policies would be appropriate for you.

From there, you can compare quotes of different policies and providers to ensure you have the optimal—yet affordable—cover for your trip to Vietnam.

Does Travel Insurance Cover The Ha-Giang Loop?

Considered one of the most scenic motorcycle routes in the world, the Ha-Giang Loop is a popular tourist activity in Vietnam for adventurous travellers. If the Ha-Giang Loop is one of your goals, you’ll need to make sure you have travel insurance that covers motorcycling.

Occasionally a policy may include this as one of their included ‘sports and activities’, but it is more often the case that you will need to purchase an additional ‘adventure pack’ that is either specific to, or includes, motorsports.

Even so, when purchasing an additional pack to cover motorbikes, you need to be cautious of the conditions. For example, some policies will only cover motorcycle riding if the bike you are riding has an engine under a certain size.

Often, coverage will cease and claims won’t be accepted if you haven’t been wearing the correct safety equipment such as boots and a helmet, or have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

What Does Travel Insurance Exclude?

Your travel insurance policy may exclude some activities that you wish to partake in, unless you can opt-in to purchase an additional adventure pack as explained above in regards to motorbike riding.

Just like with the inclusions of a policy, the exclusions depend on what type of policy you choose, and what provider you go with.

Commonly, however, you won’t be covered for instances where you:

• Break the law;
• Are under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• Partake in an excluded activity;
• Receive medical treatment for a pre-existing condition that was not disclosed;
• Travel to a ‘Do Not Travel’ destination as outlined by Smarttraveller.

As always, it is essential to read the product disclosure statement (PDS) of your travel insurance policy carefully to understand what you will and won’t be covered for while overseas.

Do I need a visa to travel to Vietnam?

Yes, as of April 2024, Australian tourists still need a visa to travel to Vietnam. This visa can be obtained on arrival, or purchased online prior to travel. The visa takes approximately three days to process online, and the cost depends on how long you intend to stay in the country.

Does international travel insurance cover Covid-19?

Many comprehensive travel insurance policies now cover Covid-19, including medical conditions related to Covid-19 or trip cancellations due to a Covid-19 diagnosis. However, it is not guaranteed that all policies will. It’s important to check your policy’s PDS carefully to understand what it will and will not cover in regards to Covid-19 for both you and your travelling companions.

Related: Travel Insurance And Covid: Are You Covered?

How much does travel insurance cost for Vietnam?

The cost of your travel insurance for a trip to Vietnam will depend on your age, your health, the activities you wish to partake in, and the length of your stay.

For example, for a 34 year old with no pre-existing medical conditions travelling to Vietnam for two weeks, a policy from some of our top choices for comprehensive travel insurance would cost around $130 (based on quotes from Cover-More , 1Cover , and Fast Cover ).

The prices of these quotes would change depending on a chosen excess, cancellation cover, and any additional coverage options you may choose to purchase such as adventure packs or cruise cover.

Related: How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?

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Sophie Venz is an experienced editor and features reporter, and has previously worked in the small business and start-up reporting space. Previously the Associate Editor of SmartCompany, Sophie has worked closely with finance experts and columnists around Australia and internationally.

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Summer 2024 travel trends: gen z spends, europe reigns.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. , April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the rising cost of travel , travelers are sparing no expense on their summer getaways, according to Squaremouth.com , the nation's leading travel insurance marketplace.

Analyzing traveler spending data from thousands of travel insurance policies purchased for trips this summer, Squaremouth reveals the top summer travel spending trends of 2024 and which top locations are the most wallet-friendly.

Over 75% of Summer Travelers Are Heading Abroad 

In 2024, 77% of travelers booking summer trips through Squaremouth are heading abroad. These destinations come with a high price tag, as international trips have an average trip cost of over $9,000 , compared to just over $7,000 for domestic trips.

Top 10 International Summer Destinations for 2024

Budget-Friendly Destinations for Summer 2024

With travel prices higher than ever, many travelers are searching for attractive destinations that don't break the bank. Consider these 5 popular budget-friendly international destinations with the lowest average trip costs in 2024.

Gen Z Spending the Most on Travel

All generations are spending more on trips this summer, with trip costs rising an average of 36% compared to 2023.

Notable Stats: 

Gen Z is spending an average of $11,766 on trips, surpassing all other generations for the first time in 4 years

While Millennials are spending the least on travel this year, their year-over-year spending has increased the most by almost 50%

Methodology: Squaremouth identified trends amongst travel insurance policy sales purchased with travel dates between 6/20/24 – 9/22/24.

Notes to editors

Available Topic Expert: Jenna Hummer is available for comment and interview. [email protected]

About Squaremouth:  Squaremouth.com has insured over 3 million travelers. Using Squaremouth's intuitive quoting and comparison engine, award-winning support team, and verified customer reviews, travelers can save time and money to find the best travel insurance policy for their trip.

View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/summer-2024-travel-trends-gen-z-spends-europe-reigns-302126898.html

SOURCE Squaremouth

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New Schengen Visa rules: Know changes in travel, insurance trends; senior citizens visiting Europe shoots up by 100%

New schengen visa rules ushered in significant changes in travel and insurance trends, with those aged 70 and above visiting schengen destinations doubling. in the upcoming season, 82% of travellers to europe will visit france, switzerland, italy, germany, netherlands, and spain..

New Schengen Visa rules have resulted in a doubling of Europe-bound senior citizens, a survey by insurance broker Policybazaar.com revealed. The new Schengen Visa rules, announced on April 18, have also spurred significant changes in travel insurance trends over the past few days, including a 3-4 per cent surge in users who booked travel insurance policies, as per the Policybazaar survey.

Travellers to Schengen destinations aged 70 and above have doubled compared with last year's figures. A significant rise in travellers declaring pre-existing diseases was also noted.

The most sought-after add-ons for travel insurance included coverage for baggage or loss of belongings, trip cancellation, adventure sports coverage, and pre-existing disease (PED) coverage, as per the report.

Also read: New Schengen visa rules for Indians: This is how you can get multi-entry two-year visa for 29 European countries

Manas Kapoor, business head of Travel Insurance at Policybazaar.com, pointed out a surge among Europe-bound travellers who booked long-term travel insurance, after the new visa rules came into effect.

The survey noted a 3-4 per cent surge in users who booked travel insurance policies for travels that exceeded 45 days in April 2024. “This trend is expected to rise further due to the relaxed visa norms," Manas Kapoor pointed out.

In the upcoming summer season, 82 per cent of Indian travellers to European countries will be visiting popular destinations like France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain, according to the survey.

The survey found a 15 per cent rise in travellers to Europe who declared pre-existing conditions including Diabetes and Hypertension, compared with last year's figures.

Also read: Indians can now apply for multiple entry Schengen visa with longer validity. Check details

But a 40% plunge was recorded in number of travellers buying travel insurance products in Euros.

The new Schengen visa regime entails a stark departure from previous rules. Previously, Indians who wished to travel to one or more European countries were granted Schengen visas for a maximum of three months.

Also read: Schengen visa fee hike: Here’s how costly your trip to Europe can get

Under the new regime, Indians will be granted Schengen visas for two years, thus facilitating their entry to any of the 29 European countries multiple times. This two-year validity is further extendable by 5 years under the ‘cascade regime’. This means Indian tourists can travel and stay in any of these European countries as visa-free nationals for a longer period.

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