Life/trauma/income protection insurance and mtb

[houli77]

Hey burners,

Anyone done any in depth research in which companies policies are mtb friendly? Specifically will they pay if you crash a Dh bike on a legal or illegal trail, or crash on a ride on holidays like queenstown/whistler?

I'm not into racing but do ride Dh and what would prob be considered high risk by an insurance company.

Cheers

 

[Knuckles]

I found that any company will cover you, but charge a premium for involvement in extreme sports. FYI, they class any mountain biking extreme, even cruising rail trails....

 

[DMan]

I never thought about that myself. I better check my policy now.

 

[grimzentide]

We used two companies for travel insurance while living in Canada and riding and boarding Whistler and the North Shore. World Nomads has some specific options for downhill and riding mountain bikes up to a certain elevation which of course ups the cost of your premium. Unfortunately I can't remember the other company we used for our first leg in Canada.

Note: I don't work for world nomads.

 

[Duane]

I've been with Combined Insurance on and off for years. They cover all of my mountain biking as long as it's only a hobby etc. They used to cover my motorcycle road racing.

 

[danielb]

I'm with comminsure and I'm certain they cover me for mountain biking as long as it's a hobby. My home contents insurance (again with commisure) also covers my bike if it's stolen or damaged etc but won't cover it on the way to, during or returning from a race. Both policies cover me and my equipment for surfing and snow boarding

 

[Beej1]

I use CoverMore for all my travel insurance needs. Initially, because that's what FlightCentre suggested back when you used to actually go to travel agents and save money or get more help than self-research.

I kept using them because it was the one part of travel I couldn't be arsed researching to see if I could save on what usually amounted to about $150ish per trip.

So far I reckon they've provided about $50,000 worth of care for me over the years (including private chartered medivac out of the jungle in Vietnam during a trpical storm to Bangkok all for what turned out to just be Dengue Fever of the non-haemorrhagic variety). So far the only thing they seemed fussed over when I was purchasing was if I was:
Scuba Diving
Hiring a Moped
Skydiving/parachuting/paragliding/hang-gliding etc
Bungee Jumping

... and basically a decent list of things not Mountain Biking related unless I was competing (which wont be a problem for me unless I one day do the Mega, and doesn't sound like it'll be a prob for the OP).

A few years ago I was booked on a holiday overseas and had a massive off on the mountain bike the day before we were due to leave (damn you new bike false confidence combined with You Yangs rockery). Couldn't walk/sit properly for 2 days. CoverMore covered change in flights (including delaying return), changes to accommodation and changes to 'adventure packages' we were booked on (read:hiking). So they definitely are fine with MTB crashing even before you go on holiday if it affects the holiday.

I doubt I'll ever go with anyone else.

 

[jarrod839]

Why you need it.

Thought I would highlight the importance of income protection and private health insurance for those who do have it or are thinking about getting it.

I had a big crash on my DH bike at kinglake at the start of September and as a result broke my collarbone, fractured my T1 and broke my left thumb. And i won't be cleared for return to work till possibly early December.
Unfortunately being a truck driver and also a part of my role being pretty physical my employer won't have me back till i can work 100% of my duties.

I am lucky to have income protection through my employer which is about $9 a week that gets deducted from my wage each week and covers 100% of my weekly wage and 30% of my weekly overtime.

Having a mortgage and a car loan and general expenses i would have been stuffed without it as differently would have been a struggle on just my wifes income.

Was also lucky to have private health insurance which covers myself and my wife with all extras for $180 a month. As with all the surgeons/doctors/physios and x-rays etc. I would be out of pocket close to $5000 and so far I'm out of pocket only 1K.

I would highly consider looking into both policys if you haven't already as could save you some money and possibly your job.

 

[thatsnotme]

Sorry to hear about your injuries, and I hope you're fully healed soon. I did myself a major shoulder injury a few years back - I'm just lucky that as a full time employee I had enough sick leave to cover the time I had to take off work. Your income protection scheme sounds very generous compared to some others I've heard about too, I think you've got a good one.

Was also lucky to have private health insurance which covers myself and my wife with all extras for $180 a month. As with all the surgeons/doctors/physios and x-rays etc. I would be out of pocket close to $5000 and so far I'm out of pocket only 1K.

The public system isn't perfect, but that's what I went through, and I wasn't out of pocket a cent. Multiple surgeries, including with one of our top private surgeons who was visiting, CT scans, x-rays, physios, hydro therapy...cost me nothing at all. I know the public system cops a lot of flack, especially if you need so-called elective surgery, but as an emergency patient I couldn't have asked for better care.

 

[jarrod839]

Sorry to hear about your injuries, and I hope you're fully healed soon. I did myself a major shoulder injury a few years back - I'm just lucky that as a full time employee I had enough sick leave to cover the time I had to take off work. Your income protection scheme sounds very generous compared to some others I've heard about too, I think you've got a good one.



The public system isn't perfect, but that's what I went through, and I wasn't out of pocket a cent. Multiple surgeries, including with one of our top private surgeons who was visiting, CT scans, x-rays, physios, hydro therapy...cost me nothing at all. I know the public system cops a lot of flack, especially if you need so-called elective surgery, but as an emergency patient I couldn't have asked for better care.

a few people have been amazed at the cover i have with the income protection. As a fare few policys out there usually only cover 70% of a weekly income or 100% at a inflated premium.
I have to admit the public system has got alot better over the years and your experience sounded really positive but ive had 2 really bad experiences with the public system many years ago and unfortunately myself and my wifes income are over the tax threshold and require private health.

 

[tubby74]

I never had to claim for a mtb caused issue, but did declare participation in in XCM (I wouldn't call my efforts racing) just to cover myself, and also in tae kwon do tournaments. Neither raised the premium and even if it did it's better than risking them denying a claim.
On a side note trauma insurance seems to be a low profile option. I took it out mostly for the case of if my kids got sick, I could drop tools and focus on them. Instead it was me who copped it. I still work about half the time so income protection was of no use, as I took 3 month waiting. And to be honest I'd be going nuts by now if I didn't keep brain ticking over and the interaction with clients. Trauma insurance pays on diagnosis and has been a huge relief whilst fighting cancer. Sure I know my life insurance will cover wife and kids at the end, but I plan on beating this still and that help now is very welcome.

 

[pink poodle]

I never had to claim for a mtb caused issue, but did declare participation in in XCM (I wouldn't call my efforts racing) just to cover myself, and also in tae kwon do tournaments. Neither raised the premium and even if it did it's better than risking them denying a claim.
On a side note trauma insurance seems to be a low profile option. I took it out mostly for the case of if my kids got sick, I could drop tools and focus on them. Instead it was me who copped it. I still work about half the time so income protection was of no use, as I took 3 month waiting. And to be honest I'd be going nuts by now if I didn't keep brain ticking over and the interaction with clients. Trauma insurance pays on diagnosis and has been a huge relief whilst fighting cancer. Sure I know my life insurance will cover wife and kids at the end, but I plan on beating this still and that help now is very welcome.

Best you save that life insurance for another time. Good luck dude.

 

[tubby74]

Best you save that life insurance for another time. Good luck dude.

thanks.
not to be a downer, but I'm proof it can happen to anyone so it is worth thinking about insurance. It wasn't until I started working for myself and looked at SMSF that I did anything other than just accept the default insurances. I wouldn't be stuffed but would be a lot worse off if we hadn't done our homework and planned what we needed before this was an issue

 

[teK--]

Just grave digging this one..

I am reviewing my income protection and trauma insurances. For a while I've had an exclusion on the policy for MTB racing, and training for MTB races.

This was put in place simply due to my wanting to self-disclose and avoid them wriggling out of a claim later.

Now I want to be absolutely certain under what circumstances they will and won't cover an MTB related claim.

There seems to be a real grey area between what they classify as recreational riding (which they do cover), and training for or participating a race (which they won't cover).

To any serious athlete, for training to be effective it must be done with specificity. I.e. train the specific movement patterns you will need, and/or even on the particular course or in environment that they'll compete in.

Has anyone experience in this area?

I can foresee a years long court dispute over whether or not a ride on which an injury took place, was part of training. They might look at the fact that I have an MTBA licence and deem all riding as being "training" for some hypothetical race I might enter in future.

 

[DMan]

Just grave digging this one..

I am reviewing my income protection and trauma insurances. For a while I've had an exclusion on the policy for MTB racing, and training for MTB races.

This was put in place simply due to my wanting to self-disclose and avoid them wriggling out of a claim later.

Now I want to be absolutely certain under what circumstances they will and won't cover an MTB related claim.

There seems to be a real grey area between what they classify as recreational riding (which they do cover), and training for or participating a race (which they won't cover).

To any serious athlete, for training to be effective it must be done with specificity. I.e. train the specific movement patterns you will need, and/or even on the particular course or in environment that they'll compete in.

Has anyone experience in this area?

I can foresee a years long court dispute over whether or not a ride on which an injury took place, was part of training. They might look at the fact that I have an MTBA licence and deem all riding as being "training" for some hypothetical race I might enter in future.

Something I've always worried about with my cover too. What about MBTA though? A race license will at least cover medical I guess but not income.

 

[teK--]

Something I've always worried about with my cover too. What about MBTA though? A race license will at least cover medical I guess but not income.

The MTBA cover whilst quite generous considering how much you pay for it, is really a token gesture. It's not gonna cover my living expenses and mortgage unfortunately.

 

[DMan]

The MTBA cover whilst quite generous considering how much you pay for it, is really a token gesture. It's not gonna cover my living expenses and mortgage unfortunately.

I realise that. Pretty much medical out of pocket only.