You might have heard about how a cyclist in Vancouver was hit by a car and then presented with a bill for nearly $4000 by ICBC for damage to the car because the bike was an "uninsured vehicle". I understand that we have liability insurance for property damage while on club rides but this doesn't extend to non-club rides.
Does anybody have any advice or recommendations for liability insurance options that cover personal non-club rides? Feel free to speak to me like I'm a 10 year old since I don't really understand legalese!
Hey Lani - I too share your interest in better understanding insurance implications when on or not on club rides. I personally suspect we might get better direction on this by asking CBC as I’m thinking it’s our CBC membership dues that collectively puts us under the blanket insurance coverage. Special events like TDV or a Grand Fondo (as I understand it) have seperate, event-specific, insurance which is included in our fees for that event. I hate to think ICBC is wanting us to buy stand alone cycling insurance. If and when You get any answers or a clearer understanding, I for one would be happy to read about it. Thanks.
The new ICBC rules are a significant change for us cyclists as basically we now have to personally insure ourselves against everything. ICBC insurance covers very little.
Another area that is important is disability insurance:
Under the new ICBC no fault insurance, you are able to get up to 90% of $100000 pre tax earnings from ICBC. Everything after that will require your own personal insurance. SO: If you are minding your own business and are wiped out by a drunk, you have no recourse and will get 90% of $100000 pre tax maximum. No recourse if you dont like the adjudication either.
I am not an insurance expert but some home insurance policies may cover liability claims. This should cover repairs to the offending vehicle or persons involved but you would need to check your policy very carefully for coverage.
I personally had an incident 2 years ago (details at coffee) bike vs. SUV where ICBC did not cover anything and dealing with my home insurance was a definite hassle. I ended up covering the claim out of my own pocket which was not inexpensive (I did manage to have a crooked tooth straightened as a bonus).
I found this company online https://www.pedalpowerinsurance.ca/ that offers inexpensive liability insurance but I have not dealt with it personally. It might be difficult to find insurance for long term care of catastrophic injuries.
After the ICBC rebates from no-fault, we get to navigate a new world as cyclists....
FWIW, checked with our home insurance, and the 3rd party liability portion of the home insurance would cover the scenario of my fragile body denting the hood of a poor motorist should ICBC come knocking for $s to recoup their expenses. At least in theory. In an ideal world. Subject to ....
Like all insurance products devil is in the details and you don't really know how it'll play till something happens. Looking forward to getting back to group rides more where CBC insurance covers us!
Thanks for the input so far. My limited understanding is that home insurance might offer some coverage but it's likely to be minimal if anything at all. It's crazy that a negligent driver can hit a cyclist and the cyclist is then on the hook for damages to their vehicle.
Would it be of benefit to remind or share this info with fellow TSers on Spond (eg. A new post by the Exec).
If I’m understanding things correctly (that’s always 50/50 at best though ) even a solo ride - but one planned/organized within the club - (eg. on Spond) could remain insured for the rider while another that happens entirely without club notice might not be.
I cut and pasted what came to my email address today from CBC … Pretty sure it was meant for all CBC members but can’t say that explicitly with 100% confidence I guess. Maybe someone else who might have gotten the same email can add to this?
since I don't really understand legalese!
) even a solo ride - but one planned/organized within the club - (eg. on Spond) could remain insured for the rider while another that happens entirely without club notice might not be.
