Best insurance for your bicycle travels
Whether on the back of your car, in possession of an airline or a postal courier, the bike is covered.
Airline Damage
Your bike is covered whether the airline damages or loses the bike entirely.
On a Car
If your bike falls off or gets run over by a car, it’s covered.
Shipping Coverage
If it’s damaged or lost by a shipping carrier, it’s covered.
Insurance for riders who travel
Bikes are adventure machines by design. Even if you have excellent local riding, sooner or later you’ll yearn for variety and start venturing outside of your local circuit. Seeing new destinations from aboard your bike can be an empowering experience since you’re always in touch with your surroundings. The feeling of spontaneity, the wind in your hair and the unfamiliar curves of the road or trail will keep you asking for more. But before you start dreaming of epic adventures, you need to get yourself and your bike to the starting point.
Whether it involves throwing your bike on the car and heading to a neighboring town, planning a road trip with several scenic stops, or hopping on a plane to a sunny location during the cold winter months, exploring new destinations on a bike takes cycling to the next level. The further from your home base you venture, the more complex logistics can get.
The truth is, bikes frequently sustain damage while being transported. The causes of such damage can range from inadvertent errors such as driving into a low garage with the bike on the roof rack to the negligence of airport personnel. A policy from Velosurance provides coverage for any damage your bike may sustain during its travels, regardless of whether it is being transported by car, handled by airport staff, shipped with a courier, or traveling domestically or internationally.
How your bike usually gets damaged while transported
There’s surprisingly many ways to damage a bike and most of them don’t involve crashing, or riding it at all. In fact, bikes get damaged when being transported almost as frequently as they do when they are ridden. Bike racks are secure by design but humans make mistakes. At highway speeds, forces and vibrations are significant enough to expose any oversights, such as under tightened bolts and ratchet straps. Bikes breaking loose on the highway almost never survive.
Airlines have recognized the importance of accommodating cyclists who travel with bicycles, making flying with a bike much simpler and more affordable than even a few years ago. However, airlines still have a reputation for being difficult or uncooperative when it comes to handling claims related to damaged bikes.
If you travel long distances, out of state or even internationally, shipping your bike to the destination with a postal courier or a specialty bike shipping company can save both time and money, but you’ll have to break down and re-assemble your bike. A policy from Velosurance provides comprehensive coverage for your bike during international transit, ensuring that regardless of the mode of transportation you choose, you can rest easy knowing that your bike is fully protected from any type of damage.
Velosurance covers all types of transit damage
Exploring new destinations, the next town or country over, takes cycling to a whole new level. Whether you’re taking your bike along on your car, stuffing it into a case and handing it over to an airline, or shipping with a postal courier, it’s covered.
Airline Damage
Your bike is covered whether the airline damages or loses the bike entirely.
On a Car
If your bike falls off or gets run over by a car, it’s covered.
Shipping Coverage
If it’s damaged or lost by a shipping carrier, it’s covered.
Coverages and Features
Velosurance offers must-have protection such as accidental damage, theft, or loss in transit. Each policy can be customized by adding additional coverages such as liability protection, uninsured motorist, and medical payments. Select any coverage to see the details.
Bicycles are very easy to steal and equally difficult to recover, and even a hefty U-lock doesn’t guarantee your bike is still there when you return. Velosurance provides peace of mind if it is stolen or damaged in the process.
Our policy will pay to replace your ride if it is accidentally damaged and beyond repair, including damage that occurs while being carried on or in your vehicle. If it can be repaired, we will pay all the costs associated with the bike's repair, including tax, labor, and shipping, minus the deductible. Cosmetic damage that does not affect safety is excluded.
Our policy optional coverage purchase will protect and defend you from your personal liability (injury, sickness, death, or damage to property, including fire damage) that you are found legally liable for. Coverage limits offered: $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, $300,000 or $500,000 per occurrence.
E-bike liability insurance →If you’re hurt and require medical attention, our optional medical gap will take care of your medical bills, up to the selected limit. The payments are paid directly to you to supplement the deductible of your personal health insurance policy.
Medical gap insurance →Depreciation is a hidden deductible that increases every year and is applied if the bicycle is stolen or totaled. No one is ever happy with an Actual Cash Value insurance settlement: the bike is first devalued, and then a deductible is applied, resulting in a reimbursement that is far less than the cost of a replacement. We reimburse without depreciation, for the cost of a replacement that is of like, kind, and quality similar to your totaled bike.
One of the scariest things that can happen to a cyclist is getting hit by a car. This coverage will pay for medical expenses, physical therapy, mental health services, lost wages, and other expenses that arise from a bicycle-car accident.
Uninsured motorist insurance →We cover all electrically assisted Class 1, 2, and 3 bikes with a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph. All protections available for conventional bicycles also apply to electric ones.
E-bike insurance →Bikes often get damaged in transit by personal vehicles, airlines, or courier services. Filing a claim with the airlines and courier services is a notoriously difficult process with a questionable outcome. We cover the insured bicycle for loss or damage while it's on its way to or from your destination by air or road. Even if it falls off a vehicle rack or is hit in a rear-end accident, it is covered, no arguments.
Bicycle travel coverage →If you go down in a crash, we cover your ride as well as your apparel, such as helmet, shoes, glasses, or riding kit that are torn up, and pay up to $500 per accident and $1,000 per term. Spare parts that are not installed, such as a spare wheelset, are also covered up to $500 per loss and $1,000 per year.
Our policy does not piggypack on any coverage you may already have, such as homeowners policies. Filing a claim won’t impact your rates with other carriers. With home insurance premiums rising each year in the U.S., it’s wise to reserve that policy for major incidents, because no matter how valuable your bike is, it’s still a lot cheaper than a kitchen fire or a flooded basement.
We cover the insured bike at all times, anywhere in the USA and Canada, and can be extended worldwide on request. There are no exclusions on the time of day or limitations on how long it can be stored away from home. 24/7/365 means every minute of every day, no matter where or when.
In the heat of a race, the focus on speed often outweighs concerns for safety, leaving little margin for error. If you go down in a crash, this optional coverage takes care of repairs or replacement. If you use your bike in a competitive environment, this is a no-brainer because it offers protection in the highest-risk category.
Bicycle racing insurance →If your travels take you beyond the USA and Canada, for a small additional premium, this option extends the physical loss and damage protection, including loss or damage caused by an airline, to any country in the world.
International coverage →You can lend it to anyone you choose, and it will be covered. The bike and the person riding it are covered as if it were you riding it‚ this includes theft and crash damage as well as any purchased optional coverages.
We do not dictate what type or brand of lock must be used to protect your ride from theft – you are welcome to use any lock that you trust. The best security is provided by metal locks combined with a high-quality chain. Securing your ride to a solid and immovable object, such as a bike rack, with a high-quality lock will send the thief onto the one secured with a more vulnerable lock.
Why Velosurance is best for your gravel bike
Not all types of insurance are created equal. Velosurance levels the playing field by offering stand-alone bicycle coverage, where claims won’t affect your homeowner's or renter’s policy premiums.
| Policy Coverage |  | Homeowner/Renters Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Insured at Full Value | Yes | Possibly |
| Crash Damage | Yes | No |
| Theft Coverage | Yes | Limited |
| Theft by Force | Yes | No |
| Theft of Accessories | Yes | Limited |
| Theft Away From Home | Yes | Possibly |
| Vehicle Contact | Yes | No |
| Personal Liability | Yes | Possibly |
| Permissive Use Policy | Yes | No |
| Replacement Rental | Yes | No |
| Event Fee Return | Yes | No |
| Cycling Apparel Coverage | Yes | No |
| Medical Payments | Yes | Possibly |
| Racing Coverage | Yes | No |
| E-bikes | Yes | No |
| Coverage in-transit | Yes | No |
| USAC, USAT and IMBA Member Discount | Yes | No |
| FREE INSTANT QUOTE |
Not all insurance policies provide the same level of protection, and many people only discover gaps in their coverage after filing a claim. We’ve done the hard work of reviewing the fine print. To see how plans compare, check out our insurance comparison.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What does bicycle travel coverage include?
- The policy covers the risks of traveling with a bike end to end: loss or damage in transit by car, airline, postal courier, or a specialty bike shipper; theft at home and away; and crash or accidental damage once you arrive and ride. Coverage applies at all times in the USA and Canada, and the optional worldwide extension takes it to any country.
- Is my bike covered if the airline damages or loses it?
- Yes, both. Whether your bike comes off the belt damaged or never shows up at all, the policy pays for the repair or the total loss, subject to your deductible. You file with your own policy instead of arguing with the airline: most airlines exclude sporting equipment from damage liability, cap payouts at $4,700 on domestic flights and around $2,000 internationally, and give you only a short window to claim.
- What if my bike falls off the car rack?
- Yes. The policy covers damage in transit on a car rack, whether the bike shakes loose at highway speed or meets a low garage while still on the roof, and whether the cause was a failed rack or your own under-tightened strap, subject to your deductible. A bike that breaks loose at speed rarely survives.
- Is my bike covered when I ship it with a courier or bike shipper?
- Yes. The policy covers your bike if a postal courier or bike shipping service damages or loses it in transit, from the moment you box it up to the moment you rebuild it. Shippers price their own insurance on the bike's declared value, and on a high-value bike it can nearly double the cost of shipping. With your policy already covering the bike, you can decline their coverage and skip that expense.
- Does the coverage work outside the US?
- Yes. The standard policy covers the bike anywhere in the USA and Canada, and the optional worldwide coverage extends physical damage and theft protection to any country, including losses caused by an airline abroad. One thing to watch: medical payments, liability, and uninsured motorist coverages stay limited to the United States and Canada, so plan separate protection for those before an international trip.
- Is my bike covered against theft while traveling?
- Yes, theft coverage travels with the bike. Left unattended in public, the bike must be locked to an immovable object with an appropriate security device; the policy sets no brand or price requirement, so your usual lock works. Every theft claim requires a police report, so file one the same day wherever you are.
- Are Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 e-bikes covered for travel?
- Yes, all three classes are covered: Class 1 e-bikes are pedal-assist only with a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph, Class 2 are throttle-assisted up to 20 mph, and Class 3 reach assisted speeds up to 28 mph. Any e-bike with a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph or less can be insured, and transit, theft, and the optional worldwide coverages work the same as for a conventional bike.
- Do I need separate coverage for each trip?
- One policy covers every trip: protection applies 24/7/365, at home and on the road, anywhere in the USA and Canada, with no per-trip declarations. If your travels take you abroad, add the optional worldwide coverage once, and it's covered on the same terms anywhere in the world. Claims also stay on this standalone policy, so a transit loss does not touch your other insurance rates.
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America's Best Bicycle Travel Coverage
No matter where your adventures take you, protect your bike and yourself from the unexpected damage in transit with America's best bicycle insurance.