If there is a
single aspect that gives me the jitters about the numerous biking jaunts I
undertook in the past, is the fact that during most of them, I rode without any
personal Insurance cover.
It is pure luck that I rode through all of them without any mishaps and so the lack of coverage seemed almost trivial.
Well, I won’t deny that the thought wasn’t there somewhere in the back of my mind and on a couple of occasions I even went to find out details about the various accident and medical cover insurance policies available. But it was way back in the early nineties when Insurance was strictly a privilege of our Socialist Comrades, the Public Sector.
In the first General Insurance Company's office I visited, the person dealing with Personal Accident Insurances was missing for a couple of hours and no one knew where he was and when he would be back. After waiting for close to two hours and fed up of getting “why are you here” looks, I went to the competition, another nationalized Insurance company. There, I was ushered to the Branch manager himself, without wasting any time started his interrogation as to why I required a Personal Accident Insurance cover. Of ‘course why on earth would someone want something like that!! To my answer that I was going on a six month long “All India Motorcycle Tour, ( called a Pilgrimage on Royal Enfield- no, I didn’t tell that that) I was bluntly told that their policy could not cover me as I was going to participate in a Rally, which constitutes a motor sport and their policies do not cover motor sports participants. Explanations that a tour did not constitute any sport were met with a stony discounting silence and predictably no policies were issued.
My lack of Medical Insurance Coverage at that time was however my own decision. The General Insurance Companies I had visited in search of Personal Accident Coverage also had Health Insurance products. But both needed that I should have a medical checkup and yes, they would meet almost no claims in the first year. It seemed that the first year's premium was for generating goodwill alone.
Being 25 years old at that time, the idea of having a medical checkup seemed ludicrous, and likewise the prospect of spending money on a piece of paper that would give me absolutely nothing in the case of a medical emergency only underlined my resolve of not parting with my hard-earned cash.
Ultimately, , except for the sheltering hand of the Guy upstairs, I rode out without any coverage of any sort and with his grace made it back home safely. I will repeat I was lucky as even during those trips a least a couple of my fellow riders had messy accidents. One rode into a tractor trailer at night, the other was hit by a speeding car and so on.
And it is now, almost two decade later, when my riding has toned down and the furthest that I seem to ride is the supermarket by the Beach, that I have suddenly become exposed to the world of gruesome traffic accidents and the unholy medical care bills.
Be it junior colleagues crashing at 100kmph into oncoming trucks, truant students from neighboring States escaping here for a quick dose of sun, sand, sex and alcohol(mostly the last), bending lampposts and breaking their bones on hired scooters, the end result is usually very painful to themselves, misery and unplanned expenses to their family .
In such sad scenarios a proper Insurance Cover at least eliminates the monetary worries if not the pain and makes the difference of lying in the apathetic general ward of a government hospital or a decent private clinic.
But now what would constitute a proper coverage for a regular motorcyclist, one who rides to work and works to ride?
Today, with all the private Insurance Companies vying for your moollah , each with an army of sweet talking agents, the smart, sexy female variety and fast-talking male ones , it is again not so easy to hone on the product with the right coverage.
Sure there are lot of sensible Personal Accident Insurance polices around just as there are a number of great Health Insurance ones. But unfortunately no combination of the two, not at least in India and not to my knowledge.
My solution to this was to go for a Comprehensive Medical Coverage Insurance with riders on Permanent Disability and for a Life Insurance Insurance Policy with a rider on Accident and Hospitalization coverage.
And no it wasn't a sexy sweet young thing massaging my shoulders who convinced me to write out a cheque for the polices, it was actually my very sober Charter Accountant turned Investment Advisor friend sitting on the other side of the table.
Well I sure his wife thinks he's sweet.
It is pure luck that I rode through all of them without any mishaps and so the lack of coverage seemed almost trivial.
Well, I won’t deny that the thought wasn’t there somewhere in the back of my mind and on a couple of occasions I even went to find out details about the various accident and medical cover insurance policies available. But it was way back in the early nineties when Insurance was strictly a privilege of our Socialist Comrades, the Public Sector.
In the first General Insurance Company's office I visited, the person dealing with Personal Accident Insurances was missing for a couple of hours and no one knew where he was and when he would be back. After waiting for close to two hours and fed up of getting “why are you here” looks, I went to the competition, another nationalized Insurance company. There, I was ushered to the Branch manager himself, without wasting any time started his interrogation as to why I required a Personal Accident Insurance cover. Of ‘course why on earth would someone want something like that!! To my answer that I was going on a six month long “All India Motorcycle Tour, ( called a Pilgrimage on Royal Enfield- no, I didn’t tell that that) I was bluntly told that their policy could not cover me as I was going to participate in a Rally, which constitutes a motor sport and their policies do not cover motor sports participants. Explanations that a tour did not constitute any sport were met with a stony discounting silence and predictably no policies were issued.
My lack of Medical Insurance Coverage at that time was however my own decision. The General Insurance Companies I had visited in search of Personal Accident Coverage also had Health Insurance products. But both needed that I should have a medical checkup and yes, they would meet almost no claims in the first year. It seemed that the first year's premium was for generating goodwill alone.
Being 25 years old at that time, the idea of having a medical checkup seemed ludicrous, and likewise the prospect of spending money on a piece of paper that would give me absolutely nothing in the case of a medical emergency only underlined my resolve of not parting with my hard-earned cash.
Ultimately, , except for the sheltering hand of the Guy upstairs, I rode out without any coverage of any sort and with his grace made it back home safely. I will repeat I was lucky as even during those trips a least a couple of my fellow riders had messy accidents. One rode into a tractor trailer at night, the other was hit by a speeding car and so on.
And it is now, almost two decade later, when my riding has toned down and the furthest that I seem to ride is the supermarket by the Beach, that I have suddenly become exposed to the world of gruesome traffic accidents and the unholy medical care bills.
Be it junior colleagues crashing at 100kmph into oncoming trucks, truant students from neighboring States escaping here for a quick dose of sun, sand, sex and alcohol(mostly the last), bending lampposts and breaking their bones on hired scooters, the end result is usually very painful to themselves, misery and unplanned expenses to their family .
In such sad scenarios a proper Insurance Cover at least eliminates the monetary worries if not the pain and makes the difference of lying in the apathetic general ward of a government hospital or a decent private clinic.
But now what would constitute a proper coverage for a regular motorcyclist, one who rides to work and works to ride?
Today, with all the private Insurance Companies vying for your moollah , each with an army of sweet talking agents, the smart, sexy female variety and fast-talking male ones , it is again not so easy to hone on the product with the right coverage.
Sure there are lot of sensible Personal Accident Insurance polices around just as there are a number of great Health Insurance ones. But unfortunately no combination of the two, not at least in India and not to my knowledge.
My solution to this was to go for a Comprehensive Medical Coverage Insurance with riders on Permanent Disability and for a Life Insurance Insurance Policy with a rider on Accident and Hospitalization coverage.
And no it wasn't a sexy sweet young thing massaging my shoulders who convinced me to write out a cheque for the polices, it was actually my very sober Charter Accountant turned Investment Advisor friend sitting on the other side of the table.
Well I sure his wife thinks he's sweet.
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