Because bicycles offer so little physical protection, the injuries that result from collisions with cars are often severe. These include extensive lacerations—known as “road rash”—fractures, concussions, and more.
There is insurance that covers bike accident victims. Unknown to many cyclists is the fact that certain types of so-called “car insurance” would cover their medical treatment in the event of an accident. If you or someone you know has recently been in a bicycle accident, and carries the right insurance, this may be a welcome piece of good news. Let’s look at the types of coverage that are typically relevant in bicycle accidents.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance (UN/UIM)
This type of insurance, which I believe anyone who drives a car should carry, covers your damages in the event of an accident with a driver who has little or no insurance. It would also cover you in the event of a hit-and-run. This type of coverage helps people ensure that they do not suffer as the result of another’s failure to purchase sufficient insurance. Likewise, if a bicyclist were injured in an accident with an insufficiently insured driver, this type of policy would pay for his or her losses up to the policy limit.
Med Pay
Medical Payments Coverage—“Med Pay” for short—is actually a type of health insurance that one purchases as part of a comprehensive auto insurance policy. Med Pay can be an excellent supplement to one’s regular health insurance; not only will it pay for one’s medical deductibles and copayments, but it will also typically cover a wider range of medical services and doesn’t limit you to a single care provider. That’s why an auto insurance policy that includes medical payments coverage can also be so beneficial in the case of a bicycle accident.
Personal Injury Protection
This type of insurance—also known as “PIP”—is not available in every state. However, it offers a key advantage. Regarded as a type of “no fault” insurance, PIP covers you no matter who was at fault in the accident. Therefore, holding this type of coverage effectively guarantees that your own insurance would cover your injuries up to the policy limit, which sometimes saves accident victims—including injured bicyclists—from the ordeal of having to file a lawsuit.
Of course, it should go without saying that, if you’ve been in a bicycle accident and don’t carry any of these types of coverages, you can still receive the financial means you need to recover, whether through the driver’s liability insurance or your own health insurance—or both. For the future, if your auto insurance policy doesn’t include any of the above coverages, you may want to—at the very least—look into whether the additional cost would be worth the extra protection.