Travel Insurance

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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CJ
Posts: 3405
Joined: 15 Jan 2007, 9:55pm

Re: Travel Insurance

Post by CJ »

hufty wrote:Good tip about the ETA but I imagine that when faced with a large payout for medical repatriation, General Condition Section 4 Reasonable care: "you should follow the recommended safety procedures for the activity..." could be wielded against you, trumping your saved chat, Chris. On the other hand, as the ETA specifically mention helmets and safety equipment for other sporting activities but not for cycle touring, maybe it's okay. Would it be prudent to get a more formal written clarification rather than relying on a note from Rupert's mum?

Cycle touring is not a 'sporting activity' - no more than touring by car is motor sport. Ask any Dutchman or German, for whom cycling is a normal means of transport and NOT a dangerous sport. Or not except for a tiny minority of the population, ie about the same sized minority as the totality of cycling in Britain. Here cycling accounts for less than 2% of trips and you have to be some kind of enthusiast to do it at all - so the sporty minority become a conspicuous majority of the tiny cycling sector here. ETA's mission is to make cycling for transport as normal here as it already is in those more enlightened countries. They recognise that helmets aren't normal for transport.

And ETA operate also in those more enlightened countries. Dutch and German cycle tourists will be buying the same insurance and going on cycle tours NOT in helmets. The insurance company that provides the cover is German, so they will know that normal people don't wear helmets when they holiday by bike.

My chat session was just to double check. And the guy I spoke to wasn't anybody's mum. No I do not want to prod the hornets nest that is the helmet issue, again. I've done it once and got the right answer, that will have to do. In my experience if you make a big fuss about whether something is covered by insurance, this only prompts the insurer to go like: "hang on a minute, if this guy's so worried about this risk maybe we should be too." And voila, when you come to renew, you find it's no longer covered. Asking for it in writing will only make the sirens moan and the big red light start flash, that they have on the wall in any insurance office!
Chris Juden
One lady owner, never raced or jumped.
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CJ
Posts: 3405
Joined: 15 Jan 2007, 9:55pm

Re: Travel Insurance

Post by CJ »

simonhill wrote:
CJ wrote:I mentioned a comparison table of insurances I've been compiling. If you're interested it's avaialble to view and download from my Google Drive as an Excel spreadsheet (with links to insurers' websites) and PNG image (for those who can't open Excel).


CJ, these links don't work anymore. 404 - not found.

Have you deleted them?

Not knowingly, but I may have moved a few folders around. Anyway, they'll be out of date now.
Chris Juden
One lady owner, never raced or jumped.
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