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Cyclists face the unfortunate risk of being injured by a negligent driver while biking around the city. After you get into a bike accident, you’ll likely wonder whether insurance will cover you, and if so, whose insurance, and what kind?
The type of insurance policy that may provide coverage for injuries depends on what if any, insurance the at fault driver has. Generally, if you are struck by a motor vehicle, the driver’s auto insurance will cover you with at least a state minimum $25,000 policy. This is often enough to cover injured cyclists with minor injuries, but for more serious injuries, the state minimum won’t cover your medical bills, much less pain and suffering.
This is why many of our clients are glad that they have their own auto insurance policies: Your vehicle insurance will step in and help cover you in a bike accident with a driver who has a small insurance policy, or even no insurance at all. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) policies cover accidents involving the “use” of a motor vehicle, which applies to bike accidents as long as a motor vehicle caused the accident. Additionally, UM/UIM coverage is “portable” and attaches to the policyholder whether they are on a bicycle, a pedestrian, or in someone else’s car.
Here are the types of insurance policies and who and what they cover:
- Liability Insurance: this is the insurance policy owned by the defendant that hit you, and it compensates a person other than the policyholder for personal injury, pain and suffering, loss of a normal life and property damage.
- Medical Payment (Med Pay): covers the medical payments of all passengers in the policyholder’s vehicle if they are injured in an accident. It covers the medical costs resulting from an auto accident, regardless of who was at fault.
- Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM): protects the policyholder if they are in an accident with an at-fault driver who doesn’t carry liability insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the policyholder is in an accident with an at-fault driver whose liability limits are too low to cover the damage or medical expenses
If you have questions about insurance relating to your bike accident, give us a call today.