Car Insurance Covering a Bicycle Accident

Answer:

A lot of people come in and ask if their automobile policy protects them in their bicycle crash. We generally tell them there’s a big difference between those two types of accidents. If you’re involved in a bicycle accident and need to file a no-fault claim to have your medical bills paid and your lost wages paid, that no-fault claim is made against the driver of the other vehicle; if you are involved in an automobile accident, however, you normally file against your own insurance company.

You may also have additional insurance under your own automobile policy. If that’s the case and you have what’s called a MedPay or medical insurance provision, you can then file under your own insurance company to have additional medical bills paid, if the first $50,000 in medical benefits paid for by the driver of the other car is used up. That comes into effect very often in bicycle cases because the injuries in bicycle cases are often so much more severe. You’re unprotected, so you’re dealing with broken hips and backs, broken pelvises and legs, as well as surgeries and sometimes even a Mercy Flight. We have a case right now where just the Mercy Flight bill is over $30,000.

Very often, the no-fault insurance of the other driver is used up, and then you have to come back to your own insurance. Hopefully, you would have purchased the medical insurance coverage that you can have as this additional benefit to protect you in these very serious cases.