zrossiter

So yesterday I was hit by a car while riding. I was going west bound, they were coming from the other direction, they made a left turn without seeing me and I ran right into the passenger side of the car. I filed a report and got checked out at the ER (luckily no serious body injuries). The officer told me, however, that the driver of the car does not have a driver's license (and therefore insurance), she was young 20's. The owner of the car is her 68 year old grandmother.

I filed an insurance claim, but apparently my auto insurance company (nationwide) does not cover bike damage as it is not a motor vehicle. They are investigating to see if the 68 year old owner has insurance. My question is, if the owner has no insurance either, am I basically SOL in terms of getting repairs/replacement on the bike (as well as my ER visit)? I know this is sometimes covered by renters insurance, though I do not have any (will be getting it after this ordeal).

I know a lot of this is state-by-state. I just want to know what I should reasonably expect to happen

Bathwater

It would appear Nationwide is not on your side.

redlude97

You will have to take the driver to small claims court to recoup any money

Drew Eckhardt 

Uninsured / under-insured motorist coverage will take care of you and your bike. Basically it stands in for the responsible driver's non-existent insurance.

As the name implies it only applies if the other driver doesn't have enough insurance to pay for your damages.

In some states it's optional so you may not have it.

baj32161

I believe (I am no attorney) that your other option would be to sue the driver and, perhaps but i am not sure, the owner of the vehicle personally. How much you would be able to get out of them is another matter. But you should be able to seek some recompense. I could be wrong though.

Cheers,

Brian J.

redlude97

This in general will not cover your bike unless you specifically have insurance for it.

zrossiter

lol

Right, I don't have any bike-specific policy. I am really hoping the owner has insurance, if not I am thinking going to court would prove to be even more of a headache in time and money

redlude97

BTW your personal injury protection should cover the medical costs, just not an bike damage

zrossiter

Is this part of my auto insurance? I have health insurance myself, but it's a high deductible plan so I'd basically be paying out of pocket for that if I can't get anything elsewhere

casio04330

Sue the car owner...

zrossiter

im thinking I wouldn't see money for a very long time from someone with no license or insurance...probably just garnished wages.

I'll have to look into this more if/when things are found out about the owner

RPK79

You don't know that. They might have a softhearted parent that will pay off their mistakes for them (so they don't learn from them). Suing probably won't take too much of your time/money. You can likely file for $50 (which they'll pay after you win) and will have to take a day or two off of work (maybe only a few hours). If it takes them years to repay at least you get repaid.

Drew Eckhardt 

Generally uninsured motorist insurance will cover your bike, or more precisely any positive difference between its depreciated value and your deductible.

It's just like liability insurance for you, except it applies to damage done by other people who were too stupid or negligent to buy their own insurance.

Your liability policy gives a per-incident property damage maximum ($100K or whatever) without specifying what property - totaling someone's car, running over their roses, or parking in their living room.

Other coverages like comprehensive aren't going to help.

zrossiter

That's definitely true, worth exploring or at least threatening a lawsuit.

This is in cleveland, however, and she didnt seem like the type of girl with softhearted parents or an extra few thousand laying around

Campoli

On the positive side, at least you did not sustain any serious injuries!

Nachoman

First thing you have to determine is if you do indeed have uninsured motorist coverage. If you do, read the words of the policy to see if what they are saying is true. I doubt it. In California, most every uninsured motorist policy that I've read will cover the victim even if they were on a bike, a pedestrian, on a scooter, roller skates, it doesn't matter. If you do not have UM coverage then you need to look to the driver and the registered owner. Here in California, a registered owner, even though not at all at fault for an accident, would still bear some statutory responsibility for the negligent acts of a permissive driver.

puckett129

Sue the car's owner. If she knowingly lent the car to her granddaughter who does not have a license she's holding the bag.

darb85

check with your homeowners insurance.

zrossiter

checked with nationwide, I have uninsured motorist for personal injuries only...so my hospital bill would most likely be covered no matter what (by mine if not theirs), bike not so much.

If there is no insurance I am thinking small claims court, or hopefully scaring them into at least some money to get things fixed

bikerjp

Maybe the judge will decree she has to be your butler. Definitely take her to court. People need to be held responsible for being an idiot. No license, no insurance, no business driving.

RPK79

Might want to consider a free consult with a lawyer, just to check options.

indyfabz

+1. Talk to them both and let them know you are going to go after both of them if someone doesn't pony up. Assuming grandma has insurance, her carrier my be none to happy to learn that she's letting unlicensed drivers use it. She might face a rate increase. That's a motivator to compensate you without getting the insurance company invloved. If they refuse, make sure you sue them both in the same action.

indyfabz

See my post #22 , which crosseed with yours.

bt

sue the car.

RPK79

Sue the company that made the car. That's where the money is!