When It Matters Most: The Value of Pedal Power Insurance

One Pedal Power member’s recent experience has highlighted the value of Pedal Power’s cycling insurance, included with membership, even for riders who already have private health insurance.

In March 2025, the member was riding with friends when their handlebars clipped a protruding pole, causing a serious crash. After being transported to hospital by ambulance, they were admitted as a public patient, with the ambulance and hospital costs covered through private health insurance. The following morning, they underwent surgery for a complex hip fracture involving a long pin and three cross screws extending from the hip to the knee. Fortunately, there were no out-of-pocket hospital costs at that stage.

However, this was only the beginning of a long recovery.

Following two weeks in hospital, the member required extensive rehabilitation and ongoing treatment. Access to public physiotherapy was delayed for several months and only provided a limited number of appointments, meaning much of the rehabilitation had to occur privately. This included physiotherapy, remedial massage to restore knee movement, and hydrotherapy to allow exercise without weight-bearing.

While private health insurance contributed modest rebates toward some treatments, a significant proportion of these costs remained uncovered. This is where Pedal Power’s insurance proved particularly valuable, covering many of the out-of-pocket expenses between the treatment costs and the limited private health rebates.

Several months later, the member began experiencing increasing discomfort in the hip. Further investigation revealed that one of the screws had shifted and was pressing into surrounding soft tissue, requiring additional private surgery. Although Pedal Power’s insurance cannot legally cover Medicare items, it was able to assist with several related non-Medicare expenses, including excess hospital accommodation charges above the private health rebate, dissolvable stitches used by the surgeon, and the assistant surgeon’s costs, which are required but not covered by Medicare.

In addition to medical expenses, the insurance also covered the replacement of clothing that had to be cut off during emergency treatment, along with other recovery-related items including rehabilitation walking poles, compression stockings, slip-on shoes and, of course, a replacement helmet.

Over the course of the year following the accident, the member received more than $5,000 in reimbursements for out-of-pocket medical and recovery expenses.

While no one ever expects to have a serious crash, this experience demonstrates how valuable Pedal Power’s included cycling insurance can be when the unexpected happens.