My name is Jay Paul and I am a cyclist. I cycle on the road and in the woods, with friends and by myself. The joy I experience riding my bike is like none other I’ve found.
Don’t take that the wrong way as my family, friends, and profession are the most important things in my life, but my time on two wheels is very important to me as an individual.
I started biking as a child and have never stopped. At age 5 a neighbor called my mother asking if they knew where I was at that time. My mother stated, “Well he’s riding his bike”. To her horror the neighbor informed her that I was 2 miles from home at the intersection of two busy streets just watching traffic while perched on my rubber wheeled tike bike that had just lost its training wheels the week before. Upon my return home I’ll never forget my mothers words, “Jay what were you thinking, you can’t go that far from home on your bike!”
Well it didn’t stop there and I’ve been leaving home on my bike for long, long rides ever since. I’ve ridden week long Mtn bike trips on The Colorado Trail topping out at 12,000 feet. Been to some of the best trails in the world in Whistler, BC on a number of occasions. Done too many to count road centuries, participated in 100 mile Mountain Bike races, and recently completed the 600 mile Skyline Drive & Blue Ridge Parkway in 10 days riding alone and unsupported. As you can tell, I can’t get enough of this stuff!
Accident Insurance
As cyclists we all know that at some point we are going to wreck or fall while riding our bikes. While I would like to think otherwise, physics being constant, either gravity or inertia is not going to be our friend. The only question is how seriously we are injured when that inevitable crash occurs.
Personally I have broken ribs, dislocated my shoulder, suffered countless abrasions, and been hit by a car. Then there are the near misses.
Some of my friends have not been as lucky. Without describing accidents, I know a number of persons in my cycling community who have suffered catastrophic injuries while on their bike. Some in collisions with vehicles and some in very innocuous spills. Any cyclist with a passion for the sport has similar stories.
Every year I attend fundraisers for a friend or a friend of a friend who has suffered a devastating injury. Many of these riders will never fully recover. The Fundraisers while sincerely organized and all great gathering, do not generate nearly the money necessary to significantly impact the lives of our injured brethren for any extended period of time.
We all walk away from these events thinking, “But for the grace of God sit I”.
As an insurance professional for the last 23 years I started to think there had to be a better way to protect ourselves from injuries sustained during a catastrophic cycling accident. After careful consideration I decided to create an inexpensive insurance product to protect us from catastrophic financial loss as the result of a serious accident.
Most of our cycling brethren have health insurance. Those who don’t have coverage now will in all likelihood be forced to obtain coverage under 2010 Health Care Reform Legislation within a couple of years. Because of this, I was not overly concerned with Major Medical issues. I was most concerned with cognitive impairment, paralysis, death, and in-hospital stays. These medical scenarios are what scare me and most of the cyclists with whom I have spoken. Personally I am most concerned with paralysis and cognitive impairment as either of these conditions could financially ruin most of us who otherwise have relatively secure financial houses even if they have strong medical insurance coverage.
I saw a need for inexpensive coverage that would pay for things like Para transit vehicles, home modifications, in house nursing, motorized wheelchairs, and other expenses not covered by major medical insurance. These expenses could financially ruin an individual or family who previously had enjoyed the trappings of a middle or upper class American home dependant on current income. Our benefit would be paid in a lump sum and not as a reimbursement for medical services rendered.
After careful thought and many conversations with fellow cyclists, the product I designed looks something like this:
24/7 Coverage for cyclists that includes:
- $25,000/$50,000 accidental death coverage while cycling
- $100,000/$200,000 coverage for Cognitive Impairment or Paralysis
- $250/$500 emergency room visit
- $200/$400 per day in hospital to a maximum of 60 days
All benefits to be paid in lump sum to insured or individual named as beneficiary on application.
There has never been a product like this before and it is taking some work from a number of insurance companies to craft such coverage. The main issue is regulatory compliance and gaining acceptance from the insurance commissions in all 50 states. This could take several months.
In the insurance world, for a product to work, insurance companies look for low number of losses but high enough severity of claim that the marketplace will be willing to pay small premiums in the event that they have a large loss. There also has to be a ‘Critical Mass’ of consumers willing to purchase the product.
My question to our cycling community is, if this product was made available and could be obtained for $95-$150 per year (depending on limits), would you consider purchasing it? In order to obtain the critical mass necessary to obtain insurance company approval we would need roughly 10,000 subscribers. My market research indicts that this could be easy to do but we need confirmation from the cycling marketplace. Your response to the survey below would go a long way towards making this product available to us all.
Thank you in advance for completing our survey. We will making the results available within the next 30 days and will be keeping interested individuals updated as we continue to develop this coverage.
Thank you for your time and thoughts.
