This article was published in 2001, in Newsletter 37.
We regret that we will soon have to raise rates for our optional third-party insurance to £3.50 per person. Third-party insurance covers the holder from claims made against them in the event of damage to others which is held to be the cyclist’s fault in a crash.
The CTC, through which we offer the insurance, increased rates by 50% without notice last year. This was made worse because we collect money from you during the year but then pay a lump sum to the CTC annually. We have been absorbing the increase until now, but we can’t continue to do that. We have looked for alternatives, but we are not large enough to be able to find a suitable policy.
Nevertheless, we hope you agree that this is really still quite a small premium for peace of mind. It is also useful to deflect one of the petty gripes motorists sometimes make of cyclists: ‘cyclists don’t have to have insurance but we do.’
If you don’t already have third-party insurance and would like to take it, please just ask, or add the payment to your Cycling Campaign membership renewal.
David Earl