Does insurance cover me if I was hit by a car while I was riding my bicycle?

The short answer is yes. If you were out riding your bicycle and the driver of a car wrongfully hit you, then that driver is responsible and should compensate you for your injuries. That driver’s car insurance should pay you for your damages from the bicycle accident. “Damages” includes both the physical damage to your bicycle and the injuries to your body.  Insurance policies cover both property damage and bodily injury.

There are several different types of insurance that may apply.  First and most obviously, the at-fault driver’s car insurance should apply. If the at-fault driver had no insurance policy of his own, or if those insurance limits weren’t high enough, then there are other types of insurance that may come into play to cover the bicycle accident. If there was a different insurance policy that applied to the car that the at-fault driver was operating, that policy may apply. Depending on the policy language, the insurance policies of other people who live with the at-fault driver could apply. If the at-fault driver was working at the time of the collision and was operating in the course and scope of his or her employment, that employer may be liable under a legal principle known in Georgia as “vicarious liability” or “respondeat superior.” Most employers carry sizable insurance policies, often called “commercial general liability” or “CGL” policies. Any of these insurance policies could provide liability coverage for a bicycle accident.

Even if none of the insurance described in the paragraph above can be found, your car insurance may provide useful coverage for the bicycle accident. It usually depends on whether you carry uninsured motorist / underinsured motorist / “UM” coverage for your car. If you’re not sure whether you carry this type of insurance, don’t worry, you’re not alone – most people don’t know whether they have it. We can help you find out. This is one reason that we have sometimes been able to find available insurance that our clients didn’t even know they had.

Read more about underinsured motorist insurance coverage in the next section.

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