Downhill takes place in bike parks and on trails with their own house rules, and those rules partly determine whether your insurer sees the fall as a covered event.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
For most insurers, recreational mountain biking is ordinary sport. Downhill is not: you ride descents with jumps, drops and rock sections, often on a bike that a lift takes up for you. Insurers name that variant separately in the conditions, together with freeride and enduro. Without a declaration in advance there is no cover, not even for first aid after a broken collarbone.
Three policies run into each other with this sport. Your travel or accident insurance for the injury, your liability insurance for the walker or cyclist you hit, and a bicycle insurance for the equipment. The last of these is the one most often forgotten, while a frame broken in a crash lands on no luggage cover at all.
Also, virtually every bike park has rules: a full-face helmet and protection compulsory, lines closed in wet weather, and opening hours. If you ride outside them, not only does recovery from the operator fall away but your own position is weakened as well. For the broader category, see insuring high-risk sports.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The essentials
Declare in advance
What you do not declare is not covered.
Notify before departure
Surcharge or separate module
Also for one-off participation
Note all three
Three covers
They do not always run in step.
Medical expenses
Accidents and disability
Liability
Emergency assistance centre
In an accident
Call before you incur costs.
Arranging a guarantee
Salvage and repatriation
Keep all receipts
What is covered
Situation
Standard
With extension
Medical expenses after an accident
No
Yes
Rescue and salvage costs
No
Yes
Permanent disability
No
Sometimes
Liability towards third parties
Sometimes
Yes
Taking part in competition
No
Sometimes
Taking part without the required qualification
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The park rules feed through into your claim
A bike park prescribes which lines are open, which protection is compulsory and until what time the lift runs. If you ride on a closed trail, after closing time or without the prescribed full-face helmet, that is more than a house rule. The insurer can rely on serious fault within the meaning of Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Keep your lift pass and the daily rules; they show under what conditions you were riding.
The bike falls outside the luggage cover
A frame that gives way on a landing, a bent fork or a broken shock is damage through use and not a sudden external event. Luggage cover on travel insurance pays for theft and transport damage, not for the consequences of a crash. Separate bicycle insurance is needed for the equipment, and watch the cover while it is carried on a bike rack, because that is where things regularly go wrong with downhill bikes.
A collision on a shared trail
Outside the park you ride on paths shared with walkers, riders and other cyclists. If you hit someone, your liability is judged under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and the claim runs through your personal liability insurance. Check two things: whether that policy applies abroad and whether it excludes risk sports. Injury to a walker leads to a substantial claim more readily than damage to a bike.
Recreational, timed and in competition
Timed runs, enduro stages and uplift days with timing fall under a second exclusion, on top of the one for the sport itself. That means an extension for downhill does not automatically cover competitions. Declare both separately. Also excluded are: riding on closed trails, taking part without the required licence and using a derestricted electric mountain bike.
What does your premium depend on?
Recreational or in competition. Timed descents and enduro stages form a category of their own on top of the sports extension.
Bike park or open country. A supervised park with its own emergency services is assessed differently from descents in open mountain country.
Destination. The distance to a hospital and the costs of transport to the Netherlands differ considerably by country.
Value of the bike. The list price and the form of cover chosen determine the separate bicycle insurance.
Sum insured for disability. With this sport, shoulder, wrist and spinal injuries determine the size of the payout.
Frequency and season. One week in a bike park is insured differently from weekly descents throughout the season.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Most insurers count recreational mountain biking on tracks and forest paths as ordinary sport. The exclusion is aimed at downhill, freeride and riding jump lines in a bike park. If you do both, declare the more demanding variant; acceptance follows the activity with the highest risk and not your average weekend.
My frame broke in a crash. Does the travel insurance pay?
No. Damage to the bike while riding is damage through use and falls outside the luggage cover, which is intended for theft and for damage from outside during transport or a stay. For the equipment you need bicycle insurance with cover that includes crash damage and transport on a bike rack.
I hit a walker on a trail. What now?
Report it to your liability insurer and do not admit liability yourself. The assessment runs under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, in which visibility, speed and the character of the path all count. Note down witnesses and take photographs of the situation. Check in advance whether your policy applies in the country concerned and whether risk sports are excluded in it.
I am riding an enduro race. Is that included?
Not automatically. An extension for downhill covers recreational practice; taking part in competitions and timed stages is a separate exclusion that has to be lifted separately. Declare the event by name or the period in which you are riding, and ask whether the practice runs and training days are also included, because just as much happens on those.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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