I personally think if you are riding on the road, you should have some form of third party or better cover.

I would like some option on your car insurance to include this. how practical this would be, I don’t know but it would save having to have yet another poilicy!

Why?

You’ll be saying we should pay road tax next

Many of us have thru our house insurance anyway. Having insurance just makes you a target for people who want to sue you

just get a BC membership/license if you’re worried.
don’t CTC have something similar too?

TJ, you saying some house insurance policies also cover third party cycle accident insurance?

apparantly GW – public liability is often included and this should cover you if you damage a car for example.

CTC include 3rd party cover as part of their membership – it’s the main reason I keep my subscription going.

Why?

well, there are a lot of people who don’t know about CTC and other organisations. hell, a lot of people don’t think they need insurance for riding a bike (legally you don’t, I know). There are people who ride a bike that’s not worth insuring thus aren’t covered that way either.

I think that if insurance companies offered it as part of car ins then I think more people would be covered. Obviously there are people who ride for the reason they don’t have a car and I don’t know how to target those but for those who have a car and chose to ride to work, they should have an option on their car policy to cover when they aren’t using it.
I’m not saying I think it should be compulsory. it shouldn’t as this would be detrimental to uptake, much like compulsory helmet wearing.

It has no purpose tho.

All it does is make you a target for no win no fee lawyers. there is no point suing someone with no money and no insurance.

I disagree with you both

I fart in your general direction

I think you are being rather short-sighted on this TJ, Insurance isn’t just to line to pockets of NWNF lawyers (though I agree they are sewer rats IME). Insurance is (generally) there to protect you from financial burden of unforseen incidents such as a white van man not checking his mirrors etc etc.

highlimber – white van man doesn’t check his mirrors and knocks me off its him that needs insurance not me.

I think its you that is being very shortsighted and misguided.

I have no need at all for insurance to ride my bike. None.

Ever seen a insurance co not make huge amounts of money?

So why do I need insurance?

TJ what if you collide with shiny new jag man and dent/scratch it?

Its not something I do or have done – anyway thats what he has insurance for. He shouldn’t have got in my way. doesn’t he know who I am?

“I think its you that is being very slightly shortsighted and misguided”.

I prefer to drink a can of K cider before my bike rides on the road. T’is illumniating as to the depth of my hatred for people and cars.

Though I will slow down for pigeons.

I never said you were misguided Jeremy!

Nor am I short-sighted. I am fully aware of the limitations and stress of claiming on other people’s insurance from their stupidity.

He shouldn’t have got in my way. doesn’t he know who I am?

probably does hence why he got in your way.

I have it and it is cheap with either CTC or British cycling [ later is only £22 iirc]. Used it only once when someone pulled out on me from e junction and I damaged their wing doing an endo on it an pushing off with my spd shoe.
Never heard a word after he got a proper solicitors letter.
Depends how many mile you do and how much commuting tbh but it is not a daft idea for serious cyclists to consider but probably overkill if you ride twice a year

Ever seen a insurance co not make huge amounts of money?

ERM…???

LOADS OF TIMES! For ever, since it started as a concept!

Otherwise everyone’d be doing it, capacity would flood the market, prices would drop, until more than a few companies got stung, then it starts to switch around again. There’s a few other things than affect profitability, but that’s the market cycle. Currently it’s soft, not many are making good money. Some classes are starting to move up, including UK motor, (which as a class doesn’t tend to make money, based on the last 10-15 years) others might follow soon.

Don’t know much about insurance, do you? You’re normally so careful with facts, why so slapdash here? Got beef? 🙂

So why do I need insurance?

for when you are at fault in an accident that causes life changing injuries to someone else

obviously that’s only for normal people, we all know it wouldn’t happen to you. 😉

there is no point suing someone with no money and no insurance.

IIRC you have both 🙄 why are you arguing the point?

Big and daft – and cyclist maim loads of people each year do they?

I am quite prepared to accept millions to one chances

As a road user (in my car, van or bike) I’d like to think that the people who could damage me or my possessions are in a position to compensate me if they do do damage. If you drive a big metal powerful vehicle where the concequence of damage is high the insurance is also high. It would seem reasonable to me that all road users were in the same postion and that I needed to have insurance on my bike in case I do do damage also. As the risk of me doing damage is low and the amount of damage I could do is also low I would expect it to be much cheaper for riding a bike than driving a car. It is. I could still do light damage to cars which can be surprisingly expensive to put right or significant damage to pedestrians that could be way beyond my means to adequatly compensate for.

There is an argument to say that I could self insure against this risk. But would you be happy for private car drivers to take that position? Not sure I would and as such would think it hypcritical to think it should be ok for me to do so on my bike.

The point about becoming a target for insurance claims I also think is mute. If there is a problem with people making excessive or spurious claims that is a problem that should be dealt with and is not a good enough reason for people not to have insurance in the first place.

TJ what if you collide with shiny new jag man and dent/scratch it?

Just laugh and ride off, innit? 😆 S’only a car ffs.

I’ve avoided paying insurance for all on my adult life, i’m not about to start for a bike! stuff that!

I am quite prepared to accept millions to one chances

The insurance is not for you. Is the person you (it could be you, you never know) put in a wheelchair by not seeing on a crossing prepared to accept those odds and the fact you as a single person don’t have the earning power to help them pay for the changes to their life you have inflicted on them ?

I think I’m quite a good driver – I’m prepared to take the risk I won’t knock you off when I travel through Edinburgh next week so I don’t need insurance. Are you prepared for me to take that risk to you?

Elfin – I know someone who did just as I described, during a Time trial (so no chance of riding off, even if his bike hadn’t been totalled 😉 ). would have cost him a fortune had he not been a BCF member.

For me it’s not about the public liability on the off chance I do have an accident that is my fault 9althougb obviously it helps).

Supposing someone knocks me off. I don’t want to deal with the consequences of trying to claim, I want to give it to my insurers and let them deal with it. They’re the experts, they have the time to deal with other insurance companies on my behalf.

Add up the cost of your bike/clothing/kit. Could you afford to walk into a bike shop and replace all of that in one fell swoop. I know I couldn’t…

Supposing someone knocks me off. I don’t want to deal with the consequences of trying to claim, I want to give it to my insurers and let them deal with it. They’re the experts, they have the time to deal with other insurance companies on my behalf.

This. Whenever you have a crash in a car, you defer it to your insurers. why not have the same ability on your bike (regardless of fault)

TandemJeremy – Member

highlimber – white van man doesn’t check his mirrors and knocks me off its him that needs insurance not me.

White Van Man drives off- it would now be useful to have insurance.

northwind – nope – thats a hit and run – compu from the insurance board

convert

The insurance is not for you. Is the person you (it could be you, you never know) put in a wheelchair by not seeing on a crossing prepared to accept those odds and the fact you as a single person don’t have the earning power to help them pay for the changes to their life you have inflicted on them ?

ridiculous supposition

Having seen a friend knocked off and left in the road by an uninsured, untaxed, inlicensed driver in London, i’d suggest thats the far bigger problem that needs sorting out first.

Is the person you (it could be you, you never know) put in a wheelchair by not seeing on a crossing prepared to accept those odds and the fact you as a single person don’t have the earning power to help them pay for the changes to their life you have inflicted on them ?

Couldn’t the same argument be applied to pedestrians as well? What if one steps out in front of me whilst cycling along and leaves me in a wheelchair?

Where does this end!?

This. Whenever you have a crash in a car, you defer it to your insurers.

So you deal with your insurance company rather than theirs. Whats the difference? You’re still sending off receipts and asking stuff to be replaced etc?

Anyway, its just one of those publicity stunt things, which, i seem to have fallen for. damn it.

I know someone who did just as I described, during a Time trial (so no chance of riding off, even if his bike hadn’t been totalled ). would have cost him a fortune had he not been a BCF member

So he didn’t have household insurance then?

Supposing someone knocks me off. I don’t want to deal with the consequences of trying to claim, I want to give it to my insurers and let them deal with it.

Or you could just give it to http://www.bikeline.co.uk and let them deal with it on a no-win-no-fee basis (other cyclist friendly lawyers are available). Or maybe let the legal cover on your household insurance deal with it.

I feel like I’m repeating myself here (why do we have another thread on the same subject without even a link to the advertorial?) so I’ll repeat my standard comment for those who ignored TJ’s comment right up there:

Cyclists don’t need separate insurance – the vast majority of them already have 3rd party cover under their household insurance. Previous experience of debating this on here suggests that’s also the vast majority of those who claim they don’t have any.

Cyclists don’t need separate insurance to help them claim from drivers who knock them off. A lot of people have legal cover under their household insurance, but for those who don’t (and I’d suggest also for those who do – persuade your legal cover to pay a specialist), there’s always http://www.bikeline.co.uk who will work on a no-win-no-fee basis.

In what way? Say you do scratch Mr Jag’s uh, Jag. Fair enough, he has insurance – but what do you do if they come knocking at your door for the cash?

Oh, and note that “-1” at the ed of the url up there. It’s a clue, trying to tell you something.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclists-urged-to-get-insurance

If I am self insuring and am at fault I pay up

Its so unlikely tho that it can be ignored. a couple of hundred thousand miles cycled over 40 years and I have never damaged a car in a accidental collision that is my fault nor have I ever heard of it happening

TandemJeremy – Member

northwind – nope – thats a hit and run – compu from the insurance board

Which is slow, complex and frustrating.

Which is slow, complex and frustrating.

You’ll have to explain to me what insurance I can get to avoid that then.

I have to admire your fatalistic outlook TJ.
You remind me of all those people who live near volcanoes or in eatherquake zones. most of them have lived for decades underneath dormant volcanoes or in EQ zones and beleive it will never happen to them, then BANG!

No, he’s fine, he’s thought about it And decided he’s prepared to take the risk. Same as I do. Same as plenty of people do. I’d were wrong, it’s our legal liability and our money.