Tips for the cyclist who spend a lot of time on the roads.
Protection Tips for Cyclist
It’s much more dangerous to ride a bicycle than it is to drive a motor vehicle. In the year 2010, nearly 800 people lost their lives in bicycle accidents in this country, and 515,000 others needed to be taken to the emergency room. These unfortunate statistics highlight the reasons that cyclists need to pay close attention to the ways in which they can protect themselves.
Along with the physical injuries that you may sustain, you also have to think of the financial consequences of being involved in a collision. You cannot anticipate everything, but you can put together a protection plan that will ensure that you and your family will not suffer financial hardship if an accident occurs.
Uninsured Motorist coverage on your Auto Insurance policy can help
Although it is required that you carry liability insurance (in most states), not everyone follows the law. If you are hit by an uninsured driver, you may end up paying your own medical bills if the at-fault driver has no insurance. However, did you know your auto Policy’s uninsured motorist coverage will pay medical and other expenses if you are injured while riding your bike? Also, keep in mind it is very inexpensive coverage so keep those limits at least as high as your bodily Injury Limits.
Look at your Underinsured Motorist Insurance limits too while you are at it
Many people only purchase minimum Bodily Injury limits and many more carry low limits in an effort to keep their costs down. Unfortunately, if you are hurt in a collision with an underinsured motorist (someone that does not have enough coverage to pay for your bills), you could be stuck paying for them on your own. This is where your underinsured motorist coverage limit comes into play. You can protect yourself by carrying good high limits on your own policy and, once again, this coverage is relatively inexpensive.
Liability Insurance
It doesn’t happen that often but consider this…..what if you were the cause of an accident that involved serious bodily injury, either to another cyclist or the occupants of a motor vehicle? It’s possible that you could be determined to be the cause of the collision and in that case, you would responsible for paying the injured party’s medical and property repair bills. If you have a home, condo or renter’s policy, you will be protected in this situation. You can also purchase an additional layer of liability protection, a so called umbrella policy, to supplement the insurance that you already have.
Disability Insurance
Most people feel somewhat secure knowing that they have disability insurance through their jobs. If you are seriously injured that just might not be enough. If you require more than three to six months to recover, your work benefits might very well expire before you are able to return to work. Optional disability insurance can extend your coverage and extend the time limit, all the way out to permanent disability protection.
Life Insurance
Cyclists take a risk every time they travel and share the roadway with motor vehicles yet they are generally unprotected on the insurance end. If you are hit by a moving vehicle, you can expect to be injured and it is usually just a question of how serious. The possibility also exists that you could lose your life in such an accident.
If the worst were to happen, the least you would want is for your family to be able to continue without your salary. The mortgage still needs to be paid, college obligations will still need addressing and the groceries will still cost money. Life insurance can ensure that all of these responsibilities can and will continue to be taken care of.
The purpose of this blog is to create a pause and an opportunity for thoughtful reflection into the status of our lives. We hope the information provided here is helpful in some way. If you have questions that you feel could benefit from a one on one discussion please do not ever hesitate to call upon us.
Dan O’Connor
