Commuting - Insurance

Hi,

I was wondering if any of you guys have insurance. I mean, if one was found guilty of causing a traffic accident, I presume one could be liable for damages etc. Is it worth to insure? How can one does it?

3rd party insurance is vital when you are on the road. Some cycle clubs provide cover to members. Your household insurance may cover you.

I get a third party insurance policy through Bicycle Queensland. Covers me for $5 million in personal claims and $10 million property damage cover. Pretty cool huh?

Chris

Originally posted by Chris L
I get a third party insurance policy through Bicycle Queensland. Covers me for $5 million in personal claims and $10 million property damage cover. Pretty cool huh?

Chris
How much doe$ $uch in$urance co$t, Chri$?

Originally posted by JonR

How much doe$ $uch in$urance co$t, Chri$?

For $40 I get a year's membership with BQ, includes the insurance, discounts at BQ events (like the Brisbane River ride) and a 12 month subscription to Australian Cyclist magazine.

Chris

P.S. That's $40 Australian, which equates to about $21 US.

What a deal! That's fantastic. I don't know if there's such a thing here or not. Even I could afford that.

Originally posted by MichaelW
3rd party insurance is vital when you are on the road. Some cycle clubs provide cover to members. Your household insurance may cover you.


The problem is that I don't have a household insurance. I am a renter and the building is insured by the landlord. Give me a name, please help..

I would contact the bike clubs in your area. They may offer insurance with membership, or they would know how to get insured in NM. Are you in Albuquerque?

You could start with theUNM Bicycle Club (http://www.unm.edu/~jshane/unmbike.html). Their site has a list of other area clubs, as well. Someone there should know about insurers in your area, if they don't offer it with membership.

All the best.

Jonathan

Papeteebooh- you can get, and probably should have, renter's insurance. If there's a fire in your building, or a robber breaks into your apartment, you probably won't be covered for personal property loss under the building's insurance. It will also cover the loss of a stolen bike. As to whether it would cover liability for bike accidents, I'm not sure, you would have to speak with an insurance agent. You may have to get separate insurance for that. Renter's insurance is not that expensive and should be available at any place where you can get homeowner's insurance, like state farm or all state.

Originally posted by HillaryRose
Papeteebooh- you can get, and probably should have, renter's insurance. If there's a fire in your building, or a robber breaks into your apartment, you probably won't be covered for personal property loss under the building's insurance. It will also cover the loss of a stolen bike. As to whether it would cover liability for bike accidents, I'm not sure, you would have to speak with an insurance agent. You may have to get separate insurance for that. Renter's insurance is not that expensive and should be available at any place where you can get homeowner's insurance, like state farm or all state.

She's right. If you suffer a loss, your landlord's insurance will only cover his loss, not yours. It varies by location, but I only pay $15 per month for renter's insurance. Make certain you get "replacement value" coverage, otherwise they will only pay the used market value of your property - not the amount it costs to replace everything. Ask your agent also about this, but it should cover the loss of your bike, even if stolen or vandalized away from your home.

I don't know that any home/renter's insurance will cover your liability if you cause someone else harm. If you were to damage someone else's property, however, I don't believe they can claim any responsibility greater than your net worth. So, if you don't have a huge investment account, your liability may be limited, anyway. I would certainly speak to a property/casualty insurance agent or lawyer friend to be sure. Your actual liability, though, would be more similar to walking and falling into someone else's property and damaging it, rather than like driving a vehicle into it. Walking and riding bikes are rights in the U.S. Driving is not a right, but a privilege, so the rules are quite a bit different.

Please consult a highly trained expert. This forum is a great facility to get some direction and learn from others' experiences, but you don't want to base your final decisions solely on the second hand knowledge of an Irish musician and web developer. :)

Jonathan

Talk to an insurance agent!!!!! Your home or renter insurance seldom will cover liablity when you are on your bike. The liablility pertains to your home.

I get a third party insurance policy through Bicycle Queensland. Covers me for $5 million in personal claims and $10 million property damage cover.

Sounds like another insurance co. scam. It would be pretty tough to do $10 million worth of property damage with a bicycle.

Originally posted by mwmw
Sounds like another insurance co. scam. It would be pretty tough to do $10 million worth of property damage with a bicycle.

The policy has actually been around for a while. It comes free with Bicycle Queensland membership, so I hardly think it's a scam. Given the size of insurance claims that people make for stress and god-only knows what else, it's possible to do that sort of damage.

Chris

I've got the same thing with Bicycle Queensland. I believe the premium is so cheap because it is some sort of group cover. If the premiums go up for whatever reason, say a massive claim by one of the members, then every member's premiums go up. This seems to work satisfactorily, and has the added benefit of unifying the mebers of the club, even if they're not necessarily aware of it.

I also get covered by Workers Compensation for any mishaps that occur on my way to or from work (provided I'm on my regular route). This covers me for personal injury.

I get covered for theft of my bike on my home and contents insurance. This covers me even if my bike is away from home as long as it is satisfactorily locked up.

It's a bit of a mish-mash, but I think all bases are pretty well covered.

When I was in the UK the CTC had comprehensice cover which was very useful when my bike trashed in a collision one week before I was due to leave the country. They paid up without question, and since I was so close to leaving they sent me a cheque rather than the normal practice of replacing the bike. I used the money to buy a much better bike in Canada.

Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windscreen. Sometimes you're both.

I have an umbrella liability policy on top of my homeowners and auto.... Never thought of it for the bike.

It never occured to me that umbrellas could do that much damage.

Thanks for some useful answers. I did try all local bike clubs and talked to insurance agents.

There are no specialized bike insurance (liability insurance) that are available locally (NM). So the answer is to get a home (rental) insurance. It costs a little less than $200 per year but includes a personal liability cover. I will do that next month (I am kind of broke now while waiting for payment for several jobs I did).