sporting activity insurance...a lotto game?

[master6]

I received a phone call from Cycling Australia 2 days ago, advising me, or reminding me, that I have not renewed my CA licence for 2013. The selling point used to persuade me to cough up was "you are not currently insured".

The need to insure my income, my medical costs, or my potential legal liability , or my obligations on death, are the same regardless of whether I am involved in some incident while cycling, shopping, climbing a ladder, or doing whatever. For this reason I have difficulty understanding the merits of insuring one self against the results of a mishap in one type of activity , such as cycling, with all other potential causes of accident excluded.
If I need to insure, surely a policy covering a wide range of activities is required.

The other aspect that intrigues me is the suggestion by various sellers of these restrictive insurances that their legal liability insurance is required, when in fact, those of us with household insurance invariably have a legal liability cover included, and this would include ones legal liability arising from cycling negligence.

[greyhoundtom]

In my case the legal liability cover that is included in the home and contents insurance only covers me within the boundaries of the property as listed on the title.

Unlike my car as that has a separate insurance policy, if I cause damage with my bike I’m on my own, as so far I have not yet renewed my BV membership for 2013.

[fatdudeonabike]

Well, you I doubt you can get "runners insurance" for running down the street.

But whatever your chosen sport, you would be insured for most things.
If you swim in open water, the swim club has insurance. If you go to a pool, the pool has insurance. If you go to a gym, your membership includes insurance (or at least it should). If you play cricket, your club has insurance that you pay for in yearly subs... same with most team sports.

I dont really understand your point...
And if it troubles you that much - perhaps you should think of riding a bike not as a form of exercise, but as a form of transport. You wouldnt (in fact you cant) drive a car without at least having 3rd party insurance - I wouldnt do it on a bike either given the amount of shared paths I ride, and given some of the dodgy roads I'll ride on to get to work.

I dont know how it works in other states, but here in the ACT the Pedal Power ACT membership seems to cover you pretty well - it includes 3rd party and personal accident insurance. This in itself is worth the $60-70 a year that I pay... so the magazine, the group rides, the store discounts (that cover the vast majority of ACT bike stores) and the access to maintenance courses are free in my mind.