Today I'm going to discuss the insurance you should have in place to cover you in case of an accident while out on the road. I'm specifically referring to cycling here, but certainly this applies to all sorts of other applications, including running, or even as a pedestrian carrying virtually any personal possession.
BICYCLE INSURANCE:
The standing myth is that there is no such thing as bicycle insurance in the United States, that if your pricey bicycle were totaled in an accident by you or someone else that you would have to pay for the replacement entirely out of pocket, or that you would need to be a homeowner or car owner to have a bicycle or other non-motorized sports equipment covered. The fact is insurance for your bicycle and other equipment is actually very cheap, and anyone can get it.
I, for example, have a Renter's Policy with State Farm which covers all my property, including my bicycles, anywhere in the world. The policy costs me less than $25 a month. But any Personal Property coverage will cover your bicycles.
As discussed in an early post on this blog, when I was hit by a car in October 2010, I didn't wait to see how much the insurance of the driver who hit me was going to pay for the damage to my bicycle; I called my insurer--State Farm--told them it was totaled, the make, model, and year, included the wheelset, and the make, model, and MSRP of the new bike which would be a 'like or better' replacement. No inspection, no needing to find a receipt or even say how much I paid for the bike. I received the cost of the bike less depreciation and deductible (the amount of money I pay out of pocket for each claim, which in this case was $500). State Farm sent me a check for about $1,500 and when they collected the full amount of the loss from the insurance company of the driver who hit me, they sent me another check to refund my $500 deductible.
The only mistake I made was forgetting I should have also included my helmet in the claim.
HIT AND RUN INSURANCE:
I used to practice looking at license plates and trying to remember the numbers in case of a hit and run, until I realized you can't even read a license plate unless it's right in front of you much less memorize it when you've just been hit by a car. And even if you could, what if the driver successfully denied hitting you, or they didn't have insurance, or it wasn't a car but another cyclist or pedestrian. This is where the Uninsured Motorist coverage of your auto insurance kicks in.
By the book, Uninsured Motorist covers you in case you are in a car accident with another driver and they have no insurance or inadequate insurance to compensate you for your injuries--or in the case of a hit and run. What almost no one realizes is, this also covers you while cycling and as noted above in all other circumstances as well. You could be walking across the street when you were hit and this insurance would cover you.
So, again to use me as an example, let's say the driver who hit me on that Autumn afternoon fled the scene and we never found her or she had the absolute minimum statutory coverage for Liability--which is $25,000 in New York State-- or no insurance at all, but I had $100,000 or $300,000 in liability coverage on my own car insurance with an Uninsured Motorist limit equal to that. I could receive, from my own auto insurance, the difference between what the driver's insurance paid and the full amount I should receive up to the limit of my auto insurance policy. And I wouldn't even have to go after the driver in court to collect this difference because at that point the loss belongs to my auto insurance carrier--so they would go after the driver and even send me any additional funds they collect.
Also note that collecting from your insurance under Uninsured Motorist would impose no penalty on you whatsoever. Your rate wouldn't go up one penny and this would not effect points on your license.
Unfortunately for me, at the time I did not own a car--though I do now.
LONG TERM DISABILITY / ACCIDENTAL DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT
You know those Aflac commercials, where the guys are sitting in a park with their kids and both have broken legs. They are Disabled from work. No work means no pay, and unless you're very wealthy you need to be paid just to pay your bills and live as normal a life as possible until you are able to work again--if ever. And you don't have to be disabled from a very physical job either. My job at the time was sitting at a desk, talking on the phone, using a computer, file management, and some travel. About the worst injury I could have at work would be a paper cut, so I had no idea what my employer could do for me other than maybe give me a couple of weeks of unpaid leave. I couldn't even sit upright in a chair.
Honestly, before I was hit and became disabled, I thought this coverage only applied if I lost a limb or were killed. I always bought these coverages in case of that kind of injury so my wife would receive all the money she possibly could. I always bought the maximum. It was some time after my injury before I realized I was qualified for even Short Term Disability. These coverages are typically offered to you as a benefit at work, and they cost very little, but they pay when you need it.
Again, I can only use myself as an example. I had this coverage but didn't really understand what it was. Moreover, I had only been at my job a week when I was injured, so I didn't think I could actually collect. And I didn't realize that my injuries qualified me as 'disabled' because I thought that only applied to permanent disability. Even when I discovered that I was certified disabled, I had no idea that I would qualify for more than a couple of weeks, much less months, and then years.
I certainly never imagined that I would be so badly injured that I couldn't work for more than a couple of weeks, barring terminal illness which was unlikely for a cycling god like me (right Lance?).
So without going into the details, I recommend you buy all the disability and life insurance that is available to you, and when you are injured immediately file a claim.
NOTE: This is not legal advice and does not represent a professional recommendation. Each case may be different and you should contact your lawyer or insurance representative about any questions you may have about your coverage and circumstances. This post also may be edited or deleted in the future at the author's discretion. But I do sincerely wish that everyone gets adequate coverage in case disaster strikes as it did me.
BICYCLE INSURANCE:
The standing myth is that there is no such thing as bicycle insurance in the United States, that if your pricey bicycle were totaled in an accident by you or someone else that you would have to pay for the replacement entirely out of pocket, or that you would need to be a homeowner or car owner to have a bicycle or other non-motorized sports equipment covered. The fact is insurance for your bicycle and other equipment is actually very cheap, and anyone can get it.
I, for example, have a Renter's Policy with State Farm which covers all my property, including my bicycles, anywhere in the world. The policy costs me less than $25 a month. But any Personal Property coverage will cover your bicycles.
As discussed in an early post on this blog, when I was hit by a car in October 2010, I didn't wait to see how much the insurance of the driver who hit me was going to pay for the damage to my bicycle; I called my insurer--State Farm--told them it was totaled, the make, model, and year, included the wheelset, and the make, model, and MSRP of the new bike which would be a 'like or better' replacement. No inspection, no needing to find a receipt or even say how much I paid for the bike. I received the cost of the bike less depreciation and deductible (the amount of money I pay out of pocket for each claim, which in this case was $500). State Farm sent me a check for about $1,500 and when they collected the full amount of the loss from the insurance company of the driver who hit me, they sent me another check to refund my $500 deductible.
The only mistake I made was forgetting I should have also included my helmet in the claim.
HIT AND RUN INSURANCE:
I used to practice looking at license plates and trying to remember the numbers in case of a hit and run, until I realized you can't even read a license plate unless it's right in front of you much less memorize it when you've just been hit by a car. And even if you could, what if the driver successfully denied hitting you, or they didn't have insurance, or it wasn't a car but another cyclist or pedestrian. This is where the Uninsured Motorist coverage of your auto insurance kicks in.
By the book, Uninsured Motorist covers you in case you are in a car accident with another driver and they have no insurance or inadequate insurance to compensate you for your injuries--or in the case of a hit and run. What almost no one realizes is, this also covers you while cycling and as noted above in all other circumstances as well. You could be walking across the street when you were hit and this insurance would cover you.
So, again to use me as an example, let's say the driver who hit me on that Autumn afternoon fled the scene and we never found her or she had the absolute minimum statutory coverage for Liability--which is $25,000 in New York State-- or no insurance at all, but I had $100,000 or $300,000 in liability coverage on my own car insurance with an Uninsured Motorist limit equal to that. I could receive, from my own auto insurance, the difference between what the driver's insurance paid and the full amount I should receive up to the limit of my auto insurance policy. And I wouldn't even have to go after the driver in court to collect this difference because at that point the loss belongs to my auto insurance carrier--so they would go after the driver and even send me any additional funds they collect.
Also note that collecting from your insurance under Uninsured Motorist would impose no penalty on you whatsoever. Your rate wouldn't go up one penny and this would not effect points on your license.
Unfortunately for me, at the time I did not own a car--though I do now.
LONG TERM DISABILITY / ACCIDENTAL DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT
You know those Aflac commercials, where the guys are sitting in a park with their kids and both have broken legs. They are Disabled from work. No work means no pay, and unless you're very wealthy you need to be paid just to pay your bills and live as normal a life as possible until you are able to work again--if ever. And you don't have to be disabled from a very physical job either. My job at the time was sitting at a desk, talking on the phone, using a computer, file management, and some travel. About the worst injury I could have at work would be a paper cut, so I had no idea what my employer could do for me other than maybe give me a couple of weeks of unpaid leave. I couldn't even sit upright in a chair.
Honestly, before I was hit and became disabled, I thought this coverage only applied if I lost a limb or were killed. I always bought these coverages in case of that kind of injury so my wife would receive all the money she possibly could. I always bought the maximum. It was some time after my injury before I realized I was qualified for even Short Term Disability. These coverages are typically offered to you as a benefit at work, and they cost very little, but they pay when you need it.
Again, I can only use myself as an example. I had this coverage but didn't really understand what it was. Moreover, I had only been at my job a week when I was injured, so I didn't think I could actually collect. And I didn't realize that my injuries qualified me as 'disabled' because I thought that only applied to permanent disability. Even when I discovered that I was certified disabled, I had no idea that I would qualify for more than a couple of weeks, much less months, and then years.
I certainly never imagined that I would be so badly injured that I couldn't work for more than a couple of weeks, barring terminal illness which was unlikely for a cycling god like me (right Lance?).
So without going into the details, I recommend you buy all the disability and life insurance that is available to you, and when you are injured immediately file a claim.
NOTE: This is not legal advice and does not represent a professional recommendation. Each case may be different and you should contact your lawyer or insurance representative about any questions you may have about your coverage and circumstances. This post also may be edited or deleted in the future at the author's discretion. But I do sincerely wish that everyone gets adequate coverage in case disaster strikes as it did me.
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