thesameguy
May 20th, 2015, 08:34 PM
This is my PSA.
A good friend of mine (the daughter of the owner of my diesel Suburban - I've known her since she was 8, she's like 30 now) was in a very bad accident about six or eight months ago. While riding her properly lit bike in a designated bike lane an idiot somehow completely missed her, crossed into the shoulder to make a turn, and hit her at full turning speed from behind. A completely indefensible accident. He wasn't high or drunk or anything. Totally creamed her, she nearly died. The guy has nothing and was driving on expired tags without insurance. He has nothing to cover her with, nothing worth suing away from him. She had cancelled her car insurance because she sold her car and was riding her bike, so she has no insurance to fall back on either. Now she is stuck with huge medical bills, has limited ability to work for the time, and has zero recourse.
1. If you have auto insurance, get Underinsured Motorist Coverage. In some states, UIM is part of uninsured motorist coverage, but it isn't always. The point of the coverage is to cover your medical needs if the other person does not have adequate insurance. It typically mirrors your liability, and typically cannot exceed your liability. So, if you have a California state minimum insurance of 15k/25k, your UIM is limited to 25k and you must buy it separately. It is not automatically included in your policy. $25k won't even cover a broken bone or some ambulance transport. Along those lines, that means in any reasonably bad accident vs. someone with state minimum insurance, you're going out of pocket for sure.
2. As such, get the highest liability limits you can afford. 100/300 or 500/1000 for sure. Get UIM to match. Liability insurance is typically cheap, UIM is typically VERY cheap. $10 or $15 per month.
3. If you don't have a car, maintain non-owner car insurance. Yes, it could cover you if you're driving your friend's car or a rental car, but what it means is that when some asshole creams you on your bike you have a big fat insurance policy to tap into. Your UIM generally follows you and applies in any motor vehicle accident, whether you were in a car or not. Your regular car insurance will not.
I'm not an insurance agent and I'm not a lawyer so check with your insurance agent and your lawyer but I do know the laws in California. If you're here, this applies to you. If you're not, have this discussion with your people. Don't end up broken because you were trying to save $10/mo or didn't know the rules.
A good friend of mine (the daughter of the owner of my diesel Suburban - I've known her since she was 8, she's like 30 now) was in a very bad accident about six or eight months ago. While riding her properly lit bike in a designated bike lane an idiot somehow completely missed her, crossed into the shoulder to make a turn, and hit her at full turning speed from behind. A completely indefensible accident. He wasn't high or drunk or anything. Totally creamed her, she nearly died. The guy has nothing and was driving on expired tags without insurance. He has nothing to cover her with, nothing worth suing away from him. She had cancelled her car insurance because she sold her car and was riding her bike, so she has no insurance to fall back on either. Now she is stuck with huge medical bills, has limited ability to work for the time, and has zero recourse.
1. If you have auto insurance, get Underinsured Motorist Coverage. In some states, UIM is part of uninsured motorist coverage, but it isn't always. The point of the coverage is to cover your medical needs if the other person does not have adequate insurance. It typically mirrors your liability, and typically cannot exceed your liability. So, if you have a California state minimum insurance of 15k/25k, your UIM is limited to 25k and you must buy it separately. It is not automatically included in your policy. $25k won't even cover a broken bone or some ambulance transport. Along those lines, that means in any reasonably bad accident vs. someone with state minimum insurance, you're going out of pocket for sure.
2. As such, get the highest liability limits you can afford. 100/300 or 500/1000 for sure. Get UIM to match. Liability insurance is typically cheap, UIM is typically VERY cheap. $10 or $15 per month.
3. If you don't have a car, maintain non-owner car insurance. Yes, it could cover you if you're driving your friend's car or a rental car, but what it means is that when some asshole creams you on your bike you have a big fat insurance policy to tap into. Your UIM generally follows you and applies in any motor vehicle accident, whether you were in a car or not. Your regular car insurance will not.
I'm not an insurance agent and I'm not a lawyer so check with your insurance agent and your lawyer but I do know the laws in California. If you're here, this applies to you. If you're not, have this discussion with your people. Don't end up broken because you were trying to save $10/mo or didn't know the rules.