You hear a lot about car insurance, but what about insurance for your bicycle? If you live in New York City, you’re more likely to own a bicycle than a car, so why wouldn’t you insure it? If you’ve bought a $100 bicycle, you might think it wouldn’t make sense to buy insurance, especially if your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance covers it for theft (minus your deductible.) But if you own an expensive model, or find yourself in an accident while riding, bicycle accident insurance might not sound like a far-fetched idea.
Why Bicycle Accident Insurance?
You may ride for any number of reasons. Your commute may be primarily on your bike, both for cost savings and for exercise, or you may only ride for exercise. You may ride competitively, and own a high-end bicycle for it. Or you may work as a courier, and your bike is your living. Regular riding more means you have a higher chance of an accident than the casual rider.
A bicycle is, for most legal purposes, still considered part of vehicular traffic. That is, you are required to follow traffic laws and signs just like you would if you were driving a car or truck. You are more likely to be involved in an accident on a bicycle, as well as being blamed for causing the accident.
New York’s “no-fault” insurance laws don’t mean literally. New York’s “no-fault” law refers to Article 51 of New York’s Insurance law, detailing payments to the injured party for economic losses (such as medical expenses, lost wages, etc.) Also called Mandatory Personal Injury Protection (PIP), a bicyclist struck by a car is covered by the insurance carried by the motorist.
In addition to helmets and safety equipment, buying bicycle accident insurance is a good idea if you ride on a daily or regular basis in New York City.
Is There Bicycle Insurance Like Car Insurance?
There is, and it’s available nationwide through a few vendors that sell specific bicycle policies. As a regular rider, you can purchase stand-alone insurance plans that cover many of the same things as car insurance. In addition to theft, damage, loss in transit and other mishaps, you can also purchase bicycle accident liability insurance. You can be covered for any damages you cause, with limits that you choose, per incident. Coverages and premiums vary with the choices you make for them.
Much like a car insurance policy, you can insure your bicycle according to your needs, for any accidental damage (such as by an airline during shipment) for the amount it’s worth, and get a multi-bike discount too. These coverages are in addition to liability that you may face in the event of an accident.
Because a bicycle accident policy is stand-alone, any claims you file against your bicycle policy will not affect your premiums for homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.
New York’s Bicycle Accident Law Firm
Bicycle accidents can be more serious than a car accident. Whether you were hit, or hit someone else, protect yourself against lawsuits, insurance companies and other threats to your livelihood. Call us at (212) 777-9400 (or use our online contact form.) As a family-owned personal injury law firm in New York City, we have more than 26 years of experience helping people just like you. Our contingency fee arrangement means we won’t get paid until you do, whether we settle your case in or out of court.
