A Collision Involving A Bicyclist
Bicycle Accident Lawyer
Colliding with a bicyclist may be the stuff nightmares are made of in your mind. You can’t imagine what it would be like to get in an accident between a vehicle and a bike. You are afraid that doing so would have some very significant consequences for you.
Even if a cyclist is at fault, how does insurance cover such an accident? Does your car insurance cover your vehicle and the bicycle? What if you are the cyclist. Does your car insurance extend to include a collision with a car? Take a peek at some of the ways insurance handles crashes that involve a bike and a car.
Auto Insurance Requirements Differ
There is no blanket set of rules that govern insurance coverage nationwide. Each state has its regulations that dictate how insurance companies work when it comes to covering car accidents. It is required by most states that every driver have car insurance of some type, but the coverage requirements are all set by the states. The way it handles fault and liability also varies on a state by state basis. There are two basic types of coverage: At-fault and no-fault. If you live in an at-fault state, one person is usually held responsible for causing an accident, and that person’s insurance must pay the other’s damages. In a no-fault state, the rules are different. Unless one person is 100% to blame for an accident, each insurance company takes care of their own driver’s damage.
If You Are the Driver
Getting in an accident with a bicyclist would be scary for almost anyone, even if the biker was to blame. If you live in a state where liability is assigned, and you are responsible for the accident with the cyclist, your car insurance will have to foot the bill.
If You Are the Cyclist
On the flip side, if you are a cyclist who hits a car, you may not know what is covered. You carry insurance on your vehicle, not yourself, so does car insurance cover the damages? If you have a PIP or personal injury policy, your car insurance may extend to take care of any damage or injuries due to a bike accident you’re responsible for causing. You have to check with the laws of your state and your insurer to find out the exact details.
A collision involving a bicyclist, whether you are driving the vehicle or the bike, can be tricky when it comes to insurance coverage.
