At the end of May, we shared the news that Portland-based Better World Club was on the verge of offering comprehensive insurance for people who ride bicycles. Earlier this month they made it official: the new “BIKEon” insurance product is being billed as the, “first nationwide, comprehensive, and affordable accident and liability insurance for bicyclists.”
Here’s more from a company press release:
“The nation’s bicycle community is growing rapidly, and as more cyclists share the road with cars, trucks and other cyclists, there is greater likelihood of an accident. As a result, the demand for bicycle insurance has never been higher.”
BIKEon will reimburse policyholders for up to $100,000 if they are injured while cycling. The policy also comes with up to $1 million in liability coverage and it’s available for riders of standard road bikes, mountain bikes, and e-bikes. Interestingly, the insurance will not cover “riders of BMX bikes or bikes used for commercial purposes.”
Better World Club is known for their bike roadside assistance program. That service comes for an annual fee of $39.95 and members get the new BIKEon insurance at no extra cost. Additional members can be added to a plan for $17. If you’re interested, you can sign up online.
The insurance will be sold through Portland based Gales Creek Insurance Services.
Learn more at BetterWorldClub.com.
CORRECTION: This story initially listed the membership price as a “monthly fee of $39.95.” The actual fee is per year. Sorry for any confusion. – JM
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I like the idea that I can ride a bike somewhat off the grid, I think this could easily be one of the moments that bicyclist look back to as one of the steps to having bicycles on the same rights platform as motorists. Well see.
I believe the fee is yearly, not monthly — a great deal!
thanks for catching that Ben. edited the post
Has anyone read the fine print to know what ‘standard road and mountain bikes’ means? Would this include cargo bicycles? Recumbent road bikes? Xtracycle conversions?
and what about hybrids? city commuters? I own several bikes that aren’t standard road, mountain, bmw, or commercial…
and what about tall bikes? or other freak bikes? custom mods on standard bikes?
It’ll be a while before any insurer will cover a freak bike – not unless/until there’s some real competition in the market AND freak bike riders either want to or (shudder) are required to get insurance.
So: “as more cyclists share the road with cars, trucks and other cyclists, there is greater likelihood of an accident.” You know, I thought that most of the data out there (from here, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, etc.) shows that the more cyclists there are on the road, the less likely there were to be crashes.
the raw numbers will be higher. the incidents per thousand will be lower.
“…I thought that most of the data out there (from here, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, etc.) shows that the more cyclists there are on the road, the less likely there were to be crashes.”
Fear sells better than truth.
Great news I’m signing up today hopefully
If that came with no-or-low deductible theft insurance, I’d be sold.
I just wish they had something like this in Texas for us car-free riders. The current “best guess” is that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 drivers is un- or under-insured. And of course when there is a hit-and-run there is no driver to get an insurance payout from, that’s about 30% of wrecks in TX.
Still join in for the insurance in Texas…but do not expect the break down help. 😉
Will the insurance still be in force in TX? I know that other forms of insurance I buy outside the state is not in force in TX unless the insurer is registered with the state insurance commission.
They mean more crashes, in total. You mean crashes per rider.
Total crashes might increase, but crashes per rider decrease. Generally.
Great. Soon I’ll be mandated to have to buy bike insurance! So much for cheap and easy transit for us poor folk.
Omitting BMX riders and commercial clients?
-I’ve seen grown folks riding BMX bikes for no other reason than to get from point A to point B. Seems silly to omit a bicycle ‘type’ instead of a cyclist’s riding ‘style’. (Over-simplified example: riding your bike, regardless of model, is covered. Jumping your bike or ‘freestyle riding’ is not covered).
-Leaving the commercial folks out is ironic. Seems like these would be the folks most interested in the product (since they’ve commercial assets to protect) and some of the more responsible folks on the road, as they respresent their livelihood while out and about on their bikes.
Nice idea but poor implementation.
I did a double-take last week when I saw a woman, probably in her sixties, riding a BMX bike. She was quite small and had the seat raised to what looked like a good riding position for her. She had lights and a bright vest. A rear rack had panniers. All in all it looked like a reasonable commuter/utility set-up for someone her size, and a reasonable risk for an insurer.
As one who rolls a cargo bike commercially, such an insurance policy does nothing for me. I will rely on my umbrella business insurance and health insurance instead.
For automobile insurance there are many factors that set your premium rates, your driving history, distance to work, your neighborhood, type of vehicle…. Are none of these factors being considered for bikes? I don’t see this as a sustainable system. Watch for big changes after the first year.