Cyclists at risk on the roads in more ways than one

Cycling is becoming more popular year on year both as an excellent form of exercise and a way of cutting costs in these difficult times.

With increased popularity of cycling, particularly in busy urban roads, this unfortunately results in more accidents, and this is borne out by figures from the Department for Transport figures which show accidents involving cyclists increasing 12% during the first half of 2011 to around 2,600 accidents a year.

Aside from the fact these accidents are often serious bearing in mind the exposed nature of cycling, there are other hidden risks as follows :-

• What happens if you suffer an injury and the other driver is uninsured ?
• Does your home insurance policy cover an injury or damage to your banks ?
• Insurance for accidents while riding a bike is not compulsory – what if the other party is injured, you are cycling and the accident was your fault ?

Thankfully, there are specialist insurance policies available for cyclists, and these are relatively inexpensive, costing, on average, around £40.00 per annum for third party cover which covers the other common risk of a bicycle being stolen or damaged.