General Cycling Discussion - Do you have insurance on your bikes?

If so, do you need a special insurance policy for them to be covered while you are riding them?

My daughter was hit by a car while riding her bike last Friday, and the driver was uninsured. He's refusing to pay for the damages. I called up our insurance company asking for help and they said they don't specifically cover bicycles. Anyways, the whole incident has me thinking about my husband's pricey collection, and I'd really like to protect it should something happen.

So, do you have insurance on your bikes?

So the uninsured driver is off the hook? Any laws about that where you are? Small claims court? A lawyer? Or is the driver without any assets?

No, no bike insurance specifically. Unlikely for catastrophic outcome from a bike accident. Money saved from no insurance premiums can go a long way towards a new bike or bike repairs.
I'm sure an insurance agent would love to talk to you about options.

You can bet your butt the car owner would be on your case to pay for car repairs if your daughter did something to damage his car so you should do the same.

Time for small claims and there goes his license too for driving without insurance!

So the uninsured driver is off the hook? Any laws about that where you are? Small claims court? A lawyer? Or is the driver without any assets?

No, no bike insurance specifically. Unlikely for catastrophic outcome from a bike accident. Money saved from no insurance premiums can go a long way towards a new bike or bike repairs.
I'm sure an insurance agent would love to talk to you about options.

I honestly think the driver has not a pot to piss in from what he's told me (and based on where he lives). I'm looking into small claims court anyways. Don't know how much good it will do but it doesn't hurt anything but $22 filing fee to try.

I honestly think the driver has not a pot to piss in from what he's told me (and based on where he lives). I'm looking into small claims court anyways. Don't know how much good it will do but it doesn't hurt anything but $22 filing fee to try.


He obviously has a car.

He obviously has a car.
And money to buy fuel.

and rent a apartment no matter where. try for medical expenses at least.

Judge Judy?

Seriously though, my house insurance covers my bikes at home or away from theft - but I don't know about accident.

Maybe this would be provided under the form of public liability? This is however the sort of case where paying the extra for legal cover is a good idea.

In the UK he would have the book thrown at him for driving without insurance (we seize and crush uninsured vehicles over here).

I presume you have his details, name address license plate?

I would be straight onto the police let alone the small claims because he was breakin the law.

my $0.02

We got a rider put on our homeowners insurance to cover all risks for our Madones. It costs about $6 per month per bike. In discussing with our agent, the situation you describe, IIRC, would have been covered under our car insurance and they would have pursued with other driver.

P2

Judge Judy?

Seriously though, my house insurance covers my bikes at home or away from theft - but I don't know about accident.

Maybe this would be provided under the form of public liability? This is however the sort of case where paying the extra for legal cover is a good idea.

In the UK he would have the book thrown at him for driving without insurance (we seize and crush uninsured vehicles over here).

I presume you have his details, name address license plate?

I would be straight onto the police let alone the small claims because he was breakin the law.

my $0.02

The police officer filed a non-reportable accident report. They did not ticket him though, aside from not having insurance :( I do have all of his information.


We got a rider put on our homeowners insurance to cover all risks for our Madones. It costs about $6 per month per bike. In discussing with our agent, the situation you describe, IIRC, would have been covered under our car insurance and they would have pursued with other driver.

P2

I called our insurance and they said that they specifically do not cover bicycles while they are being ridden :( They suggested we look into a specialty policy for them.

No need for a policy rider. Just do the following - set aside $30-50 per month into a jar. In 1 year, you'll have $600 saved. Lower your "premiums" if you feel you have a lower accident potential to amortize the amount over a longer time. Best part is if you crash, the money is there, if you don't crash, the money is STILL there, unlike a regular policy. Just be good and keep your sticky fingers outta the jar!

I was just thinking about this last week and need to call my insurance agent to ask about fire, theft or crash if I am rear ended and the bike gets destroyed. A friend of mine said he produced the receipt to his insurance and got a cheap rider attached to his regular auto policy.

I called my insurance comapny and my bike is covered under my current policies as is. Can't remember how he explained it exactly, but the bottom line was/is if I get rear ended or the house burns down I can get full replacement.

No need for a policy rider. Just do the following - set aside $30-50 per month into a jar. In 1 year, you'll have $600 saved. Lower your "premiums" if you feel you have a lower accident potential to amortize the amount over a longer time. Best part is if you crash, the money is there, if you don't crash, the money is STILL there, unlike a regular policy. Just be good and keep your sticky fingers outta the jar!

yes maybe takes care of the bike but does nothing for possible injuries sustained in the crash. id seriously at least try for medical expenses if there are any that youre out of pocket. even if he doesnt want to pay they can garnish his wages so you do get paid. and yes garnishing wages can be a bad thing but hitting someone and refusing to pay even medical expenses is worse

No need for a policy rider. Just do the following - set aside $30-50 per month into a jar. In 1 year, you'll have $600 saved. Lower your "premiums" if you feel you have a lower accident potential to amortize the amount over a longer time. Best part is if you crash, the money is there, if you don't crash, the money is STILL there, unlike a regular policy. Just be good and keep your sticky fingers outta the jar!

My husband has some very expensive bikes though (heck, even mine was $1400). $600 a year is nothing compared to the price of his custom bike. I did find out that they were able to add a rider onto our homeowners insurance policy for pretty much pennies a day to cover them though. That is total peace of mind to me.


yes maybe takes care of the bike but does nothing for possible injuries sustained in the crash. id seriously at least try for medical expenses if there are any that youre out of pocket. even if he doesnt want to pay they can garnish his wages so you do get paid. and yes garnishing wages can be a bad thing but hitting someone and refusing to pay even medical expenses is worse

The drive is unemployed :( Thankfully there weren't any medical expenses in the crash with my daughter.

thankfully for that and oh sucks hes unemployed. hmm. make a deal with him and have him do like yard work for you. no need for court and even unemployed hed still owe you so make him work a fair bit

If so, do you need a special insurance policy for them to be covered while you are riding them?

My daughter was hit by a car while riding her bike last Friday, and the driver was uninsured. He's refusing to pay for the damages. I called up our insurance company asking for help and they said they don't specifically cover bicycles. Anyways, the whole incident has me thinking about my husband's pricey collection, and I'd really like to protect it should something happen.

So, do you have insurance on your bikes?

Depends on what state you are in, based on no fault insurance laws, but even a tort claim against the known driver will max at $500 for most states.
I had a car try to hit me and caused me to crash and drove away this fall, and the damage to the bike and cycleing cloths/shoes added up to about $1200.
My insurance says they will not cover damage due to an accident, and since the driver fled, I have no ability at a tort claim anainst either.
My Ins policy will cover theft only, and I was told that a rider would only cover additional theft value coverage, still no crash damage.

Good luck.

If so, do you need a special insurance policy for them to be covered while you are riding them?

My daughter was hit by a car while riding her bike last Friday, and the driver was uninsured. He's refusing to pay for the damages. I called up our insurance company asking for help and they said they don't specifically cover bicycles. Anyways, the whole incident has me thinking about my husband's pricey collection, and I'd really like to protect it should something happen.

So, do you have insurance on your bikes?


Nope, no insurance on the bikes. I don't buy bikes I can't afford to easily replace. ;-)

As other people have said - you might try small claims court. The problem is that even if you win, you may have no feasible means to get him to pay, anyhow. At least when I won a small claims case in NY around 20 years ago, unless I knew the other guy's bank account numbers or employer, there was no way to get his wages garnished or get him to pay out.

What's the excuse the driver is giving for not paying for the damages?

Nope, no insurance on the bikes. I don't buy bikes I can't afford to easily replace. ;-)

As other people have said - you might try small claims court. The problem is that even if you win, you may have no feasible means to get him to pay, anyhow. At least when I won a small claims case in NY around 20 years ago, unless I knew the other guy's bank account numbers or employer, there was no way to get his wages garnished or get him to pay out.

What's the excuse the driver is giving for not paying for the damages?

He specifically said that no one needs such an expensive bike. He said he's unemployed, and if he had an extra $400 laying around, he'd be putting it towards his past due rent. He said that he is willing to give me his bike, or possibly scrape together some money to buy a Walmart replacement bike, but he refuses to spend so much to fix mine when he can buy something new for less (she was riding one of my bikes, not her own).

My husband is unemployed as well. I find it to be a sorry excuse. There's no reason to be driving around illegally without insurance either.

Our insurance agent agreed to send him a letter stating the repairs and that he needs to pay it, but basically said we're pretty out of luck unless we file in small claims court :(

Sorry to bring this up again, but as I am not au faix with the laws in the US, let alone their State variations.

I know you said the cop didn't ticket him for driving without insurance, could you tell me exactly what the law is in your neck of the woods requiring insurance?

Over here (UK) it will result in the car being seized (unless someone WITH the appropriate license AND insurance (and the car has a valid tax disc) can drive it away). Seized cars are often crushed in this country.

I don't know if the offence is taken as seriously over there as it is over here, but if it is - I would be on to your politicians, the police commisioner, city hall, or whoever is responsible and complain that the driver was not ticketed or worse. As he has basically been let off to do the same thing again.

Milton Keynes Local Policing summary 07 (http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/milton_keynes_summary_07.pdf)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFWKxwXejs8

Also, I don't know if it has been brought in, but they were going to change the law so that even keeping a car without valid insurance would be illegal.

New clampdown on uninsured drivers as Government vows to 'get tough' on reckless motorists (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1345434/New-clampdown-uninsured-drivers-Government-vows-tough-reckless-drivers.html)

Motorists face a new crackdown that will make even keeping an uninsured car off the road an offence.

The Government will this week propose tough new regulations to curb reckless, uninsured drivers who kill 160 people a year and injure 23,000 others.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning will announce that keeping a vehicle off-road without insurance will become illegal.

At the moment, police can act only if the vehicle is in use and on the road.

But in a change coming into effect in March, cars off-road without insurance could land their owners with a heavy fine.

People not using vehicles will have to apply for a Statutory Off-Road Notice to be exempt. The same notice is already required for untaxed cars kept off-road.

A Department for Transport source said: ‘At present, having no insurance is only an offence once the driver gets behind the wheel.

'The odds are stacked in favour of the uninsured driver.’

Under the new system, the DVLA, the vehicle licensing authority, will access motor insurers’ records to identify those owners without cover.

Drivers will receive a letter warning they will be fined unless they insure their car within a set period.

Anyone failing to do so faces an initial fixed penalty of £100 but the fines can rise to a maximum of £5,000 with eight penalty points added to a licence.

Ultimately, the car can be seized and destroyed.

It is believed a million motorists in the UK do not have insurance.

Insurance just became mandatory in WI June of last year. The fine is $10 if you don't have proof in your vehicle and up to $500 if you actually don't have any. http://m.wiscnews.com/baraboonewsrepublic/news/local/article_c6cd462c-67a1-11df-a383-001cc4c03286.html

In which case I would be arguing as to why he hasn't been fined the $500. Just my $0.02

If so, do you need a special insurance policy for them to be covered while you are riding them?

My daughter was hit by a car while riding her bike last Friday, and the driver was uninsured. He's refusing to pay for the damages. I called up our insurance company asking for help and they said they don't specifically cover bicycles. Anyways, the whole incident has me thinking about my husband's pricey collection, and I'd really like to protect it should something happen.

So, do you have insurance on your bikes?

Yes, to insure a bike all one need do it tell your agent to add a "all hazard" rider to either your homeowners (or renters) policy. Cost about $50 a year extra. This is what I do with my bikes.......

In your case,however, you might ask your agent if you have coverage under your homeowners policy for this already..............

In which case I would be arguing as to why he hasn't been fined the $500. Just my $0.02
He did receive a fine for driving without insurance, but the officer would not say what the amount was.

He did receive a fine for driving without insurance, but the officer would not say what the amount was.

Just re-read through...


The police officer filed a non-reportable accident report. They did not ticket him though, aside from not having insurance ...

Sorry, I mis-read that, I thought he hadn't been ticketed at all. My bad.

Nightshade is correct. An all-risk homeowners' policy will cover a bike hit by someone's car, even your own if you accidentally run over it in your garage. You will have to pay your homeowners' deductible, but you will also get an equivalent new bike, with no depreciation taken, even if your bike is 10 years old. I was hit by a girl with no insurance. My homeowners' carrier paid for a brand-new model of my 4 year-old bike. Since bike frames and components have been going up, I got a $4,000.00+ bike with a Gunnar frame and Chorus in place of the bike I paid much less for 4 years earlier. Also, if you are injured, as I was, you can make claim for med bills, etc. under your own auto policy. State laws affect this aspect in various ways, but if your injuries and bills are serious enough and the other party is at fault, in many states you can also collect pain and suffering. I did, and got carbon wheels and some money for another bike (that's in the future!). But, as I told the guys at the bike shop, even a new bike that I really wanted is not worth getting hit by an SUV.

He specifically said that no one needs such an expensive bike. He said he's unemployed, and if he had an extra $400 laying around, he'd be putting it towards his past due rent. He said that he is willing to give me his bike, or possibly scrape together some money to buy a Walmart replacement bike, but he refuses to spend so much to fix mine when he can buy something new for less (she was riding one of my bikes, not her own).

My husband is unemployed as well. I find it to be a sorry excuse. There's no reason to be driving around illegally without insurance either.

Our insurance agent agreed to send him a letter stating the repairs and that he needs to pay it, but basically said we're pretty out of luck unless we file in small claims court :(



People are funny. About 9 years ago I bought my very first new car. I only had the car for about 2-3 months when I got hit from behind. I was stopped at a stop sign for 30 seconds when I got hit. The young girl that hit me said she was reaching down becuase her cigarettes fell to the floor, that's why she hit me. The girl had insurance and I contacted me agent as well as her agent since I was completely not at fault. I only had minor damage to my car but I was really annoyed since it was my very first new car which was only 3 months old. I took pics of the damage and then paid for the repair myself.

The girl still didn't report the accident to her insurance company. I was very patient. Eventually I called the girl and told her very politely that I paid for the reapir myself and all she had to do was report the incident so I could be reimbursed from her insurance. Her response to me was "you shouldn't have paid to fix your car!" I told her the car was only 2 months old and that I didn't want to look at that damage on a car with less then 400 miles on it. She hung up on me. A few days later I went to file in small claims. She received a certified letter in the mail from the local court a few days later and a few days after that I had a check in my hand from her insurance company for the reimbursement. lol

Which is all very well, but this guy DIDN'T have insurance, he could go to small claims, lose and still not pay up. That is the issue here.

Which is all very well, but this guy DIDN'T have insurance, he could go to small claims, lose and still not pay up. That is the issue here.
Hence, my coffee-can insurance policy. Some said "oo, my bike is sooo expensive, that doesn't cover it." I ask, how long has it been since you have had an accident that destroyed your bike? Me, it's been 5+ years since I started, I haven't used it yet. That's $3000 that is sitting there earning more interest, rather than padding the pockets of Allstate, et. al. If I have an "owie", I have good medical insurance in case the driver has nothing.

The "all risk" rider does sound intersting. I will have to check that out with my agent. That might free up a chunk o' cash... N+1

Hence, my coffee-can insurance policy. Some said "oo, my bike is sooo expensive, that doesn't cover it." I ask, how long has it been since you have had an accident that destroyed your bike? Me, it's been 5+ years since I started, I haven't used it yet. That's $3000 that is sitting there earning more interest, rather than padding the pockets of Allstate, et. al. If I have an "owie", I have good medical insurance in case the driver has nothing.

The "all risk" rider does sound intersting. I will have to check that out with my agent. That might free up a chunk o' cash... N+1
why not have that money in the bank or something earning %?

why not have that money in the bank or something earning %?
Current interest rate for a basic Chase savings account: 0.01%.

Check with your home owners insurance, i think if your bike was stolen from your house it would be covered so worth a phone call --- take this guy to small claims court. Even if he doesn't have any assets you can inconvenence him.

Provided he bothers to turn up.

This is the problem with small claims, certainly in this country, you can take someone to small claims, win the case in their absence, and still not get anything back - the only person that has been inconvenienced is you.

This is the only time I think ^dodgy^ debt collectors have a use.

Current interest rate for a basic Chase savings account: 0.01%.

well then put it in a nonbasic :p or something like a bond. sure theyre not as liquid as saving accounts but they pay better %. like I Savings Bond or EE Savings Bond(preferably paper as for 25=50 while electronic is 25-25) both pay over 3% a year and are as safe as can be. but if you do decide to get the ee bonds and go paper hurry because on jan 1 2012 theyre not selling them in financial institutes anymore. down side to either is have to hold them for a min of a year and if cashed out before 5 years you lose 3 months interest as a penalty. but considering the the rate of .36% interest monthly versus .01% or even .1 monthly in a normal savings account id say makes it worth it. or possibly a treasury note

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_eebonds_glance.htm http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_ibonds_glance.htm http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_tnotes_glance.htm

edit: sorry for going ot

Even if the POS doesn't have anything now. It doesn't hurt to get a judgement against him. Maybe they have some relatives that have been productive and he gets money from a will. How often do you see someone on public assistance playing the lottery? Just because they don't have moeny right now doesn't mean that they eventually will not come into money. I got hit by an uninsured and they wrecked for 2nd time while trying to drive away. abandoned the car and took off on foot. amazingly the car was reported "stolen" within the hour. LEO's didn't bother pressing any charges.

why not have that money in the bank or something earning %?
You know how I know you didn't read my post??? How about my line of "That's $3000 that is sitting there earning more INTEREST..." It's not a literal coffee-can.

Ahh my bad. i thought you were referring to putting more money in it monthly from not paying for insurance since you said to put money into it every month.

I've been thinking about your first sentence. I saved up, bought my SUV with cash. Could I afford to easily replace it if I were in an accident? No. That's where insurance comes in. I guess inwas just thinking the same way about our bicycles.


Nope, no insurance on the bikes. I don't buy bikes I can't afford to easily replace. ;-)

As other people have said - you might try small claims court. The problem is that even if you win, you may have no feasible means to get him to pay, anyhow. At least when I won a small claims case in NY around 20 years ago, unless I knew the other guy's bank account numbers or employer, there was no way to get his wages garnished or get him to pay out.

What's the excuse the driver is giving for not paying for the damages?

Which is all very well, but this guy DIDN'T have insurance, he could go to small claims, lose and still not pay up. That is the issue here.


I know, that's not really my point. The OP said the guy who caused the accident told her "no one should have that expensive of a bike.....etc" That's why I brought up my point about the girl who hit me saying I shouldn't have paid for the repair bill. lol


What happens if you file small claims and he doesn't show? Wouldn't the judgement be in your favor? What if he DID show and you still won?

Even if he didn't have the money now then wouldn't there be a mark on his record saying he owed a settlement?

If someone does not show up in small claims court, the magistrate/judge will usually rule in favor of the person who DOES show up. If a settlement is awarded, the court will notify the party of the settlement due. If no payment is received, the party due the settlement can file with the court for garnishment of wages - at this point the court will usually ADD all court cost & filing fees to the amount due.

My homeowners covers our bikes - I think the extra rider came to @$25/yr for $10,000 worth of bikes.

How the hell did this thread ,about insurance on a bicycles, get so off topic? :crash::crash:

If the driver is at fault, then yes, he IS required by law to cover the cost of getting the bike replaced.

Go to the police station and get a copy of the Accident Report. There should be one on file, since the police were in attendance. You'll need it as from what I've read, you'll have to go to court and will need the report as evidence.

If the driver is at fault, then yes, he IS required by law to cover the cost of getting the bike replaced.

Go to the police station and get a copy of the Accident Report. There should be one on file, since the police were in attendance. You'll need it as from what I've read, you'll have to go to court and will need the report as evidence.

This is all well and good. HOWEVER, it still leaves you to collect from the driver even if you get a court judgement against the driver.

If you have insurance on the bike then it's up to your insurance company to force the driver's insurance company to pay.

Which is better?

You against the driver or your insurance company against the driver?

I want to get some insurance in case I hurt someone when riding. I heard about cover on the home policy, rang them and they said words to the effect "oh yes that is covered for an extra few dollars". So I read the policy carefully and discovered it was not covered. Still no insurance. Still want insurance. Still not going to believe what I'm told by an insurance sales-rep.