Accident involving cycle - possible to claim?

MJD

If I have parked my car on the road and whilst it is unattended it has been hit by a cyclist is it possible to claim?

I have insurance and will be making a claim but in the normal course of events, if a car had hit my car, I assume that my insurance would have claimed against the other parties insurance.
The cyclist stopped and all details have been exchanged but of course cycles do not have insurance.
What are the options here - somehow I doubt that the cyclist will want to stump up the repair bill for my car.

YorkshireBoy

This is a long shot, but what about their home contents insurance. I ask this because a few years ago a dog (which was off it's lead but with it's owners) ran out and under my car, causing over £200 damage.

I had to put the claim through my insurers but I insisted they pursue a claim from the dog owners home contents policy (they wanted to go knock-for-knock!).

I also managed to claim my uninsured losses (voluntary excess/car hire etc) from the dog owners home contents policy, so the accident was recorded as a "not-at-fault" claim on my records.

Like I said, a long shot - but might be worth persuing. Alternatively, take the cyclist to a small claims court. If he's going to lose a days pay defending the case it might persuade him to cough-up "out of court". What's the estimated cost of repairs?

Good luck.

Edit: Check out this thread, particularly post #3...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=73377

Bossyboots

My neighbours' home insurance covered them for damage their son did to a car by cycling out into the road.

My own view is that cycle insurance should be compulsory. I would have thought it was to their own benefit to be insured as otherwise, if home insurance does not cover it, they are personally liable for any damage they cause.

misterthrifty

In that case why not compulsary insurance for skate-boarders and pedestrians?? I think we spend too much time holding everybody else responsible for what is often a genuine mistake (which we all can make). The chances are that he would be covered by home insurance or, if he is a member of a cycling organisation, they would also provide liability cover. However, if you take on an insurance company the onus is on you to prove negligence which may not be as easy as you think!

Mr T

Bossyboots

misterthrifty wrote:

In that case why not compulsary insurance for skate-boarders and pedestrians?? I think we spend too much time holding everybody else responsible for what is often a genuine mistake (which we all can make). The chances are that he would be covered by home insurance or, if he is a member of a cycling organisation, they would also provide liability cover. However, if you take on an insurance company the onus is on you to prove negligence which may not be as easy as you think!

Mr T

But why should motorists be out of pocket. Cyclists use the roads the same as cars and car drivers have to be insured.

On Monday morning I had to swerve to avoid a cyclist. I was indicating to turn right and he approached the junction I was turning into. He started to pull out just I started to turn and I had to take avoiding action to prevent him riding into the side of my car. Are you suggesting I should have paid for my own repairs because of his "mistake". I have no idea why he chose to start off. He had already stopped as I approached and then just set off again.