denada

personal liability can and usually is included in renters insurance -- at least it was in my last and is in my new plan -- including damage caused off the insured's property but by the insured or the insured's property. automobiles of course being excluded so you cannot use your renters insurance as auto insurance (my plan also excludes hovercrafts, motorcycles, helicopters, airplanes, and a few other items but not bicycles or anything vague enough like "vehicles"). but the excluded is your automobile or hovercraft.

i'm going to have someone look at it to double check, but i'm 87.33 percent sure my plan covers damage to an automobile caused by my bike. doesn't mean i'd make a claim instead of pay it out of pocket, but i'd have the option if my bike caused significant enough damage.

concerning pedestrians -- which again, i'm an extremely careful rider and the plan is to never crash into a pedestrian -- my plan covers others' medical expenses caused not only by injury on the insured's property but by unintentional actions of the uninsured including off the insured's property. of course with a long list of exclusions but a bicycle is not on that list. again, i'm going to have someone double check my policy to make sure there isn't some gap i'm missing or term i'm misinterpreting.

if i am correct and my plan does function as i hope, i'd be happy to share the language of those sections for anyone who rides all the time but doesn't have auto or a separate bike insurance plan (which i got quotes for and were quite expensive for what they provide; they must be for people with bikes more expensive than mine). though how much help that offers people living outside of illinois my vary.

i live in an at-fault state (practically, they assign percentages of liability based on percent of fault, which seems crazy complicated). there would be a chance of the driver's insurance company suing me to regain what they paid, as i've heard plenty of instances of this happening in auto-to-auto accidents were one party was uninsured. i've actually even heard of insurance companies suing each other over disagreements of fault.

also, if i cause damage i want to be able to take financial responsibility. i mean if their insurance is gonna cover it, not sue me, and not raise their premiums i'm certainly fine with that too. otherwise, i'd like to be a responsible person.