Bicycle Accident Insurance Coverage

Date: July 24, 2014
Subject: Bicycle Accident Insurance Coverage

It’s summertime again and while lots of people in Portland bike all year round, there are many more people biking or walking to work than usual thanks to the season. So I always like to remind everyone this time of year, there is a wonderful Oregon law just for bicyclists and pedestrians. I’m amazed at how many of my avid biking friends don’t event know this.

The Oregon Law says if you’re hit on a bike or on foot, your car insurance will pay for everything, if the at-fault driver doesn’t have enough insurance or if they have no insurance at all. That’s wage loss, medical bills, pain and suffering and non economic damages. Your car insurance will pay for all of that. So what should you do?

You should call your insurance company and buy as much Underinsured and Uninsured motorist coverage as you can. UM/UIM is often how you’ll see it abbreviated on the declarations page of your insurance policy.

Buy as much as your can afford. Believe it or not, once you get above the minimums, it’s really, really cheap. If you have home or renter’s insurance, you can often even link those two together in what’s called an umbrella policy. For very little money, you could get up to a million dollars in coverage.

If you get hit on a bike, by someone driving a car, medical bills add up quick. Believe me; we see a lot of people seriously injured in these accidents. When a car hits a person on a bike, the person on the bike always loses. So buy as much underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage as you can afford and you’ll be covered when you’re riding your bike to work in the summer.