Chris0516

That is below the belt. Not respectful.

I-Like-To-Bike

None of which addresses your bizarre notions about raising bicyclist's insurance rate (whatever that is supposed to mean) as a result of police reporting of accidents.

Chris0516

If someone hits my car, will my insurance rate go up?

"Some accidents occur because a person was careless and created a bad situation, while others are due to things beyond a persons control, such as mechanical failure, problems with the road they are traveling, weather related conditions and so on."

I-Like-To-Bike

Are you aware that a bicyclist does not drive a car while riding a bike? Accidents that involve a bicyclist's car and any police report of such do not affect the rates of whatever "bicyclist's insurance" that you are thinking about. Accidents that involve a bicyclist while bicycling and any police report of such is not likely to affect whatsoever the bicyclist's car insurance rates.

What kind of insurance are you dreaming about that is affected by alleged police hostility to bicyclists?

kickstart

I'm sorry you feel that way, and I apologize if it comes across that way, but I sincerely believe you need to talk to someone about your fears, and anxiety.
I won't say any more on the subject.

AngeloDolce

what state are you in?

I'm sure this is not true in some states I've lived in, but it depends heavily on state regulations for insurance policies, and also possibly on differences in contracts from individual companies. (And how aggressively they interpret the policies.)

AngeloDolce

I still don't understand what insurance rates you are concerned with.

Most of the readers and posters on this list are likely to own cars and have auto insurance policies, so the links regarding uninsured and under insured motorist coverage are useful to them. Their situations will depend heavily on the states they are located in, and likely individual insurance companies and representative, even when states mandate coverage. They will have to ask questions carefully since agents and insurance companies don't normally spend any time on these situations.

I think several posters (including me) don't know what insurance rate changes if police blame you in a collision if you don't have auto insurance.

I haven't heard of health insurance rates changing for this before ACA; now it is certainly not allowed.

I've also never heard of bicyclists held at fault for collisions with motorists being required to pay, especially enough to affect home owners or umbrella liability rates.

There are many links about police ignorance and denial of recognize bicyclists' rights, but this is the normal procedure used to deny them compensation when hit by motorists, not change the bicyclists insurance rates. While there is a bias giving credibility to police in motorist disputes, many police reports for bicycle incidents are inconsistent and poorly documented, and are challenged. This imposes a burden on bicyclists, but it can be overcome for many incidents (i.e. when the bicyclist is alive to challenge it, or damages are large enough to interest a lawyer).

Digital_Cowboy

I think that Chris is basing that on the number of articles and first hand accounts of cyclists NOT seeing a LEO until the LEO shows up in their hospital room to issue them a citation. Claiming that the cyclist and not the motorist is the one who is at fault.

In those cases, how can one do an accurate investigation IF they haven't interviewed ALL parties involved? Isn't part of their job supposed to be to conduct an impartial investigation?

AngeloDolce

I'll make some comments connecting the different parts of your post, and the link to UM/IM coverage. If the rest of the medical, insurance and legal system worked, having your health insurer recover medical expenses from the other driver should be no different from having your auto insurer recover payments for damage to your car. I don't think recovery of the auto damage claim is particularly controversial. However, few agree that any of the medical, insurance or legal systems work efficiently or fairly (for many good reasons).


If you're injured by a driver that only has $10-$15K in coverage and you have health insurance, the health insurance company won't cover its payouts from the injury settlement. The $10-$15K will be all the drivers insurance company pays out, and likely be the only settlement available to your health insurer.

However, when you're incurring all kinds of costs your health insurance company should be paying these costs, even if they exceed the $15K auto policy. In theory, this is what your premium is for - to provide coverage even when it exceeds what the health insurer recovers from the motorist, and to pay for cases when there is no motorist or other party (e.g. fall due to ice, bad road surface; disease etc.).

In practice, I agree there are huge problems with the medical and insurance systems, including what health insurers will actually pay, huge differences in health provider prices depending on insurance coverage, network status of doctors you don't choose, coverage mandated and coverage not required etc. These go far beyond the health insurer's interest in recovering their claims expenses from parties causing them.

I agree with you it's extremely complicated if your recovery has to be split for past & future pain & suffering, lost wages etc. vs medical bills. As you implied, in auto collisions you may need settlements for other damages separate from bodily injury. Where I work in NJ today there are many uninsured drivers (illegal), and lots of drivers in NJ with no bodily injury liability and no assets (completely legal). I can't fix the medical and legal systems, or state driving laws, but I can buy UM/IM coverage and health insurance. Fortunately, I have not had to test the UM/IM coverage, and hope not to.

Chris0516

C'est la vie
Thank you for re-stating.

bakes1

This.
OP exhibits a clear and unsubstantiated bias towards law enforcement in general that has no specific or logical correlation to insurance. Health, bicycle or auto.

bakes1

Huh?
Please provide some facts, examples or real stats maybe?
I am guessing there are hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of accidents involving bicycles each year in the US alone.
How many actual examples of your LEO showing up in a hospital room can you confirm?
What % would we be talking lol?

I-Like-To-Bike

Did you forget where this thread is posted? A&S posters don't need no stinkin' facts, examples or real stats to support their biases, agendas, or bizarro nightmarish fantasies.

OldTryGuy

MinnE

2011-I was 3rd of 3 in a paceline. Oncoming SUV passes mail truck stopped to put mail in mailbox and comes in OUR LANE. First rider evades SUV by going right, right onto lawn since no curb exists. Second rider wants to do the same but a mailbox is to his right so he kicks off the post while braking/STOPS. Third rider, ME, slams into #2 , bars get locked onto frame of #2 's bike, I am ejected, land 10 feet to right of road edge and hear 2 cracks as I hit the ground. I remain motionless, ambulance arrives, trip to ER, scans reveal crack in C6 and right clavicle plus other injuries, a second trip to another hospital ER with neurosurgeon on call. SUV does not stop or even slowed down, BTW, speed limit of road is 45mph.

THANK YOU for UM/UIM!!!!!! Still have issues from my not so soft landing. Helmet-cracked, clothes-OK, bike-OK.

Digital_Cowboy

In the past there have been more than a few presented here. I suggest that you use the search feature here to find them.

I-Like-To-Bike

I suggest that this thread be re-titled as " I Read Something, Somewhere, So I Believe Something Else Must Be True".

Rollfast

All I'm going to say is that in my opinion, the only real similarity between Obamacare/Affordable Care Act and car insurance is the word insurance and maybe that dude with the gecko. Warren Buffett, not related to Jimmy but Calypso music would be welcome in his commercials.

But if you get hit by motor vehicle, one subject to licensing and required to carry motorist insurance the amount of that required coverage can vary from state to state. THIS policy covers the claims made by the victim. Whether or not it's sufficient, that's another subject. The victim may also have health insurance, true, but the person who hit them is responsible for meeting the terms of their insurance policy and taking care of what has been deemed their responsibility.

NOTICE I did not, nor am I going to refer to FAULT. Fault is a different topic. You can be not at fault and still have responsibilities.

HEALTH insurance covers treatment and/or hospitalization of a health problem, regardless of the issue. If you are treated for the accident then it may be covered in your health insurance benefits, whatever the vehicle insurance policy didn't cover for your injuries.

And off topic...not everyone is on 'Obamacare'. That is a mechanism to cover people without other health insurance/adequate coverage and if you have private insurance or Medicare and Medicaid together you are probably not on Obamacare. It's a stopgap measure. You mustn't confuse it as ending private insurance...it only requires coverage to those who enroll and qualify (which is a broad range) and you can remain uninsured, at a penalty.

But not everyone is on ACA/Obamacare. Social Security Disability, SSI and other SS benefits may automatically qualify you for Medicare and state Medicaid, which is not ACA, although it could be administered by the same agencies and often is.

I am in this category.

noglider 

In 1982, I didn't own a car, so I didn't have auto insurance. I was riding my bike to work and was hit head-on by a car. The impact was bad enough that I (still) don't remember the impact or the ambulance ride to the hospital. The driver of the car was not the owner of the car. The owner of the car had let his insurance lapse, though there was some question as to whether the company had dropped him properly. The company wanted to deal with my insurance company and could not deal with the fact that I had none nor was I require to have one. As luck had it, my uncle is a lawyer and represented me for free. We went to arbitration. The judge ruled that the insurance company paid me for (very small) damages, loss of wages. I didn't ask for pain and suffering. The insurance company never paid me.

Drew Eckhardt 

Loss of income which medical insurance doesn't cover.

Disability insurance also doesn't replace all your income. In theory the policies cover 60%, although benefit caps mean professionals may see just 1/3 of their income for short term disability and 1/2 for long-term.

Uninsured motorist coverage (you can usually extend your auto insurance to $1M using an umbrella policy) can cover that when an under-insured sue-proof motorist is negligent.

Minnesota Expat

This. +1. I would add, most drivers are way under-insured.

But it's not just lost income. I'm dealing now with multiple ruptured disks (non-cycling related) and dealing with $100 co-pays for scans (three so far) and injections (two so far), prescription co-pays, and I'm not even to the physical therapy and surgery. AND I have good health medical insurance. Imagine the money lost to an injury if you're smacked hard by a car.

Lastly, you'll find the UM/UIM is about the cheapest thing on your auto policy. Check it out and ramp it up.