Bike Travel Insurance

[laury]

My husband and I are thinking about taking a trip to the Giro in '06. We'll be going with a tour company from Australia and bringing our own bikes. We both have invested a lot of $$$ in our bikes. Any suggestions about insurance against theft or damage? I'm leaning toward taking my chances but hubby is more cautious. He wants to get some kind of insurance. I poked around but didn't find any travel insurance that is geared toward cyclists (except in the UK where they seem to have lots of companies that do this). Any ideas or thoughts?

[Ninabike]

There is a company called Travelex which I have used numerous times for overseas travel. I once had to make a claim for a damaged guitar on an overseas trip. I have only used Travelex on "comprehensive", group tour-type travel where the coverage is limited. They may have additional coverages for valuable items which you can specially insure. You can probably find them on-line.

Nina

[Ninabike]

P.S. Re: the above. I have not used Travelex for cycling-related travel. I just assume since they specialize in travel, they may be able to accomodate bikes.

Nina

[DeniseGoldberg]

Have you checked your homeowners insurance to see if your belongings are covered when you are traveling (that is, if they were stolen while you were not at home)?

[DirtDiva]

Perhaps you should ask your tour company (and/or travel agent, if you used one) whether there is an insurance company they would recommend. Although you may not be able to find something cycling-specific, you ought to be able to find companies that provide policies covering participation in non-professional sports. You should be able to specify individual high-value items on any travel insurance policy - there will be a limit per item and for the total value of specified items, but it should be a few thousand dollars.

Hope that's vaguely helpful.