Insurance for cyclists?

Just saw this on CL. Interesting. . .

http://www.bike-protected.com/Home.html

I'm no expert in the insurance realm, but it has crossed my mind what would transpire should I suffer an expensive accident on the bike. Is this a new concept?

Views: 413

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on May 5, 2009 at 4:07pm
I have a nonowner car policy through my insurance company now that I have sold my car. It includes uninsured motorists too (if I get hit on my bike by a driver who has no insurance I'm covered) as well as if I get hit as a pedestrian. I know Lawyer Jim was doing some research on this. The same company also has my homeowners insurance and had car insurance with them for years.
Permalink Reply by Brett Ratner on May 5, 2009 at 4:35pm
This isn't directly related to your question, but I've heard rumors that if you ride a fixed gear bike with no brake, you crash and hurt yourself, and somehow the insurance company finds out you were riding a bike that has no brake, they have leverage to deny your claim.

Anyway, to respond to your question: I got doored several years back and made certain the cops came and filled out a report. I submitted the report to the driver's insurance company and they covered my medical bills (broken collar bone), damage to my bike...and they cut me a sizable check in exchange for signing some document promising not to sue the guy.

For the record, it was a total accident, the guy was super apologetic, and the thought of suing anyone never crossed my mind. I only wanted my medical bills covered. Buy hey...they offered so I took it.

What would happen in the case you crash into a tree or something non-vehicle-related? I would assume that your health coverage would cover you.

But Julie brings up an interesting point: what would happen if you hit a pedestrian on your bike? Would your auto liability insurance cover that? What if you don't have a car and auto insurance? Do you need a nonowner car policy like Julie has to ride your bike? This may be worth a call to your insurance agent...I think I might call my agent for that matter.
Permalink Reply by S on May 5, 2009 at 4:48pm
Brett Ratner said:
This isn't directly related to your question, but I've heard rumors that if you ride a fixed gear bike with no brake, you crash and hurt yourself, and somehow the insurance company finds out you were riding a bike that has no brake, they have leverage to deny your claim.

I think that's pretty much accurate. You need a brake on the bike in order to legally ride your bike on the streets. Same deal with not having front and rear lights on your bike at night. It's supposed to be a little more than a little leverage for the insurance company. I think they can pretty much tell you to go away and legally you're pretty much SOL.

Permalink Reply by vxla on May 5, 2009 at 5:31pm
S said:
Brett Ratner said:
This isn't directly related to your question, but I've heard rumors that if you ride a fixed gear bike with no brake, you crash and hurt yourself, and somehow the insurance company finds out you were riding a bike that has no brake, they have leverage to deny your claim.

I think that's pretty much accurate. You need a brake on the bike in order to legally ride your bike on the streets. Same deal with not having front and rear lights on your bike at night. It's supposed to be a little more than a little leverage for the insurance company. I think they can pretty much tell you to go away and legally you're pretty much SOL.



The law is not clear. The law requires that you have a brake that can bring a wheel to a skid. Fixed gear riders can do that by locking their legs. It's an old debate which Google can provide plenty of evidence of (unless there is new caselaw that exists since I last saw this debate which can prove, one way or the other, that riding a fixed gear bicycle does not constitute having enough stopping power under the eyes of the law.
Permalink Reply by S on May 6, 2009 at 2:33am
vxla said:

The law is not clear. The law requires that you have a brake that can bring a wheel to a skid. Fixed gear riders can do that by locking their legs. It's an old debate which Google can provide plenty of evidence of (unless there is new caselaw that exists since I last saw this debate which can prove, one way or the other, that riding a fixed gear bicycle does not constitute having enough stopping power under the eyes of the law.

Yeah, I've read that things have gone either way. But I see it more as insurance. Even, if you're not at fault, if the insurance company gets the jury or judge to decide that not having a brake is illegal, you're probably not getting anything. It's probably not a fight you want to fight if your bike is broken and you just want a replacement.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on May 6, 2009 at 2:58am
To clarify, if I get hit AS a pedestrian I am covered.

Brett Ratner said:
This isn't directly related to your question, but I've heard rumors that if you ride a fixed gear bike with no brake, you crash and hurt yourself, and somehow the insurance company finds out you were riding a bike that has no brake, they have leverage to deny your claim.

Anyway, to respond to your question: I got doored several years back and made certain the cops came and filled out a report. I submitted the report to the driver's insurance company and they covered my medical bills (broken collar bone), damage to my bike...and they cut me a sizable check in exchange for signing some document promising not to sue the guy.

For the record, it was a total accident, the guy was super apologetic, and the thought of suing anyone never crossed my mind. I only wanted my medical bills covered. Buy hey...they offered so I took it.

What would happen in the case you crash into a tree or something non-vehicle-related? I would assume that your health coverage would cover you.

But Julie brings up an interesting point: what would happen if you hit a pedestrian on your bike? Would your auto liability insurance cover that? What if you don't have a car and auto insurance? Do you need a nonowner car policy like Julie has to ride your bike? This may be worth a call to your insurance agent...I think I might call my agent for that matter.
Permalink Reply by Bike Protected on May 6, 2009 at 9:49am
Hi everyone,

Bike Protected is my company and I saw this thread so thought I would jump in.

A few points.

If you have auto insurance and get hit while on your bike, you should be covered. Check your policy to confirm this. Also, make sure you have as much uninsured/underinsured coverage as possible! Now, of course, getting compensated is dependent on the cooperation of the at-fault driver's insurance company (for me this process was MISERABLE; i finally got paid, but only after dealing with a lot of BS from them).

If you have major medical health insurance and suffer injuries, that will help with your doctor/hospital bills. But you will still be responsible for deductibles, copays, coinsurance, etc. And if you have to miss work for some time, there is the issue of loss of income. Not to mention repairing/replacing your bike.

The great thing about the accident and disability policies from Bike Protected is that they will pay cash directly to you (rather than doctors or hospitals) and there is no deductible. The claims process is very straightforward and efficient (I have not seen a claim take longer than two weeks to pay out once it is filed). This gives you money basically up front and the flexibility to use it where it is needed most at the time. And there is no coordination of benefits with any other insurance; so if you do get paid by the other person's insurance company all the better!

For more info or questions, check out our website or call/email me.

~Billy
Permalink Reply by Bike Protected on May 6, 2009 at 9:54am
Also, as for insurance against theft of your bike.

This should be covered under homeowners/renters insurance. Again, though, check with your policy to make sure. It helps to have a picture or some documentation about your bike and its condition in order to maximize the probability that you will be covered.
Permalink Reply by Jim Freeman on May 6, 2009 at 10:12am
RE: Brakes. The absence of a brake goes to contributory negligence. Forget about all this crap about the letter of the law. That only matters if you're worried about getting a ticket in the criminal matter. Criminal proceedings and civil proceedings are entirely separate. If you want to recover money from a crappy driver who smashes you, you'll do it in civil court, not criminal court. The lack of brake is going to be considered by the jury. Once a jury of drivers hears you were riding without a brake they are going to assess you with some percentage of fault for the accident. In Illinois if the accident is 50% your fault you get nothing.

Having said that, I've been able to get good results for people who were riding brakeless, but it has usually happened in instances where the case settled before the insurance found out they were riding brakeless.

Brakes and lights... you gotta have 'em.
Permalink Reply by Jim Freeman on May 6, 2009 at 10:25am
RE INSURANCE:

It is so important to have uninsured motorist coverage. This coverage is provided by your auto policy (if you have a car) or by an operator's policy- like Julie has. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage kicks in to compensate you if you are involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist, a motorist with insufficient insurance coverage, or if you are hit by a hit and run driver. I can't stress enough how important it is to have such coverage, and you can't have too much of it. It's cheap too- much cheaper than health insurance.

I estimate that about 60% of drivers on Chicago streets have only $20,000 in liability coverage or no insurance at all. Think about this- you'll burn up $20,000 with one night in the hospital. Further, based on my experience, there is about a 20% chance that any given driver who hits you will flee the scene.

Don't take a chance with this stuff. Get UM/UIM coverage- and get a lot of it.

Also- If you have UM/UIM coverage and you are struck by a car as a pedestrian you should be covered as well.
Permalink Reply by Jim Freeman on May 6, 2009 at 10:31am
If you hit a ped or another biker on your bike your auto insurance will not cover the loss. Your homeowner's or renter's liability insurance should cover you though. Another good reason to have renters insurance- it's cheap, like $150 a year for 1 million in liability coverage, and it covers your bike if it's stolen.

Good question too- a lot of bikers think they won't hurt a ped if they hit one. That is not true. I see a lot of head injuries (among other things) in the ped v. bike accident becuase the peds strike their head on the ground when hit. They're bad too- not something you'd like to pay for.

OK, back to work.

Brett Ratner said:
This isn't directly related to your question, but I've heard rumors that if you ride a fixed gear bike with no brake, you crash and hurt yourself, and somehow the insurance company finds out you were riding a bike that has no brake, they have leverage to deny your claim.

Anyway, to respond to your question: I got doored several years back and made certain the cops came and filled out a report. I submitted the report to the driver's insurance company and they covered my medical bills (broken collar bone), damage to my bike...and they cut me a sizable check in exchange for signing some document promising not to sue the guy.

For the record, it was a total accident, the guy was super apologetic, and the thought of suing anyone never crossed my mind. I only wanted my medical bills covered. Buy hey...they offered so I took it.

What would happen in the case you crash into a tree or something non-vehicle-related? I would assume that your health coverage would cover you.

But Julie brings up an interesting point: what would happen if you hit a pedestrian on your bike? Would your auto liability insurance cover that? What if you don't have a car and auto insurance? Do you need a nonowner car policy like Julie has to ride your bike? This may be worth a call to your insurance agent...I think I might call my agent for that matter.
Permalink Reply by Brett Ratner on May 6, 2009 at 4:32pm
Strangely enough, my insurance agent called me today trying to get me to blow a bunch of money on some life insurance policy.

I totally blew off her sales pitch and blind sided her with a barrage of questions about bike accidents. (That'll teach her to call me at friggin' work for no good reason :-)

Anyway, based on what she said, it seems like everyone has the right idea here:

1. Your homeowners or renter's policy provides liability coverage if you hurt someone or damage something while riding your bike.

2. If you are hit by a car, that driver's policy covers your injury and property damage.

3. If the driver is uninsured, your medical coverage covers your injuries, and your homeowner's policy would cover your property damage.

4. There didn't seem to be a scenario where your auto policy would come into play if you are riding a bicycle...I didn't ask her specifically about a non-driver policy (like what has been mentioned in this thread), but there didn't seem to be a need for one from what I could tell. What exactly is the non-car-owner policy supposed to do?

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service