mrdelurk

If I rent a car, my normal car insurance covers my rental car use too. So, operating an other vehicle is OK. One would think the same stands if the other vehicle were a bicycle. But when I asked my insurance company if my car insurance covers my bike riding too, as of now, a month later, they still haven't responded. (Highly unusual from them.)

I'll keep pestering the company for an answer of any sort, but I figured I'll check here with other fellow riders in the meantime. What's your experience on this?

I haven't had an accident in decades (car or bike). The only reason I inquired is that I'm trying to gain access to a private road. Being able to say "I'm insured" to the owner might make a difference, If it doesn't cost money, why not add it... :-)

thumpism 

No would be my guess. Maybe you can provide proof of health insurance, like Obamacare?

wolfchild

My vehicle insurance doesn't cover my bikes.

Mojo31

What coverage do you want? Coverage for injuries if something happens to you, or coverage if you hurt someone else?

Homeowners or renters liability coverage should provide you with coverage if you hurt someone or something.

Iride01 

You insurance agent might know more about what coverage you have than we do. What kind of coverage and what insurance company you are insured by probably makes a difference.

spelger

might?

CAT7RDR

Like a good neighbor, Bike Forums is there.

ccrrar

I crashed last summer, my first in 20+ years, totaled my bike and it was considered personal property under my homeowners policy. I got full replacement value less my deductible. My medical insurance covered my bodily injury which included a broken sacrum.

Rob

101stairborne

I would be considering changing insurance companies if they aren’t answering your questions. If the agent doesn’t know the answer an email or phone call from him or her to the claim’s department would get the answer.

For most insurance companies if you injury someone or damage their property with your bicycle your homeowners or renters insurance liability would provide you with coverage up to policy limits.

greatbasin

In my state, bicycles are explicitly not vehicles, where "vehicle" has a specific legal definition. If they were "vehicles" then they would be subject to things like registration because it is unlawful to use an unregistered vehicle on the public roads. One would also need a license and liability insurance. Thankfully, bicycles are not vehicles.

If you have a homeowners or renter's insurance policy, the bicycle could be covered as property under that policy and the same policy's blanket liability coverage could cover injury or damage that is caused to others. Medical insurance should cover (under the terms of the policy) the cost of injuries to yourself.

If your homeowner policy's deductible is less than a few thousand dollars, you're probably paying too much in premiums. So unless your bicycle is worth more than a few thousand dollars, it's effectively not covered. If it is worth many thousands of dollars, watch out for maximum coverage of single items. If you have single items that have high value, such as very expensive jewelry, art, firearms, optics, furs, musical instruments, or rare coins, your homeowners insurance is not likely to cover the full value of those items. For those items, insurers offer "valuable personal property insurance" policies. These policies often have no deductible and can cover the full value of an expensive item, but of course the premiums are in addition to the homeowners policy and they're commensurate with the value of the item.

Not many bicycles have replacement costs higher than $5000. Yes, bicycles often cost $10,000 or $12,000 brand new, but after they have been ridden some, they can be replaced with a similar bicycle for some fraction of the purchase price. Bicycles very rarely maintain five-figure values over time unless they are collector's items. In that case, they might be worth insuring, but person is not likely to have just one of those and would want to talk to their insurer about covering their collection. For the person who has a single bicycle that's worth something, but not as much as a new car, the premiums are likely to be too high for insuring it with a policy of its own, which leaves it to be covered by the homeowner's policy, which is likely to have a deductible that will take a good chunk out of the effective coverage. If the homeowner's deductible is low enough for it to cover the bike, say $500, then the premiums will be high, and making a claim on the bike will drive them even higher.

Where the homeowner's policy is very valuable is in providing blanket liability coverage and coverage in case of catastrophic loss. It's often very cheap to get a million dollars coverage in case you manage to do some damage with your bicycle or some other way. The alternative is to leave yourself open to asset forfeiture. It's also meaningful and cost-effective to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars or more of house and contents with a high deductible (say 1%). You won't have to pay premiums to cover petty claims, but the coverage will be there for the big-one.

As for injury to yourself, your coverage is cursed by a broken healthcare industry that was built by bilking insurance companies. My local emergency department costs $3096.12 just to say "hi." To start an IV and do an X-ray, it immediately doubles. If your employer is still paying over $20,000 a year in premiums, you probably have a good plan, but you're losing out in terms of take-home pay (or more likely your employer is just not cutting that cost yet, but soon will). A lot of employers have stopped paying those kinds of premiums and have been offering "high-deductible" plans instead. Not only do the policy-holders pay hundreds of dollars a month, but they also pick up the tab for the first several thousand dollars or more of medical expenses per individual. After that, the plan might only cover 50% until an annual maximum out-of-pocket is reached which might be many thousands of dollars for an individual. Be sure to max-out your HSA plan so you can at least pay the bills with pre-tax dollars. This kind of coverage is effective for major medical expenses (when the bills total in the hundreds of thousands or millions, which is very easy to do with anything serious), but for falling off your bike, expect to pay for most of it.

KerryIrons

This is typical. Homeowners/renters covers damages, health insurance covers the injuries. If the crash is with a car and it is the motorist's fault then things get more complicated depending on the state.

BillRS22

I wondered a few years ago about my liability if I caused an automobile accident while riding my bike. It could
happen, or a driver could claim you caused an accident even if you didn’t. I decided to purchase a supplemental
umbrella policy to cover any such situation. More for liability reasons than property loss. Bill

gooseneck34

I would presume that it does not cover your bike riding, i take part in a few outdoor sorts and i have cover for some of the ones i feel i need it for. I would recommend sports fs, im sure they would be happy to answer any of your questions. hope this helps

pdlamb

That's the biggest problem with buying insurance on line or over the phone: no insurance agent to talk to.

I had a similar question (rental cars for personal use) a while back. The person at the other end of the phone was useless. It took careful reading of about 19 of 28 pages of fine print legalese before I could find the answer.

'02 nrs 

not personal injury coverage as thats what your personal health insurance is for. roadside assistance is applicable if your bike breaks down or you require transporting your bike home..https://member.acg.aaa.com/mi/member...e-service.html "Bicycle transportation service is counted towards your allotted roadside assistance service calls per member, per membership year. AAA will transport you and your bike to any point of safety within the limits of your coverage." also you do NOT need to have a vehicle insurance policy with AAA to be a member of roadside assistance.

GhostRider62

Before I try to find an actual person at the insurance company to speak to, does it seem possible my situation might make sense to try to file a claim

I hit storm road debris a week after a historic storm resulting in a double flat an my inability to keep the right side up. I got hurt and my medical bills were largely covered. I never thought the damage to the bike could be covered by my homeowners. I have $1000 deductible. The bike is an irreplaceable Pinarello Dogma (Ak 61 magnesium) that was rendered unusable. I am looking at new Dogma that are $16K and the frames bare are around $7k. I have been looking online for a replacement in my size (59.5 cm or maybe a 62cm) for 9 months since my accident, and they just do not exist.

If insurance covered the loss, is such a relatively old frame worthless from their perspective and therefore, I should just accept the loss? Or would they use what a new frame would cost? Or the whole bike?

bargainguy

The problem with making a claim for your bike is that:

1. Your insurer might hike your premiums to ridiculous levels, assuming they keep you;

2. If they pay the claim and then drop you, your ability to get insurance is severely curtailed and much more expensive;

3. You might not be getting adequate compensation for your ride, as you noted.

So if you ever get ahold of your agent, might want to ask what happens if you make a fairly large claim. Hopefully your agent would know the general policy of the insurer enough to be able to predict what would happen.

njkayaker

Car insurance is just for cars and driving them (not bicycles). Not all policies cover damage to rental cars.

indyfabz

Yes. when it comes to riding them, which is what the OP is asking about. A bike stolen from a car or damaged while being transported via car might be covered if the insured has the proper coverages. (I.e., collision and comprehensive). But as for riding, you are no more covered than when you are out for a walk or run.

pdlamb

A friend of mine ran into the back of a car one morning, flipped over the bars, and dented the trunk. His insurance covered the damage. So a better categorical answer would be, "Maybe, depending on the policy."

m.c. 

https://www.bikelaw.com/2016/06/does...cle-accidents/

This is from 2016.

njkayaker

Interesting. You car insurance includes liability (damage you cause other people's cars or property).

Of course, the answer is always "check the policy". The OP hasn't succeeded in doing that.

We also have no idea what sort of coverage the OP is asking about, which makes it a poor question anyway.

In the light of all that, the better answer for not usual things "is not covered but you should check the actual policy".

_ForceD_

Apparently, to get auto insurance there is some documentation required. One of which is a valid driver license. Which, of course, you have to pass a test to get. I guess that’s how the insurance company knows you’re a qualified driver, that you’ve demonstrated you know the rules. And they sorta know if you’ve upheld those standards by your police driving record. For the bike? Not so much. No qualification required. So I wouldn’t think insurance companies would want to insure someone that they have no indication as to what kind of bicycle operator you are.

Dan