Damaged Bycicle - No insurance

beckyo_2

Hi,

My husband was knocked off his bike a few weeks ago by a man in a car who tried to drive off. Luckily behind my husband was an off duty policewoman who wrote down the car reg. My husband wasn't injured, just a little shaken but there was some damage to his bike.

He went to the police station and made a statement and the police then interviewed the car driver and obtained his insurance details.

We've since realised that personal posessions aren't covered on our house insurance so my husband's bike isn't covered by any insurance.

So, my question is, can my husband claim for the damages direct from the car drivers insurance company, or does he have to go through his own insurance company? ie. if it has to go through our own, then he won't be able to claim anything as he's not covered!

Any advice welcomed.

Thanks.

joolsybools

I would think that he can claim through the dirvers company, others will be on to confirm or not.

It might be worth him considering getting insurance, CTC do it or if you live in London LCC do it - I think you need to take out membership to get the insurance.

www.ctc.org.uk and www.lcc.org.uk

darich

I would have thought you claim from the car driver's insurance and not your own.
I expect the driver could also be in trouble for leaving the scene of an accident and for not giving his insurance details where and when they were required.

My first step would be to contact my own insurance and ask their advice on how to proceed. It may be that you claim directly from the driver's insurance although you may need to put the bike into a repair shop for an estimate/work done and present either a written estimate for the work or a receipt for the work you've paid for. You may also need to get two or three different quotes from different shops.

lisyloo

He can claim directly off the car insurer.

Do you have legal advice/cover on your home insurance?
You may find you have access to £50K worth of legal help on your house insurance.
This won't pay for his bike, but it will provide assistance in claiming for his expenses and injuries.
You can do it yourself, but a legal team on your side will help especially if you are dealing with medical issues where you probably have little legal knowledge.

If you don't have it on your home insurance, then I recommend getting a seperate legal cover policy (for the future).
The RAC do it very cheaply.
CTC also offer something.

bouncydog1

Remember to make a note of all out of pocket and keep receipts e.g. if he needs to visit the Doctors and would usually use his bike, keep the receipts for taxi fares or bus rides. If there was any damage to clothing etc. you will need to price that in to his claim as well.

geri1965_2

Absolutely no point in contacting your own insurers for advice, if the bike isn't covered they won't want to know.

You need to claim directly from the other party's insurers, either yourself or through any legal assistance cover you may have (which may be through your household insurance as lisyloo says, or if you or your OH are members of a trade union they may be able to help).

If you don't have any legal assistance cover try calling the third party insurers and take it from there.