Pedal bikes and umbrellas
If you or your child rides an ordinary bicycle, you should check your household and/or your motor insurance to check whether you are already in possession of cover for any accidents caused by negligent cycling. If not then you should think about securing an umbrella policy to cover this and any other obvious gaps in your insurance provision for your family.
It is common to think of cyclists as being basically the vulnerable parties on the road, and indeed it is important that such measures as proper lights, well-designed helmets, and high-visibility vests are always used when appropriate, because the greatest risk a cyclist runs is indubitably the risk of injury to him or herself by a motorist.
Nonetheless the risk of damage to others is also a real one. Pedestrians often step out without looking where they are going and if they do not hear an approaching car they think themselves safe. An accident caused like this would not be the cyclist’s fault but without witnesses it is possible that he will be held liable, at least in part. He or she could possibly have braked, or should have sounded their bell or horn. Even just a part of such a claim can be a very large amount.
There was a case in the UK where a motorist who injured a child riding her bicycle, sued the child’s parents for the damage to his car although the damage to the child had been quite serious, and in most people’s eyes infinitely more important. Nonetheless he obtained a damages award against the parents, to add insult to the injury their child had already suffered.
All this goes to show that a cyclist is vulnerable to legal actions as well as to injury by motorists. It is vital to check your cover and to amplify it by way of an umbrella policy if it appears to be inadequate.
