Do I need insurance?

Mellow vèlo
Mellow vèlo Posts: 19
edited March 2012 in Commuting general
Hello, I'm going to start riding to work next week and it's about a 22 mile round trip.
It's a combination of country lanes, the A38 and some big round abouts and town.
I don't have a car and know nothin about insurance.

I'm just after alittle advise, no doubt I will have a fall/crash at some point and just wondered if I need insurance.
I'm not too worried about my bike I just don't want to end up paying for damage to some one else's car.

Comments

  • exlaser
    exlaser Posts: 264
    you could join the c.t.c. and get insurance for free.
    Van Nicholas Ventus
    Rose Xeon RS
  • Mellow vèlo
    Mellow vèlo Posts: 19
    Ah cheers for the advise. I think I will get some sort of cover then, just for peace of mind.
    I've got a uv thin jersey I just slip ontop of everything when its darker and a builders uv jacket made into a rucksack cover. Looking into lights now. Front and rear strobe and a powerfull head lamp.
  • corshamjim
    corshamjim Posts: 234
    The usual advice about insuring anything is it's only usually worth getting insurance for something you wouldn't be able to afford to pay for or do without otherwise. For that reason, none of my bicycles are insured against theft etc,.

    In the case of liability (or 3rd party) insurance though, the amount you could be liable for can be huge if it involves an injury to someone else, so my advice would be to get insurance even though the law doesn't require you to. Personally I joined British Cycling for their insurance because their 'Ride' membership is quite a bit cheaper than CTC.

    I did once (back in the '80s) hit another car while cycling uninsured and had to fork out about £300 to replace front fairing (or whatever it's called) that I broke. These days a lot of cars have even more stupidly expensive bodywork ...
  • fossyant
    fossyant Posts: 2,549
    Echo comments above - if riding regularly take out DC or CTC membership which includes third party and legal assistance.

    Knocking a wing mirror off can be very expensive these days.

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