Got yourself a hoverboard for Christmas but a concerned family member berated you with 101 ways you could end up seriously injured?
Or maybe you got yourself into a cycling mishap and need to take a time-out to muster the courage to power those pedals again?
Call it clumsy or crazy, one thing’s for sure, it isn’t cool sitting on the bench because the fear factor has you by the neck.
But now NTUC Income has launched an insurance policy to cover those who ride on personal mobility devices such as e-scooters, skate-scooters, skateboards, wheelchairs, hoverboards and even bicycles.
In a press statement, the insurer calls the Personal Mobility Guard insurance policy an “industry-first”, and it covers a whole of unfortunate outcomes including accidental death, permanent disability, medical expenses against injuries and third-party liability when one meets with accidents when riding, mounting, or dismounting such personal mobility device or bicycle in Singapore.
The difference with this coverage when compared to personal accident policies, is that it offers third-party liability protection.
So if you own a personal mobility device, think of this policy as your very own invisible safety net that’s there to catch you when you fall – literally.
The insurer cited the increasing number of accidents involving such devices as its main reason for launching the insurance plan, backed by statistics from the Ministry of Transport showing 27 road accidents involving power-assisted bicycles in 2015 – six higher than the previous two years.
The Personal Mobility Guard, which is priced at $96 per year, will run parallel with the Government’s decision to boost active mobility in Singapore.
It will be available at www.income.com.sg/PMG from April 25 2016.
mldas@sph.com.sg
