Author Topic: Insurance for bike commuting when you don't own carry auto insurance  (Read 1598 times)

mboulder

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I'm a full-time bike commuter, so much so that I no longer own a car and no longer carry any sort of auto insurance.

Recently a friend was bike commuting and he was hit by a car and severely injured (luckily he's recovering nicely!). The driver had insurance, but was under insured, and broke as well - basically judgment proof, and the money from his insurance was nowhere near enough to cover the medical costs of my friend. My friend's auto policy includes uninsured motorist coverage, and that kicked in, and paid the difference.

So after chatting with him I got to thinking - is there some sort of insurance coverage for bicycle commuters that I should get, analogous to uninsured motorist coverage? What about liability (e.g., I have a bike accident with another bike and the other party claims that I am at fault and need to cover their bills)? Or does homeowners cover this, possibly with an umbrella policy to be safe?

I ask because I'm trying to research the cost of such coverage, but I'm not sure what to ask for. I only go in the office a couple days per week, my office has secure storage lockers and I rarely ever ride my bike except to work and back home, so I'm not interested in coverage for a stolen bike or anything like that, and anyways I assume my homeowners (actually condo insurance) covers that. I'm mostly interested in covering my medical costs if the driver has no money, plus liability if I somehow cause an accident on my bike. Thanks!

SnackDog

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Re: Insurance for bike commuting when you don't own carry auto insurance
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2018, 10:57:25 AM »
Veloinsurance.com

katscratch

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Re: Insurance for bike commuting when you don't own carry auto insurance
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2018, 02:53:17 PM »
Here's a good rundown on veloinsurance https://electricbikereport.com/velosurance-insurance-electric-bike/. They do offer policies with liability/medical.

My auto policy offers a non-owner policy. Not all companies do and I believe it may also depend on your state.

patchyfacialhair

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Re: Insurance for bike commuting when you don't own carry auto insurance
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2018, 03:03:19 PM »
Auto non owners policy or bike insurance are going to be your two main options. Many companies offer non owners policies for auto but I've seem a huge price range depending on your location. I've seen them as low as $10/month up to $150/month for the worst drivers with a ton of accidents and tickets.

Home insurance or renters insurance probably provides liability coverage if you were at fault in something, but read your contract to make sure. Property policies definitely won't provide for your own medical expenses though.

MrThatsDifferent

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Re: Insurance for bike commuting when you don't own carry auto insurance
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2018, 03:04:51 PM »
I joined a biking group that has bike insurance as part of the membership. It’s actually a nice peace of mind to have.

gooki

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Re: Insurance for bike commuting when you don't own carry auto insurance
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2018, 04:32:06 AM »
Sorry to jump in like this, but... questions like this is why the rest of the world thinks the USA is a batshit crazy place to live.

Good luck finding the best insurance for your needs. I would have thought personal liability and medical insurance would have you covered. But you might need to look into disability insurance, and income protection insurance to cover the possibility of a long recovery period post incident.