Finally Bicycle insurance like car insurance

[Praxillea]

Just read about this from Adventure Cycling Bike Bits and thought I would pass it on. Getting so much closer to giving up my car! If they would just put a good grocery story in the neighborhood I would pretty much be set!


http://www.spokeinsurance.com/html/b..._insurance.php

BIKE INSURANCE
An intriguing new insurance program exclusively for cyclists has been
launched by a partnership involving Sports Insurance Solutions (SIS)
and Insurance Brokers, Inc. Available through Spoke Insurance, a new
division of SIS, it's the first of its kind, according to SIS president
Craig Dawson. "Our program is designed to act like auto insurance for
your bicycle," Dawson said. "Even occasional bikers need to know they
are covered, and this program allows them to enjoy their outing --
whether it is casual biking or racing -- knowing they are protected."
The insurance is offered and underwritten by an "A" rated carrier with
limits as high as $100,000 to cover liability, $25,000 per occurrence,
and $50,000 aggregate for uninsured and underinsured motorists. In
addition, cyclists can choose up to $1,000 medical payment and insure
their bikes for physical damage and theft. The coverage is currently
being written in Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington,
Idaho, and Hawaii. More information, including a list of "ten reasons
cyclists need bicycle insurance," can be found here:
http://www.spokeinsurance.com

[djkenny]

Sounds like an additional insurance that would not even be considered remotely necessary if we had universal health care. Most bike related accidents would not be so much a concern of property, but our physical bodies. Bicycles simply do not cause damage or harm to other objects like an automobile.

The need for infrastructure that is safe and specific to cycling and a more equitable health care system is necessary, not an insurance plant to make up for these inequities and poorly designed structures.

Are other developed countries outside the USA also excited about insurance for people riding a bicycle?

Is anyone else seeing what a sad state of affairs we are in here?

Bicycling is clean, healthy, and should remain a means to travel for everyone despite economic status.

I am not impressed here.

[Alan]

I have mixed feelings about bike riding insurance. It's probably a smart thing to have even though odds of causing catastrophic damage with a bike are very low. If I or my property were damaged, I'd like to know the other party is fiscally responsible. But...

I already pay for homeowner's insurance with a liability rider (typical) and many rental policies have similar provisions. As things stand, it should cover normal bike riding, but as additional bike insurance becomes more common then the homeowner's will become less and less likely to cover it. Same goes for many other activities...walking? swimming? tennis? fishing? Where does it end? Do we have to be nickle-and-dimed for every activity in life? I know that insurance companies aren't going to be on the losing end of such a deal, so I have to conclude that consumers would be paying an increasing percentage to them, just to do things we already do.

Will bike riders be required to carry it? Could we be stopped by cops and required to produce evidence of insurance, as are car drivers? What about kids? Homeless bikers or out-of-state tourists? Will it cover me on any and all bikes, or do I have to pay premiums for each one of them?

Kenny, in Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and increasingly in other European countries, "strict liability" laws place substantially more legal burden to yield right-of-way onto larger, faster vehicles. That means cars are liable for hitting bikes and peds, and bikes for hitting peds. Their car insurance rates reflect that (a bit higher than ours, although my comparison is limited). I'm not sure what those countries have in the way of bike liability insurance; I'm not aware of it.

Anyway, thanks for mentioning it, Praxillea, and I'm glad if it makes you more comfortable to live car-free.