Do I Need Mountain Bike Insurance?

Mountain bike insurance is not a legal requirement for the average cyclist, though if you participate in competitions then public liability is usually required.

What is Covered?

Insurance for mountain bikes is much the same as insurance for other bikes. What’s important to know is that there are some policy benefits that may be much more useful for mountain bikes to consider when choosing their insurance cover. We’ve outlined some of the more important aspects to look at when you choose insurance for your mountain bike:

Accidental Damage

Should your mountain bike get damaged, your cycle insurance policy will cover you for repairs needed to get you back on the trail in no time. This is one of the most common causes of claims for mountain bikers, so it’s well worthwhile making sure it’s included on your insurance policy.

Theft Cover

There’s nothing worse than having your bike locked up safely and then coming back to find a broken lock and no bike. Having theft cover in place for your mountain bike is definitely something to look into, most cycle insurance policies will include this as standard, but it’s always worthwhile checking before you buy.

Competition Cover

If you’re a serious mountain biker then you may get involved in certain organised events throughout the year and having competition cover included in your insurance may be useful to you.

Having competition cover in place means that during events if your bike gets damaged you’ll still be covered even if it’s in a competitive setting.

Not every insurer will offer competition cover, so when you’re selecting your insurer make sure you pick one that offers the level of cover you need.

Public Liability

Similar to competition cover, public liability can be really useful if you mountain bike competitively.

Many venues and competitions require you to have a certain level of public liability in place in order for you to take part, so look out for this and make sure the insurance you choose is right for the level of mountain biking that you do.

Public liability is essentially cover in case of damage or injury to third parties as a result of your mountain biking. So, if you or your bike was to hit someone, public liability would cover you if that person were injured.

Personal Accident Cover

If you cause yourself serious injuries as a result of mountain biking on your insured bike, then personal accident cover can provide a lump sum payment, depending on the type of injury you’ve sustained.

This can vary wildly between insurers so if this is something you’d like included in your policy, then check each company’s policy wording carefully so you know exactly what you may be entitled to should you be unfortunate enough to need to claim with it.