[SDCBC] Bicycles and insurance

[John Eldon]

First, a disclosure -- I have happily had ACSC (AAA) auto insurance since 1976, when I bought my first car, and I have had their homeowner's insurance and umbrella liability coverage for the past 20 years. 

Second, you should go after the motorist's liability insurance, not your own carrier, for reimbursement of your medical expenses, plus a reasonable pain-and-suffering multiplier. This is precisely what I did in 1976, in a remarkably similar incident. 

Third, most experts advise that medical payments insurance is a rip-off for anyone who has health insurance, unless you need it to drive for school field trips, etc. The premium is high and the coverage is a mere pittance.

Fourth, and most importantly, get well soon!

John E.


--- On Thu, 7/24/08, gary.kent at cox.net <gary.kent at cox.net> wrote:
From: gary.kent at cox.net <gary.kent at cox.net>
Subject: [SDCBC] Bicycles and insurance
To: sdcbc at bikesandiego.org
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008, 8:04 AM

I was involved in a car/bike accident two weeks ago ( driver made a left turn in
front of me- didn't see me) and made a trip to Pomerado hospital in an
ambulance. fortunately the driver has insurance, but when contacting my own
insurance company about the accident, I was informed that my medical payments
coverage specifically excludes bicylists. 

The company - Wawanesa- sent me a copy of the declarations and they provide med
pay if you are in a car or a pedestrian, but they specifically define a
pedestrian as someone under human power excluding bicycles. If I had been on a
skateboard, I would be covered, but not on a bike.

This fact has resulted in my changing my auto insurance to AAA, which does
cover bicycles under medical payments.

Just a heads up- you may want to check your policy.

Gary Kent
_______________________________________________

You are subscribed to the SDCBC mailing list as j.eldon at ieee.org
To unsubscribe or change mailing options, go to
http://www.bikesandiego.org/mailman/listinfo/sdcbc
List privacy information is located at http://www.stickman-computing.org/aup
Opinions expressed here are those of the individual poster and do not
necessarily reflect the positions of the SDCBC or it's Board.
For help or to talk with someone other than the mail robot, send e-mail to
postmaster at stickman-computing.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.bikesandiego.org/pipermail/sdcbc/attachments/20080724/d2503e11/attachment.html