Touring insurance for trans America and Canada trip!

wung
wung Posts: 19
edited March 2008 in Tour & expedition
Hi planning a 4 month camping and cycle from Boston to Vancouver - just wondering if anyone has had any particularly good experience with travel insurers that particularly favour/take into account cyclists needs?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks :D

Comments

  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I think a general annual policy could meet your needs. What in particular are you looking for? Bike theft could be covered on your home insurance if you have an appropriate policy (mine is covered worldwide). One thing with some annual policies is that they limit trip duravtyion to 30, 60 or 90 days, so watch out for that. Backpacker type policies may be better in this respect.
  • TorugartTim
    TorugartTim Posts: 105
    The British Mountaineering Council has good range of policies that specifically cover bike touring as well as climbing up rock faces. Alfa is right that most annual policies have a 90 day limit, but with the BMC you can waive this for a fee. Getting insurance for the bike can be tricky/expensive. Coverage from house insurance policies is normally restricted to 3 or 6 weeks, so check the small print before relying on this. The CTC is also a good place to look.
    Tours in far away places
    www.adventure-cycling-guide.co.uk
  • wung
    wung Posts: 19
    Thanks for your suggestions. As you have pointed out the main problem seems to lie in finding a policy that will cover you for longer than 90 days for a single trip (for a reasonable amount of money). The main concerns i would like the insurance to address would be bike and possession theft, and personal injury as medical bills in the states can be costly. I'll keep digging...
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    The CTC's Cyclecover annual policy looks good, covers bikes worldwide up to £1500, however the maximum trip duration is 100 days Cost about £130.

    I think you may have trouble finding dedicated bike travel insurance beyond the 100 days, it may still be best to search for "Long Stay" travel insurance and use a good home insurance policy to cover the bikes - I hear M&S is very good (unlimited bikes up to £4000 value, I don't know about worldwide cover though, worth checking).

    To be honest as the most important issue is medical cover, as you know, esp in US, so I would prioritise that.

    Moneysupermarket.com lets you search for quotes for long stay travel insurance.

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