This is a detailed introduction to understanding and choosing insurance for cycle touring and bikepacking trips, both short-term and long-term.
I get a lot of questions on the topic of insurance for cycle tours, so this article is my attempt to answer all of them in one thoroughly researched, human-written, 100% AI-free post.
The following advice is generally applicable to anyone looking to insure a cycle tour or bikepacking trip, whatever length, duration or destination you have in mind, and whether it’s your first ever bike trip or you’re just looking for up-to-date information about insurers who cover travelling by bicycle.
Later on, I’ll make introductions to some of the more popular insurance providers people are using right now for cycle touring and bikepacking trips. There is a slight bias towards UK-based insurers, as this the country of residence for many of my readers, but many of the companies listed below will insure residents of almost any other country too.
But first…
The Two Different Things People Mean By “Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance”
We all see cycle touring and bikepacking through slightly different lenses, and it often depends on whether we’re coming from a cycling background or a travelling background. This subtle difference affects how we think about the intersection of cycling, travel, and insurance.
Cyclists tend to think about insurance policies that’ll cover damage to or theft of their bicycles while they’re travelling with them.
Travellers tend to think about insurance policies that’ll insure a range of travel, medical and personal expenses while they’re riding a bike.
This is relevant because these are two totally different insurance products.
One is a special type of bicycle insurance policy.
The other is a special type of travel insurance policy.
Some bicycle insurance policies will also insure a rider for overseas medical expenses. And some travel insurance policies will also insure an expensive bicycle for damage or theft.
But in general, if you want to be covered for accidents and medical emergencies and your very expensive touring bike covered for damage or theft at the same time, it’s quite hard to achieve without buying two separate insurance policies – one for you, and another for your bike.
And if you’re looking to cover a long-term, multi-year worldwide bike trips, the unfortunate truth is that such policies are even harder to find.
Hard… but not impossible.
Bicycle Insurance Covering Overseas Travel
If you’re looking to get your bicycle insured against theft or damage abroad, what you will quickly find is that some such policies do exist, but that:
- they are usually limited to trips of a couple of months at most,
- they depend upon you using the same kind of security precautions as you would at home (namely locking the bike with a certified lock to an immovable object), and
- they’re expensive.
Given that, if you are looking for bicycle insurance for overseas tours of up to two or three months in duration, there are a couple of such options available:
1. ETA offer an annual cycle insurance policy that covers bikes and accessories for up to 90 days abroad, up to a value of £5,000, including a new-for-old replacement policy and emergency cycle hire, leaving you free to arrange your personal travel insurance separately. In Europe, personal accident cover is also included (but not liability) for up to 60 days. This is for UK residents only. Read the full details on their website.
2. Yellow Jersey is a provider of specialist bicycle and travel insurance, with cycle travel policy options covering loss, theft and damage of bicycles, luggage and accessories, medical costs, and other costs in the context of overseas travel with a bicycle. Again, it’s for UK residents only. More details in a new tab.
I’d love to hear readers’ suggestions for companies providing bicycle insurance for overseas trips by residents of other countries – just leave a comment below.
Travel Insurance Covering Cycle Touring & Bikepacking
If you’re looking to travel for longer than a month or so, you’re willing to rely on your wits to keep your expensive bike safe, and/or your bike is worthless and not worth insuring anyway, you’ll be looking primarily at travel insurance policies that cover independent cycle touring (aka: bikepacking).
Some key things to remember while you’re doing your research:
- most ‘annual’ travel insurance policies actually only cover individual trips of up to 30–90 days within that year,
- many long-term travel insurance policies (aka: ‘backpacker’ policies) do not explicitly cover cycle touring and bikepacking, only cycling that is ‘incidental’ to the trip,
- many long-term travel insurance policies that do cover cycle touring and bikepacking still exclude independent trips, only covering organised/guided rides, and
- even the most comprehensive of these are unlikely to cover the loss, theft or damage of a very expensive expedition touring bike or bikepacking bike.
Cycle touring and bikepacking is considered by many insurers to be a ‘hazardous activity’ or ‘extreme sport’, involving increased risk and thus either incurring an additional premium or being excluded from the list of activities covered. Expensive touring bikes and bikepacking bikes are also considered to be extremely steal-able things. Which they are.
Yes. This sucks. But at least it narrows the field when it comes to choosing from the few travel insurance policies that explicitly do cover cycle touring and bikepacking.
Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance Providers Covering Independent Bicycle Travel
The following insurance providers or brokers will cover independent cycle touring (whose definition will include ‘bikepacking’) as an activity, or will do so as an add-on.
They typically won’t insure the bicycle itself for more than the maximum single item value of the personal belongings cover, which is usually well below the price of a new touring bike.
I’ve listed them in alphabetical order, as quotes will vary depending on your personal circumstances and the details of your trip:
- Adventures Insurance are a UK-based provider specialise in bespoke insurance for adventurous pursuits, and cycle touring can be specified as an activity. They’ll allow for individual items of equipment up to £600 in value to be covered. Quotes for long-term cover may require a phone call. Visit quote.adventurescover.co.uk.
- Campbell Irvine, based in the UK but covering those resident anywhere in the world, are often used by participants of commercial expeditions. They are a broker who specialise in adventure travel, covering a vast range of activities, with the ability to extend a long-term single-trip policy over the phone. During a previous update to this post, I called them to confirm that independent cycle touring could indeed be covered, but always verify your own cirumstances are covered. Visit campbellirvine.com.
- The BMC (British Mountaineering Council), who I used for some of my earliest trips, offer independent cycle touring cover for up to 12 months at a time. You’ll need the ‘Trek’ policy for cycle touring to be covered as an activity, and while you get plenty of mountain activities and BMC membership benefits thrown in, the cover isn’t cheap. Visit thebmc.com.
- WorldNomads’ backpacker-oriented policy is available to residents of 130+ countries, can be taken out when you’re already abroad, can be extended online, and covers a range of activities. They’re now my go-to insurance provider for shorter cycling adventures. Cover varies depending on your country of residence: for example, UK residents need to add Level 2 activities cover for independent cycle touring, and intercontinental cycle touring is specifically excluded; but residents of the US and Australia don’t face these exclusions. UK customers can currently get 15% off with the promo code COVERUP15. Visit worldnomads.com.
Key Things To Remember About Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance
Remember that these companies are operating in a competitive field, and that negotiation over what’s covered and for how much is possible on the phone.
Indeed, calling a potential insurer direct is my top tip to make sure you get the cover you need at a decent price.
It’s also worth mentioning that, in the event of a medical emergency abroad, the claims agent’s job is to manage your case in a way that also minimises the cost to the insurer.
Unless you’re too incapacitated to fly, this often means you’ll be advised to return to your country of residence as soon as possible. Why? Because your insurance cover can then be considered terminated: you’ve curtailed your trip, your domestic healthcare system takes over, and the exposure to your insurer is limited to the cost of a one-way economy flight, plus any curtailment benefit you may be due. (Depending on your country of residence, this may have implications regarding domestic health insurance too.)
Finally, whether or not you insure your trip, it’s common sense to ensure your safety in the first place by cultivating a healthy attitude to safety and security.
My bet is that doing so will have a much greater effect on whether or not you still have your body and belongings intact at the end of your trip.
And that, I think, is a topic for a future article.
Bogged down in research for your next big bicycle adventure?
I wrote a whole book to help with that. How To Hit The Road is designed to be read at your leisure, making planning a bike tour simple and achievable, no matter the length, duration or budget. Available globally as an ebook or paperback.
Something to add?