Why You Should Insure Your Exercise Buddies

Jogging  and cycling along public roads might be a great way to get fit. But there’s no doubt that in South Africa hitting the streets poses a danger. Insurance firm Dial Direct is urging runners and cyclists to look after themselves as well as insure exercise equipment.

John October, a spokesman for Dial Direct Insurance, pointed out that serious exercisers like to monitor how they are doing, the distances they cover and how fast they went.  “As a result, exercisers these days are using GPS devices, smart phones with exercise apps and heart rate monitors. These have become indispensable exercise buddies of choice.”

“These are not cheap items,” said October. “Any device that has features for tracking and analysing progress is expensive. For instance, a good, GPS-enabled heart rate monitor may cost anything between R1 000 and R6 000. If you are running or cycling along the road with these devices strapped to wrists or waists, they are easy to snatch. So Insure these valuable possessions.”

Don’t forget to insure exercise equipment

October confirmed that, despite the fact that public robberies on public roads had increased over the past 12 months, many people still do not insure their valuable, portable valuables.

“Don’t assume that you automatically have cover for exercise buddies in your home contents policy. This is simply not the case. You have to detail with your insurer the exact valuables that you carry around with you in terms of the portable possessions or all-risks part of your policy.”

Portable possessions cover means that you can claim for items that are usually carried around – such as laptops, clothing, jewellery and cell phones – and which are lost, stolen or damaged due to an insured peril.Insure Your Exercise Equipment

“Ensure that your GPS device, heart rate monitor or cell phone is actually specified on the insurance policy,” cautions October. “If they get lost or stolen or broken and they are not specifically covered, then you will not enjoy cover.”

Safety Tips for Joggers and Cyclists

To avoid ever having to claim on exercise buddies, Dial Direct offers the following safety tips for joggers and cyclists:

  • Don’t go alone – Always exercise in a group – it’s safer
  • Avoid quiet roads – Crime is more likely to happen in quiet, relatively unpopulated areas
  • Avoid wearing jewellery – Don’t advertise that you have something worth stealing
  • Listen to your gut – If you have a bad feeling about a person or a place, get away as fast as possible
  • Let people know where you are going – Don’t just set off. Tell family and friends where you are going and how long you expect to be
  • Strap smart phones and other exercise body securely to your person – Ideally, try to carry them so that they are not easily visible to would-be thieves. For example, put your smart phone in a flat belt bag against your body, under your shirt.

 

Go here for a short-term insurance quote for your household and exercise goods

 

All info was correct at time of publishing