Today's Coffee Talk Tuesday discussion comes to us from Hottman Law Office, Megan Hottman, who was recently in a serious crash herself. Hear how painful and time consuming it is to get coverage from a event bike crash. I'm not sure which is more painful, the crash or the insurance part!
Who picks up the tab if you crash in a bike race? Does event insurance really cover all of your bills?
I had occasion to answer this question based on my own personal experience and thought I would share what I’ve learned with 303Cycling readers. I crashed at Cascade Cycling classic on July 20, 2011, when a “race moto” unexpectedly swerved in front of our 109-rider peleton causing everyone to move right, which prompted a woman riding to my left to swerve into me. Unfortunately for me, we were descending at the time, so when I hit the ground, I hit hard. Right away I was told I’d broken my collarbone so I could not continue in the race.
I was transported by ambulance (over an hour’s drive, and yes, they billed me by the mile) to the nearby hospital in Bend, admitted to the ER and diagnosed with a broken clavicle, 2 broken ribs, and a pneumothorax, which led to my admission for an overnight stay to monitor my lung. I was given numerous CTs and xrays on my head neck, shoulder, pelvis and back, as well as a handful of chest xrays for my lung issue. Once I got back in Golden, on July 28, I had surgery on my clavicle – a plate and 7 screws were used to put it back together.
Megan moments after the crash
Take my word for it: an ambulance ride, overnight hospital admission, CTs and xrays, and orthopedic surgery (and pre/post-op office visits) are EXPENSIVE. The total amount billed by my providers so far is $17,026 and that doesn’t include all the bandaids, chiropractor visits and replacement parts on my bike, or my new helmet.
I am lucky that I have good health insurance. It has a $1,000 deductible (annual) and an 80/20 split after that, with my 20% capped. I was not hit with any penalties for being treated out-of-state, since my policy does not make “out-of-network” distinctions. Also, since I was admitted into the ER, my ambulance deductible was waived. So that was the good news.
Cascade is a USAC-governed stage race. Once I recovered from surgery I began to look into the insurance coverage provided to racers competing in USAC events. I learned that (1) a rider MUST file a claim within 30 days of the occurrence, and (2) a “First Occurrence Report” must have been filed by a USAC official on the day of the occurrence. USAC has two separate insurers: K&K insurance, for injuries occurring during competition (such as mine), and Philadelphia Insurance, which covers general liability at the race (i.e. someone trips and falls on an item).
I also learned that USAC’s insurance has an additional $1,000 deductible which must be met, before it will kick in. Translation: I’m on the hook for no less than $2,000 at this point. (If a rider does not have insurance, they must cover the first $5,000 of the bills first before USAC’s coverage kicks in).
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