What type of insurance is best for a bike?
The best insurance throughout the country including Florida and Oregon is UM coverage. What is UM coverage your might ask? UM is an acronym for “Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist” coverage. Throughout the country a lot of motorists or drivers of cars have zero to limited liability coverage that might cover you if you get involved in a bike accident. As cyclists, this is extremely important information as most think a driver’s liability coverage is adequate to cover one for any damages associated with an accident. Think unpaid medical bills, no recovery for future medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, etc.
It is not adequate in the majority of cases. In fact, I represent multiple children currently who are finding this out the hard way. The people who negligently struck these kids had zero to minimal coverage leaving only UM coverage as a possibility. When I ask these families if they had any UM coverage, the general answer is “I don’t know and why would I need to know, this is a bike accident”.
Does car insurance cover you on a bike?
Your car insurance alone will not cover you on a bike; you must also purchase uninsured motorist (UM) insurance. Your own automobile insurance coverage from any automobile insurance carrier in the country will offer UM coverage. It will cover not only you and your family members who live with you in the event of a inadequately insured driver hitting your automobile, IT ALSO covers you and your family members who live with you if a family member is ON A BIKE. This is because the other driver fits the definition of a “uninsured or underinsured motorist”.
So your own personal car insurance does cover you for uninsured or underinsured losses if you are on a bike. Be sure to check with your agent if you have this coverage! You may signed a UM rejection form eliminating this type of important coverage. It generally is provided in an amount that is equal to your liability coverage, so you may need to increase your liability amounts. You can also “stack” coverage in a household by the number of cars in order to increase your total coverage (think 3 cars x UM). It’s not cheap, but it’s an incredible investment for your family and peace of mind!
Is there such a thing as bike insurance?
Typical “bike only” insurance that might cover the damage or theft of a bike DOES NOT offer this coverage nor cover you to this extent in a typical car vs bike accident. If that’s the only coverage you have, it is not adequate. You also need uninsured motorist insurance.
The legal team at Scarborough Bicycle Accident Law: Matthew C. Scarborough, ESQ (left); Stacy Simmons (Center); Amy Lee McConnell, ESQ.
Scarborough Bicycle Accident Law is passionate about our coast-to-coast representation of cyclists. If you have question about any issue from Florida to Oregon please give us a call or shoot us a text through our website at bicycleaccidentlaw.com
