Do you carry health insurance info while riding?

[rubysoho]

A bit of a spin-off from the unidentified cyclist who died. I read a few people carry a road ID. Does this include health insurance information?

Right now I tuck my drivers license and a credit card in one of my bike bags but I'd like to get a bracelet or something that is easier for a medic to find if I am ever seriously injured. I do have health insurance but have not been carrying that information.

What do you carry and how?

[OakLeaf]

I don't go anywhere without my health insurance card.

No, they aren't legally allowed to refuse minimum life-sustaining care, but they can delay more expensive procedures that might make a big difference, and they might send you to a charity care hospital which could potentially be farther away and much busier than a closer private hospital.

It depends on where you live I suppose. I've seen too much of the health care system from the inside, in my work.

You should be able to get extra copies of your insurance card if you need them. If it's paper, Scotch tape on both sides works as well as any lamination. I scotch-taped my organ donor card in 1981 ... and that's another thing I never leave home without.

[shootingstar]

I always carry it....actually alot of Canadians would find it inconceivable not to have health insurance coverage when engaged in any sport anywhere.

Or not have health insurance period.

[Bike Chick]

I carry a photocopy of my drivers license with contact info on the back in my flat kit but never thought about my insurance card until a friend had a blackout and subsequent crash on a charity ride and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. She was wearing her road id and had a copy of her drivers license but her insurance card was 30 miles away in her wallet. She and her husband now take their insurance card on every ride and she is thinking of getting a new road id with her insurance info on it. Not a bad idea.

[pll]

I carry my health insurance card (and the car insurance one, too) with my driving license. My Road ID has the insurance member number.

[Crankin]

My regular, pocket sized wallet, with everything in it, fits in a jersey pocket, so the answer is yes. In addition to my Road ID.

[SheFly]

I'm awful. First, I have a RoadID, but don't always wear it. Second, I don't carry ANY form of ID with me when I ride - not my license or my health insurance (I do have my cell phone - usually).

I think putting hte insurance info on the RoadID is a good idea, assuming your insurance provider doesn't regularly change. If you are in a bad accident and in urgent need of care, they aren't going to look through your seat bag, etc. to find your health insurance card.

SheFly (who promises to go back to religiously wearing her RoadID)

[goldfinch]

I've been bad about carrying any kind of ID. I just forget. This is really risky because sometimes I am in towns where no one knows me and it would take a while for my spouse to track me down.

A friend of ours got me a medical alert flash drive, much like this:



In this drive I have contact numbers, temporary and permanent addresses, and all sorts of medical info as I have a couple of chronic conditions. I now leave it in my bike bag tool kit.

[Aggie_Ama]

I carry a Jimi Wallet with it in there. They are thin, fit nicely in a jersey pocket. I can carry my drivers license, insurance card, a credit card and some cash.

I need to get a Road ID though because I am allergic to penicillin. I used to ride solely with my husband who knows this but now I am more adventurous and need to take care of myself.

[OakLeaf]

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/h...care.html?_r=1 Anything that applies to people with Medicaid, applies doubly to people with no identifiable insurance coverage.

My insurance card stays in my jersey pocket with my ID and phone. EMTs might not look for it, but once I was stabilized, law enforcement and/or hospital personnel would be trying to ID me, and they would find both.

Don't forget that if you live alone - or if you and your spouse are injured in the same wreck - there may not be anyone who can find your insurance information for days or weeks, if it's not on you.

I suppose RoadID is probably safe, but I honestly don't trust that their systems are as secure as financial institutions' (which are still sometimes hacked). I guess if I wanted a bracelet/collar type of thing, I'd make my own on the dog tag machine. I seriously doubt they store any information on the machines at the pet food store.



Amanda, tell me about that Jimi wallet - I can't tell much from the website. Will they fit a phone? Are they watertight? Can you remove that clip without compromising the watertightness?

[jobob]

A bit of a spin-off from the unidentified cyclist who died.

Good thread, thanks for starting it!

This was the main reason why I posted the story, to show how important it is to always carry ID and yes, insurance info, even on a ride that might not be very long.

side note: still no news that the poor guy has been identified!

I always carry a small zippered pouch in my back jersey pocket with my contact numbers, insurance info, and ID (an expired drivers license but all the info is the same as my current DL). That's in addition to a RoadID wristband. Although my husband and many close friends were on the scene immediately after my crash a couple of years ago, it would have been bad news if I were on my own or with people who didn't know me, if I didn't have ID, contact numbers, and health insurance info.

[Norse]

I wear a wrist Road ID and carry my DL and an insurance card in my seat bag.

[Aggie_Ama]

Oakleaf - Here is a little Demo on the Jimi wallet. I agree their website is a little bare bones, I got to play with mine at the LBS first. http://thejimi.com/wallet/demo.php

It is not thick enough for a phone, I carry my phone in a baggie although many of my teammates have a sleeve for their Iphones that is fairly interesting. The Jimi is splashproof, sweat proof and snaps fairly tight. I think it would leak if completely submerged because it doesn't have a seal between the two parts that open. The clip is removable if you don't want to use it. I used to have a little cloth wallet and after every ride it was disgusting feeling. For under $15 it was worth a shot, I like it. Think there could be improvements such as tighter seal, maybe a slightly thicker model, plastic is thick but I have seen thicker. Overall I think for the cost and function it is a pretty nice little wallet.

[Catrin]

I use the Jimi as well - it holds the copies of my DL and insurance card, and a couple of $$ if I need it. It fits most anywhere which is a nice advantage and it does stay closed. Not bad for $10!

[rubysoho]

Thanks for all the responses! I just ordered a RoadID bracelet with my health insurance info on it.