Just got hit by car, can I claim on house insurance?

P_1

Exactly what it says folks, luckilly I'm ok apart from a grazed elbow. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for my poor bike.

I got the drivers name and number but don't want to claim off his insurance as he gave me a lift home and seemed genuinely more shocked than I was.

I have my bike on the house insurance, could I claim for it on that.

Also I had right of way, was completley drivers fault.

Any advice would be fantastic.

Thanks

Bluefoam

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd imagine that from a legal point of view it would be correct to claim off the driver. I would imagine that claiming off you home insurance would be considered fraudulant...

copacetic

what is the bike covered for under your house insurance, only theft or damage as well?

Can't say what is in your policy but usually they are only covered for theft.

P_1

Theft and damage AFIK

copacetic

well if covered for damage then of course you can claim. how the damage happened doesn't come into it unless there is a clause in policy. that seems like a very unusual policy though if you are covered for damage.

daymobrew

pithater1 wrote:

Also I had right of way, was completley drivers fault.

And you want to claim off your insurance???
At the very least claim the bike damage off the (at fault) driver's insurance. That is exactly why people have insurance.

Trampas

Not get the person who knocked you off your bike pay to get it fixed??

P_1

daymobrew wrote:

And you want to claim off your insurance???
At the very least claim the bike damage off the (at fault) driver's insurance. That is exactly why people have insurance.

I would feel better claiming off my own insurance if at all possible.
I think he had a bigger shock than I did.

Although having looked at the bike again it seems the only problem is that the wheeles are buckled.
How much would it cost to replace them?

My bike's a standard cheap mountain bike (Planet Shadow)

cyclopath2001

pithater1 wrote:

Although having looked at the bike again it seems the only problem is that the wheeles are buckled.

Probably less than the excess on your policy.

Beelzebub

Talk to your solicitor before you do anything else.

daymobrew

pithater1 wrote:

I think he had a bigger shock than I did.

That's irrelevant. You should not be out of pocket for something that was not your fault.

There is an additional benefit of you making the claim against the driver's insurance - education for the driver! He will be more cautious in the future and will relay the story to others who may also become a little more aware of cyclists.

depadz

was knocked off bike yesterday aswell. A bit sore this morning as expected..
Bike appears OK but could the frame be bent? Brought it to a nearby bikeshop after and he spun the wheels and pedals and said 'looks fine'. Won't be going back there..

Bike is fairly new and cost 1K, Any advice on how to determine this?

It was the drivers fault (turned right in front of me). Called the cops. The correct thing to do is to claim off the driver (from the horses mouth..)

blah

The exact same thing happened to me, driver turned right in front of me without looking. I claimed off the driver's insurance, and that's what you should do, it's not personal, that's why he's insured.

FX Meister

Wow, how kind of him to give you a lift home. It's a great idea to claim off your insurance. Must do that next time I crash into a car, give them a lift home.
The smart thing to do would be to give the bill to him. It won't cost that much and he won't want it going through his insurance.

luckat

Go to a doctor and see if you're going to need further medical treatment. Claim on the driver's insurance - that's why we have insurance, to cover us against our stupid driving decisions, and remind us not to do the same again.

It'll cost him his no-claims bonus, sure, but he has injured you and damaged your bike through a wrong driving decision, and his insurance covers him for that.

mickoneill30

Get the bill, give it to the driver and ask him how he wants to pay. He can pay by himself or through his insurance. If it's not much most people would prefer to pay it themselves.
To be honest the driver was lucky you weren't killed. I wouldn't be rewarding him for it.

Ghost Rider

I understand you're grateful for the lift home, but remember what Stalin said about gratitude?

pithater1 wrote:

I would feel better claiming off my own insurance if at all possible.
I think he had a bigger shock than I did.

Although having looked at the bike again it seems the only problem is that the wheeles are buckled.
How much would it cost to replace them?

My bike's a standard cheap mountain bike (Planet Shadow)

Stereophonic

I'd ring the driver and say to him, I need my bike fixed as I use it alot. I consulted my family and I have to choose two options.

1) If the Driver could repair/buy you a new bike
2) Claim of your (Driver) insurance

The driver would choose option 1 because 2 is a longer process when insurance gets involved. I'd wait a couple of days to see if then injury persists.....

The driver got off lightly in my opinion if you actually going to pay for the bike repair/ replacement yourself. I wouldn't claim the bike on house insurance because they will only cover it on theft.

Cabaal

You'd be stupid to claim off your own insurance or to pay it yourself, drivers was at fault he basically admitted it by giving you a lift home so he's totally in the werong and you'd have no problems claiming off his insurancve.

However talk to him first and see if he'll pay it himself if he wants to or he wants to go with insurance

el tel

The OP has to be kidding here? Wise up man and don't be a doormat!

Claiming of your own insurance is not only daft but I'm sure that they won't pay out if you were to tell them the truth about what happened as the liability isn't theirs as it's the liability of the driver that hit you.

Trojan

OPs getting a lot of grief here... ok I know I'd kinda have the same reaction as the OP.

The driver was apologetic, nice enough to drive him home. Sure he was at fault, and admitted it. He should pay for the repairs. But give the guy a break, there's enough pr!cks behind the wheel out there without coming down hard on the decent ones.

My reaction would be to ring the guy, and say "My bike is damaged and I need it for transport. My bike shop tells me it's going to cost X to repair it. If you'd rather not go through the hasssle of insurance then can I ask you to pay the bike shop directly?"

It's reasonable, polite, and non-aggressive.

Ghost Rider

I agree, but the point still stands: it should be the driver's insurance policy the OP claims on.

Trojan wrote:

OPs getting a lot of grief here... ok I know I'd kinda have the same reaction as the OP.

The driver was apologetic, nice enough to drive him home. Sure he was at fault, and admitted it. He should pay for the repairs. But give the guy a break, there's enough pr!cks behind the wheel out there without coming down hard on the decent ones.

My reaction would be to ring the guy, and say "My bike is damaged and I need it for transport. My bike shop tells me it's going to cost X to repair it. If you'd rather not go through the hasssle of insurance then can I ask you to pay the bike shop directly?"

It's reasonable, polite, and non-aggressive.

Trojan

We differ - you say "should", I say "could". Give the driver the choice, he earned it.

DirkVoodoo

I think at any rate the driver should pay, either directly or through his insurance. Yes he was nice about it, but he was at fault and the OP shouldnt bear the cost of his own bike.

I nearly got knocked off yesterday coming into UCD. I had right of way at N11 entrance and girl in a mazda 323 with a coffee in one hand went straight thru the stop sign. My nearest miss yet. Scariest part was she didn't even see me nearly plough into the side of her.

Ghost Rider

Much as I hate going to the cops about anything, I think we really have a duty to other road users to report people like that.

DirkVoodoo wrote:

I think at any rate the driver should pay, either directly or through his insurance. Yes he was nice about it, but he was at fault and the OP shouldnt bear the cost of his own bike.

I nearly got knocked off yesterday coming into UCD. I had right of way at N11 entrance and girl in a mazda 323 with a coffee in one hand went straight thru the stop sign. My nearest miss yet. Scariest part was she didn't even see me nearly plough into the side of her.

Mucco

Trojan wrote:

We differ - you say "should", I say "could". Give the driver the choice, he earned it.

I wouldn't regard a lift home after knocking someone off as 'earning' not paying the price for careless driving. I would regard it as the least he could do.
I got my rear-wheel tacoed by a taxi driver last year. He spent an hour driving me around various bike shops to find a new wheel, paid for it (cash), then drove me to work, picked me up after work , and drove me home.

If this is the OPs only bike, I would add on the price of taxi rides until the bike is fixed. Someone above mentioned the fact that a repair bill might make the driver more cautious in future.

M

RainyDay

You'd be crazy to claim off your own insurance. You could find yourself needing medical treatment and/or a complete replacement bike months down the line, and claiming off your own insurance could be interpreted as an admission of liability. You'd find it very hard to come back to claiming off this driver if you found yourself with a serious injury which did not become apparent immediately.

Capt'n Midnight

Whose fault was the accident ?

if you feel you can claim off the driver then I'm guessing it's their fault.
If they were in shock, maybe it's because they wern't paying attention and maybe paying out might be the wake up call that saves their next victim or maybe not.

IF YOU CLAIM OFF YOUR HOME INSURANCE, YOU WILL PROBABLY PAY IT BACK AGAIN IN INCREASED PREMIUMS.

Also check the excess on the insurance.

P_1

Woah! I seem to have struck a nerve with a few of ye!

Anyway rang the driver today, gave him the bill for 2 new wheels (€80) and was given the money later on today.

Thanks for all the advice.

Cabaal

pithater1 wrote:

Anyway rang the driver today, gave him the bill for 2 new wheels (€80) and was given the money later on today.
.

Good to hear its all sorted,