When you're a cyclist, there's nothing quite as thrilling as hitting the open road with the wind in your face and the sun on your back - but unfortunately, accidents can happen at any time and derail even the most well-planned rides. On November 7th, 2022, Jonathan Brown headed out for a ride that would end abruptly and with a life-altering injury.
Brown, an Environmental, Health and Safety Manager, moved to Louisville, KY after the military and fell in love with cycling. Using the sport to improve his health, Brown coincidently found a real obsession for road and gravel riding. After joining USA Cycling as a RIDE+ member in December 2021, he knew that the added layer of protection with the SPOT insurance add-on made sense now that he was starting to put in some big miles.
"I have good health insurance through work, but I thought it would not hurt to have a little extra protection just in case something happened. I really upped my mileage in 2020 and 2021, so I thought it made sense to get extra protection since my exposure was going up so much," said Brown.
It wasn't until an early Sunday morning that he realized this added layer of protection was going to end up saving him thousands. Brown headed out on a ride and woke up on the ground. He wasn't struck by a car; instead, a hole in the road that was filled with water caused him to lose traction and land on his side, resulting in a fractured pelvis.
After sitting in the hospital for hours and heading to multiple facilities, the bills accumulated quickly. Instead of worrying about the cost, he focused on his recovery. Luckily, Brown knew he had SPOT with his membership and was prepared for something like this, saying, "After the incident, I went to my USA Cycling member portal and followed the link to the SPOT website. The account setup process is very simple. Once I got signed in, I just completed a simple form to start the claim process. A couple of days later, I got an email from my claims rep who set up a phone call to educate me on the process, what to expect, and what I needed to do to move forward. After that call, I had to contact all the providers and request some specific medical billing forms. Once I had all the bills and documentation, I logged back in to upload the documents into my account. I stayed in contact with my claim rep throughout the process, who gave me regular updates. The entire process from accident to payment took about 5 months, but that also included major holidays, and my claim rep let me know they were backed up and the claim process was taking longer than expected. I probably only spent a few hours total on the claims process; it was a simple process, really."
USA Cycling's new PLUS products are intended to protect members from devastating medical bills. Cycling has a set of hazards that most sports don't and with this accident coverage, you can focus on doing what you love, riding your bike! Adding the PLUS product to your membership is easy and can provide you with the coverage you need when the unexpected occurs.
"I think a USA Cycling membership has a lot of benefits. Obviously, the SPOT add-on gives me a sense of peace and security in case something happens while I am out riding, and best of all, I know it is legit now," said Brown.
Take $5 OFF your SPOT add-on by using code SPOT_5 at checkout.
