No Car, No Problem: Protecting Cyclists With Personal Mobility Insurance
When it comes to rules of the road, having car insurance as a vehicle owner lands near the top of the list. But if you’re only traveling around the San Francisco Bay Area by bike and don’t own a car, it probably seems irrelevant or unnecessary.
Car insurance is important for vehicle owners for several reasons, ranging from protecting you and your passengers in the event of an accident to protecting uninsured drivers and the car itself – and while not all of these aspects of popular policies make sense for a cyclist who doesn’t own a car, having some form of protection while out on the road can be beneficial.
As bicycle injury lawyers, all too often we have clients with significant medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering who are left to pay all their expenses out-of-pocket – despite not being at fault for their crash – because the driver who hit them was uninsured or underinsured. We always advise that cyclists make sure they have sufficient ($100,000 or more) UIM coverage if they have car insurance, for just this scenario. However, not all cyclists own a car.
For cyclists who don’t own a car, personal mobility insurance may be the answer. While these policies don’t fit the traditional model, they often provide the right amount of insurance coverage for those who need it, and they’re available through many companies.
What does personal mobility insurance cover?
These policies are a way to fill “gaps” in traditional insurance coverage, especially in the age of rideshares and alternative modes of transportation.
Be sure to check with an agent about a specific policy, but most mobility insurance policies include medical payments coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. This is beneficial if you are a cyclist who is hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver, are involved in an accident while riding in a rideshare vehicle, or are injured while entering or exiting a rideshare vehicle.
These policies are also handy when you’re renting a car and they provide the same kind of coverage you might have on a policy for a vehicle you own.
What about uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage?
Uninsured motorist insurance (UM) and underinsured motorist insurance (UIM) help cover your costs after a crash if the at-fault driver had no insurance or too little insurance. If you’re a vehicle owner, you’re given these options to add onto your policy. While opting in to the coverage is your choice in San Francisco and everywhere in California, the law states that you must be offered UIM/UM coverage when you get car insurance. You pay for UM and UIM coverage as a separate premium from your liability coverage, although it is usually very inexpensive.
If you have UM and UIM insurance, it will probably cover you as a bicyclist in the event that you’re in an accident that’s caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver, or a hit and run driver. Without it, getting hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver can leave you paying your own medical expenses, and getting no compensation for pain and suffering associated with your crash.
As a cyclist, this coverage is important to have, but traditionally it has only been obtainable as part of a vehicle insurance policy. So cyclists who do not own a car have been out of luck.
Hit-and-run incidents
Knowing about your insurance coverage – whether it’s through a personal mobility policy or associated with your vehicle – is important, especially as cyclists continue to deal with dangers on the road, including hit-and-run accidents. When somebody hits you and flees the scene, there’s no way to know whether they have insurance that can cover your injuries and damages, so having a reliable safety net is important. Furthermore, the minimum liability policy limit required by law in California is just $15,000 — which is often not enough to cover a cyclist’s medical bills after a crash, let alone compensate them for things like loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
The bottom line
Alternative forms of transportation, including bicycling, have become increasingly popular in many urban centers across the nation, including the Bay Area, and this means that traditional insurance policies don’t always make the most sense for every person or household. With personal mobility insurance, you can have the peace of mind of insurance coverage in case you are injured in a crash on your bicycle, even if you don’t also own a car.
Between the potential for accidents by uninsured or underinsured drivers — about 15% of all vehicles on the road are uninsured, experts say — and the likelihood of encountering a hit-and-run, this peace of mind can go a long way.
Your best bet is to look at your policy options and make a decision that will safeguard you so you can enjoy every ride to its fullest.