I am an avid cyclist and a personal injury attorney in Utah. A large part of my practice specializes in car v. cyclist accidents.
Most cyclists do not realize that they need very good car insurance. That if they get hit by a car their own car insurance could come in and provide coverage (lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering) for them.
So all you cyclists out there, call your car insurance agents today and tell them that you want at least $250,000 in Liability, Underinsured (UIM) an Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage! You’ll be surprised that it will probably only cost you an extra $10 a month to get this large amount of insurance.
There was a recent podcast with Phil Gaimon that was…well…very eye opening. Essentially, since 85% of motorists opt for the minimum coverage, if one of them hits you, you get the minimum help. It’s a surprisingly interesting discussion.
I was injured in a moderately serious crash last year, driver unquestionably at fault, and my lawyer told me the same thing. I had no idea my own auto policy could have kicked in. I was fortunate that the driver had 100k limit and we settled it for 70k. A different impact angle, different injuries and it could have been woefully inadequate. I’ve also made that uninsured injury update to my own auto policy going forward now.
I also learned in NY that with no evidence of fractures, you don’t have a claim beyond no fault medical, which they try to kick you off 3 weeks into PT. Arm sliced open and stitches ? Unless it leads to “scorn and ridicule,” (no joke, that is the legal standard) driver has no accountability beyond medical bill. Was absolutely critical to get CT and MRIs to demonstrate rib and compression fractures that ER x-rays missed or didn’t even look for and fortunately my primary care doctor pushed me to be sure of what we were dealing with.
And of course they will try to rip you off on the bike… 20% deduction for everything damaged because it was “used.” I’d like to see how that would work if I hit someone’s car and said “well, your paint is a couple years old now, so you are responsible for 20% of the body shop bill.”
Most policy’s exclude liability coverage for 2 wheel units
It’s in the definition of covered auto.
Buy purchasing larger liability coverage it allows you to purchase more coverage under the “ under insured bodily injury” coverage. Where the definition is an auto accident will cover you if struck by another party
If you are part of a club or organisation membership fees may cover public liability insurance. I know that in Australia as a member of Triathlon Australia we have insurance that covers for example our bike while travelling to and from an event, during an event and while training, and public liability cover that will cover medical expenses in the event of an accident.