Should I Buy Bicycle Insurance?f
Nobody expects to be involved in a bicycle accident. Despite this, the Colorado Division of Motor Cars receives hundreds of reports of car-bicycle accidents each year. You may protect yourself financially as a bicycle rider in Colorado by getting insurance. Having your insurance may protect you in various situations, including if your bike is stolen.
However, whether or not purchasing bicycle insurance is worthwhile will be determined by your circumstances.
WHEN IS BICYCLE INSURANCE NECESSARY?
Bicycle insurance can provide you with peace of mind by providing financial compensation for damage caused by a bicycle accident, damage caused by moving your bike, cycling theft, or injure caused to others in a bicycle accident. When the at-fault driver’s insurance isn’t accessible, your bicycle insurance may pay to repair or replace your bike if you’re engaged in a hit-and-run or collide with an uninsured motorist.
Unlike most car insurance plans, Bicycle insurance typically only covers the expenses of repairing or replacing your damaged bicycle after an accident. Other damages, such as medical costs or lost wages, are not covered. As a result, maintaining bicycle insurance may only be worthwhile if your bike is worth more than $2,000 in value. Otherwise, you may find yourself paying more for insurance than the value of your bicycle.
IS YOUR BICYCLE ALREADY COVERED BY YOUR HOMEOWNERS OR RENTERS INSURANCE?
If you don’t already have insurance covering your bikes, such as a standard homeowners or renters policy, you may want to purchase bicycle insurance. Most bikers are covered adequately by these plans, which treat bicycles similarly to other forms of property included in the policy. An independent bicycle insurance policy may be the best option if you don’t have this insurance and want to cover your bicycle.
Purchasing a separate insurance policy specifically for your bicycle can provide you with more coverage than a homeowners or renters insurance policy. The standard homes insurance policy, for example, will only pay up to a certain coverage level. Even if you caused the accident, you would be covered for the entire cost of replacing your bicycle at current market value if you have bike insurance. Different bicycle insurance providers have distinct coverage plans with different characteristics.
WHAT DOES BICYCLE INSURANCE COST?
The typical annual bicycle insurance coverage costs between $100 and $300. The cost of the insurance will be determined by the bicycle’s worth and other considerations like where you reside, how you intend to use your bicycle, and how much coverage you want. The price might also vary from one business to the next, which is why you should always shop around and get many bicycle insurance quotes before making a selection.
AFTER A BICYCLE ACCIDENT IN COLORADO SPRINGS, WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
Overall, the decision to get bicycle insurance is yours. In Colorado, bicycle insurance is not required by law. On the other hand, Bicycle insurance might be a wise purchase if your homes or rental insurance policy does not provide enough – or any – coverage to replace the entire worth of your bicycle. If you are involved in a bicycle accident, you may claim with your bicycle insurance company and seek the funds necessary to repair or replace your bicycle.
Regardless of whether you have bicycle insurance, speak with a Colorado Springs bicycle accident lawyer about your legal options after an accident. In addition to your insurance, you may be eligible for coverage from the insurance company of the motorist who caused the accident, if applicable. A bicycle accident lawyer in Colorado Springs can assist you in filing a personal injury lawsuit or negotiating with an insurance company for full and fair financial compensation. For more information, contact an attorney at The Fang Law Firm immediately.
THEFT OF BICYCLES
Bicycle theft is a legitimate issue for all riders. Each year, nearly 1.5 million bicycles are stolen in the United States, according to the National Bike Registry. Many bikers mistakenly believe that their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance will cover their bicycle if stolen. On the other hand, few riders have read their policies and are ignorant of any theft coverage limits or limitations.
Cyclists are sometimes astonished to hear that if their bike is stolen outside of their house, their homeowner’s insurance may not cover it or that it may not be available if the rider fails to secure the bike. In addition to these limitations, the homeowner’s policy may include further limits that limit riders’ ability to recover the entire value of their bicycle.
Bicycles, for example, are classified as “sporting equipment” under certain homeowners’ insurance, with maximum coverage limits of $500 or $1,000. To get the full value of the bike, some plans demand the biker to acquire a “rider,” which is an extension of your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. These riders are often needed for higher-value personal goods, such as valuable jewelry or a $10,000 bicycle. Each item of property must be listed and contain an appraisal or evidence of value.
Even if your homeowner’s insurance covers the entire value of your bicycle, it’s worth thinking about whether you want to file a claim on your policy. Deductibles for homeowner’s policies often vary from $1,000 to $1,500. And many times, filing a claim on that insurance may result in a rise in your premium (or possibly termination of the policy, if you’ve made prior claims). If your bicycle is worth less than $3,000-$4,000, the cost of a large deductible and higher premiums may not be worth it.
On the other hand, Bicycle insurance plans cover the entire value of the bicycle in the case of theft – or attempted theft – regardless of location. Another advantage is that the deductible for such insurance is $100-$500, substantially less than the deductibles for homeowner’s or renter’s policies. However, it’s crucial to remember that certain cycling rules still require the biker to secure his or her bike.
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE
Although a driver’s carelessness causes most collisions, we all know cyclists who have crashed into a pothole or debris in the road, flown over their handlebars on a mountain bike path, or been engaged in a race pile-up. These collisions often result in serious damage to your bicycle as well as injuries that need medical attention.
In these situations, bicycle insurance coverage is ideal. They cover every form of collision or accidental damage, whether you get tangled up in a criterium, slide-out when going around a curve, or even forget your bike is on your car’s roof rack and smash into the garage. (We won’t reveal which of us did it, but suffice it to say that we empathize with those of you who have made this humiliating error.) Medical coverage is usually available as an add-on to most plans for injuries you may experience, albeit it is usually at an extra cost.
The cost of bicycle insurance to protect you from collision damage will be determined by the coverages you currently have. If you have excellent health insurance, you may not need medical coverage. We’ve also discovered that certain homeowners’ insurance may cover damage to your bike due to a collision, but these are the exceptions. If your homeowner’s insurance is one of the few that includes collision damage coverage, the warnings about value restrictions and the prospect of higher premiums should be taken into account.
COVERAGE FOR LIABILITY
None of us ever imagines that we would be the cause of a collision that causes injure or injury to another person. However, as the number of cyclists on Utah’s roads and trails grows, so does the incidence of these accidents. A bike recently made the headlines for causing significant injuries when he collided with a runner speeding down Emigration Canyon. Collisions between cyclists are also rather prevalent. Cyclists should make sure they have liability insurance in these cases, so they don’t have to pay for the damages they’ve caused out of pocket.
Again, we highly advise you to thoroughly study your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy. Surprisingly, a cyclist’s responsibility is covered by some of these plans. However, you’ll want to know if you’re covered and what situations your homeowner’s or renter’s policy won’t cover.
Liability insurance is usually available as an add-on policy at an extra fee from most bicycle insurance providers. One of the main companies provided $25,000 of liability coverage for an additional $50 per year on the premium in an online quotation. If your homeowner’s insurance doesn’t protect you, that’s not a big enough sum to provide you some peace of mind when driving or hiking.
Cost / Other Considerations:
Bicycle insurance is a relatively new idea, but numerous organizations have sprung up to vie for riders’ business. Velosurance, Sundays Insurance, BigRing Insurance, and Markel are among the well-known national providers. [Please note that Spoke Insurance no longer provides coverage.] We list these businesses because they either have an “A” insurance rating or are supported by one (for example, BigRing is backed by Transamerica). Cyclists should look into insurance ratings to ensure that the business they choose is financially stable enough to pay out if they ever need to file a claim.
These companies will point out that their policies include rental reimbursement, apparel, helmet, and bike computer coverage, event fee reimbursement, and bicycle airline shipping coverage, in addition to the types of the coverage mentioned above. However, given the high cost of premiums, even the CEOs of these firms admit that stand-alone bicycle insurance doesn’t make sense until your bike is worth more than $3,000.
Most bicycle insurance firms give online prices and even sample plans on their websites. Bicycle insurance costs vary based on the worth of your bike (including improvements like wheels and componentry), the amount of deductible you choose, and whether you want additional coverages like liability or medical. Bicycle insurance costs may be as little as
$150 per year, but if you want all the bells and whistles, you might easily pay $400 or more per year. The majority of plans seem to be in the $250-$300 area at the moment, with discounts available for members of USA Cycling, USA Triathlon, and other cycling organizations.
