Accident with a cyclist

[Moose.]

This morning, on my way into work, I had a speedy old lady on a bicycle run into the back of my car. It was at the bottom of a steepish hill where there's always queuing traffic, so I was stopped at the back of the queue. She had lost control on the wet roads and did a quite spectacular tank slapper before running into my rear bumper. No damage (to car or old lady) luckily!

However, this got me thinking. What if she had actually damaged my car? How would she pay for it, as I assume she wouldn't have any insurance?

As a cyclist myself I could be the one hitting someone's car accidentally, so would have to pay for the damage out of my own pocket I assume. Would household insurance cover this sort of thing or is there specialist cycling insurance one can take out?

[JoePublic]

I dunno. You (the cyclist) would technically be uninsured, so the driver might have to claim off their insurance? The only other thing would be to go to court (or agree informally) to pay for it. Obviously if it was clearly the cyclists fault they should pay for it, irrespective of where the money comes from, but if you did it formally (rather than cash-in-hand) I doubt it would be as simple as 'get my insurance company to phone your insurance company'.

[richardxjr]

Cyclist liable. Pretty sure covered under home contents insurance: if none then out of their purse.

[71notout]

How old?

Was she foxy?

[john_p]

richardxjr said:

Cyclist liable. Pretty sure covered under home contents insurance: if none then out of their purse.

The driver can make a civil claim against you, or pass it to their insurer who will do the same on their behalf.

Edited by john_p on Wednesday 23 September 12:28

[Marcellus]

When in the UK I was always told to join the CTC as then you have insurance.

Here in France it's included in your household insurance...

Edited by Marcellus on Wednesday 23 September 12:30

[Marcellus]

and i think it's equally good if you flattened something when on your bike (like a child)

Edited to try and make it a touch softer!

Edited by Marcellus on Wednesday 23 September 13:58

[hughjayteens]

A cyclist rode into the back of my mum's parked up (legally) Dolomite about 20 years ago and to add insult to the dented bumper and bootlid, she was sent a bill for the ambulance!

The insurance paid out without any quibble or impact on NCD etc but I still thought it was a p*ss take!

[Kenny-Mack]

interesting this - same thing happened to my dad, but there was damage to his car.


The cyclist legged it - if he was caught does it count as vandalism or maybe leaving the scene of an accident?

at any rate the guy was never tracked down - quite annoying when you see the dent he put in the back of my dads brand new car

[Master Mischief]

Same as if a dog is not controlled properly (i.e. off leash) and runs into the road.

The drivers' insurance pays to get it fixed then goes after the dog owner.

My colleague hit a rotweiler (spelling?) and trashed his bumper. The dog was hurt but survived. He felt guilty when, having already had a big vets bill, the owner was chased for the cost of repair because the dog was not controlled properly.

[Scraggles]

case for cyclist insurance ?

must have squashed 5-10 rats, or were they cats who knows....

[Moose.]

Marcellus said:

When in the UK I was always told to join the CTC as then you have insurance.

Hadn't heard of this before, I'll check it out. Sounds like a good idea though, as I've had a few near misses (with people, not cars) in the past. Would be nice to know you're covered should some ambulance chaser decide to sue you because they stepped out in front of you without looking. Equally, should I come to grief with a car, some kind of cover would be good

[Marcellus]

Moose. said:

Marcellus said:

When in the UK I was always told to join the CTC as then you have insurance.

Hadn't heard of this before, I'll check it out. Sounds like a good idea though, as I've had a few near misses (with people, not cars) in the past. Would be nice to know you're covered should some ambulance chaser decide to sue you because they stepped out in front of you without looking. Equally, should I come to grief with a car, some kind of cover would be good

IIRC costs about £50 and insures bike for theft too..

[Rolls]

biks for how much though?

[henrycrun]

CTC gives you 3rd party cover included, bike cover is extra.
Also worth having the free Solicitor Assistance when claiming against a driver.

[zebedee]

insurance is only a mechanism to cover your legal liabilities by indemnifying you the amount you owe in law. So if you aren't insured, and owe money in law, due to negligence, then you owe it and can be taken to court by the person whose property you have damaged. If it was just a dented bumper, then I'm sure they would simply pay up. Insurers just happen to sort things out between themselves, in theory to keep the costs down.