UK Gravity Enduro have issued a statement on the mandatory insurance requirement for the 2015 series which has caused quite a bit of forum discussion after news first reached racers waiting to enter this years races.
Here’s the statement in full…
Following the British Cycling decision to stop supporting Enduro in 2014, UKGE has subsequently taken a long, hard look at all things to do with safety, liability, insurance & everything Enduro. In December, we chaired the first meeting of all Enduro organisers in the UK and 2015 will see us working together for the greater good of UK Enduro.
We were aiming to set up a Federation for 2015 and like with BC’s membership, the plan was to incorporate insurance in with the membership. However, timescales meant that getting the Federation up and running for 2015 was not viable, but we will be putting a lot of time into moving things in the right direction. Our involvement with Bespoke financial is because they were the only insurance company willing to offer us advice on setting up the federation and to attend the meeting in December with the other organisers.
The aim of setting up a UK Federation for Enduro, is to standardise the quality and safety of all UK Enduro events, and to keep racing attainable for all levels. There are a lot of organisers jumping on the Enduro bandwagon and with such exponential growth of the sport, it is hard to ensure that standards are being maintained. This is maybe one of the reasons why SuperEnduro is taking a step back for 2015.
In 2011, when UKGE was born, the series was not at the forefront of MTB in the UK. However, it has seen significant growth and development on all levels, especially the riders and bikes. The past two seasons have seen such a massive rise in “Enduro” in the UK, we have truly struggled to understand British Cycling’s decision to drop the discipline. Particularly as UKGE were fully behind BC involvement in UK Enduro.
Before British Cycling’s decision not to endorse Enduro, UKGE had the safety umbrella of being insured by the UK’s governing body of cycling. British Cycling also gave us a set of safety guidelines to work to and this was primarily the reason behind the full-face helmet decision. Losing BC’s backing was a real set-back and this lack of support leaves organisers of Enduro in the UK in a vulnerable position. Please note that British Cycling membership and race licences are only valid at BC-sanctioned events. This means that the insurance on your BC membership is null and void for all Enduro events in the UK from 2015 onwards.
HAD British Cycling endorsed Enduro in the UK, then the plan was to start using the National ranking points system that is currently employed in Downhill and Cross Country. This would have meant we would have required every rider taking part in a UKGE event to have had Gold membership and a BC Race Licence, at a cost of £109 per year. Gold membership also offers a level of personal accident insurance, as we are currently asking our racers to take out.
At UKGE, we have always made safety our utmost priority. Because of this and the lack of a governing body, we feel personal accident insurance offers both the riders and us as organisers a level of protection for our sport, MTB Enduro. “Bespoke financial” are providing all PLI/event insurance for UKGE in 2015. We have also chosen them as our preferred supplier for your personal accident insurance as they have not only helped us with the Federation, but put together a package that we think will be the most cost-effective for you, the rider.
An annual package starts at £96 (£8/month) and not only covers you for racing your mountain bike Worldwide, but also covers you 24/7, 365 days a year, doing any activity and even at work! The Bespoke policy document personal accident cover is attached below to download. This is the minimum level of cover we require, but you are welcome to increase the level of cover if desired. Public Liability Insurance is part of the permissions process that UKGE have to adhere to before putting events on, therefore riders do not require individual liability insurance to race.
Bespoke Financial will provide us with the names of all riders who have cover with them, prior to any of our races. This enables race sign-on to be as fast and efficient as possible. For those racers with existing personal insurance cover with other companies, we will need proof that you are covered for racing and that your policy is in date. This will be needed for online race entry AND to be brought to sign-on. No proof, no race I’m afraid.
For the Under 18 category, insurance cover will not be a requirement of entry.
We asked both Helen Gaskell and James Green to be our “rider reps” because they have both attended every UKGE race since the start in 2011, and were experienced downhill racers before starting Enduro. We asked Helen to become our female representative before we started looking at our insurance options, but she has been helping us with negotiations with regard to the personal accident insurance.
If you want the continuation of the series and the further development of Enduro in the UK, then this is a necessity of the evolution.
Some have asked for more detail on the Life and Fracture Cover policy documents, you can download them below if you want to read them in full.
Steve Parr – Race Director –
See more at: http://www.ukgravityenduro.com
Comments (4)
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So the NHS will patch up whatever I smash, free at the point of use, and work pays my wage until I am able to go back to the Office. What exactly am I insuring myself against?
This could be very useful for people who have limited sick leave allowances and who cannot work with fractures. eg, I have 2 weeks sick leave allowance, after that, onto statutory sick leave payments (UK). As a pilot, I cannot fly with a broken bone.
So the NHS will patch up whatever I smash, free at the point of use, and work pays my wage until I am able to go back to the Office. What exactly am I insuring myself against? – I would check that, my employer requires I take out personal insurance for any sporting activity I do outside work as our business cannot afford to pay people that cannot work due to what are classed as self inflicted accidents
“For the Under 18 category, insurance cover will not be a requirement of entry.”
Is that because they bounce better???