An online fundraiser has been launched to help the family of TT rider Daniel Ingham after his wife says they have been told his life insurance policy will not pay out following his death.
His wife, Helayna, has now appealed for help as she faces what she describes as the possibility of losing the family home she shared with Daniel and their children, Joey and Phoebe in Melton Mowbray.
In an emotional Facebook post launching a new GoFundMe campaign, Helayna said 33-year-old Daniel had taken out life insurance specifically to cover his racing and ensure his family would be financially protected if anything happened to him.
She said the policy was important to him because his family was his priority.
However, Helayna said the family had now been informed that it would not pay out because of what she described as ‘technicalities surrounding the circumstances of his death’.
She said this had left the family facing significant financial uncertainty while still grieving.
‘On top of losing my amazing husband, I am now facing the possibility of losing our forever home, my children’s home,’ she wrote.
‘The home Dan and I worked so hard to build, where we have made so many memories together.’
Helayna said a previous fundraiser had helped provide immediate financial security in the weeks following Daniel’s death and had assisted with household bills and other costs.
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However, she said that support had only addressed the immediate financial pressure and that she was now worried about securing the family’s long-term future.
‘My priority now is Joey and Phoebe, and doing everything I can to protect their home and their future,’ she wrote.
She described setting up the new fundraiser as ‘incredibly difficult’, but appealed to people to donate if they could or share the campaign if they were unable to contribute financially.
‘I know times are difficult for everyone, and I don’t take a single donation, share or kind message for granted,’ she said.
The appeal comes after a poignant tribute to Daniel during what would have been the final day of this year’s Classic TT.
Helayna travelled around the course on the back of a travelling marshal’s motorcycle, carrying Daniel’s ashes with her.
The tribute lap was intended to complete the lap Daniel had started during qualifying on May 27 but was unable to finish.
Friends, fellow competitors and members of the road racing community turned out in large numbers to support Helayna and Daniel’s family.
Manx Motorcycle Club vice-president Jim Hunter, who helped organise the tribute, said he had been overwhelmed by the response.
‘When you say organised, all I actually did was put one post on Facebook, and all of these people have turned out because we're all thinking about Helayna,’ he said.
‘She’s going to do the lap on the back of my marshal's bike, and she's got Dan's ashes in her rucksack.’
He said the purpose of the tribute was to complete the lap Daniel had begun.
‘What she wanted to do is complete Dan's lap. So we started it on Wednesday, the 27th of May. He didn't finish it, obviously, and so we put that right.’
Mr Hunter said the turnout demonstrated the strength of the motorcycle racing community.
‘It’s pretty staggering to see the turnout,’ he said. ‘It just shows what the motorcycling community is – this is it. And it's just tremendous.’
He added that he hoped the occasion would eventually give Daniel’s children a lasting reminder of the support their father had from the racing community.
‘I’m sure that when Helayna gets home and she has the opportunity to show her children, Joey and Phoebe, what people think of their dad, it'll make it all worthwhile,’ he said.
Helayna’s fundraiser is now seeking donations towards helping the family secure their home and future following Daniel’s death.
So far, £12,263 has been raised.
You can find out more and donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-protect-dans-family-our-forever-home?cp_src=d.