Many people think that auto insurance only protects you if you are in a car accident. What most people don’t understand is that your automobile insurance policy also protects you in the event you are a pedestrian or riding a bicycle and are hit by someone else’s car.
We recently had a case where driver cut a corner and hit our client who was riding a bicycle causing serious injuries. Unfortunately, the driver only had the nominal insurance coverage required by the state. Our client was an avid bike rider and didn’t think much about his car insurance because he preferred to bike rather than drive. What we explained to him is that bike riders need car insurance as much as avid drivers, and they may actually need uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage even more that those who drive regularly.
If you are riding a bicycle and you are injured by the negligent actions of a car driver who has insufficient insurance to compensate you for your property damage and cover sufficient medical care for your injuries, your own car insurance has under insured motorist coverage to make up the difference so you can heal and be made whole. Unfortunately, many who solely bike, or drive very little, do not carry uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage with high enough limits to cover their own injuries in cases like this one. If the driver who causes your injuries has a policy with limits too low to cover your medical care, and you do not have your own car insurance policy you may find yourself with substantial medical bills and possibly lost wages for which there will be no compensation from the person who actually caused your harm.
So, the answer is yes! Cyclists need to make sure that they have very good auto insurance to protect them from negligent drivers while they are riding their bikes. The same is true for runners, walkers, skaters, and skateboarders who are injured by negligent drivers of automobiles. It might be helpful to think of automobile insurance as insurance that covers you and your property for the damage caused by a negligently driven automobile—whether you are in an automobile yourself or not.
If you have any questions about insurance coverage or if you have been injured by the negligent actions of another, call me or any of my team members at Fillmore Spencer. We’d be happy to help.
Randall K. Spencer has recovered many tens of millions of dollars for his clients related to wrongful deaths, auto accidents, plane crashes, train crashes, semi-truck crashes, motorcycle accidents, slips and falls, and many other incidents caused by negligent acts of others. In his civil litigation practice, Randall has represented business both as plaintiffs and defendants in everything from simple contract or real estate cases to multi-million-dollar business litigation matters. Randall has represented multiple families who have lost loved ones due to medical neglect and other negligent conduct of doctors, hospitals, and psychologists. In Randall’s criminal defense practice, Randall is experienced in trials from Murder cases to speeding tickets and most everything in between. He has handled many white-collar crime matters in both the criminal courts and administrative proceedings.
