Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance: Vital Coverage for all California Bicyclists

By: Howard D. Krepack, Esq.

California has a mandatory automobile insurance law; what is formally called the "financial responsibility" law. But the fact is that financially irresponsible motorists remain on our streets and highways in large numbers and thus people injured by such motorists are at risk of being unable to recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering. Insurance companies are therefore required to offer two types of insurance to protect people against such irresponsible motor vehicle usage.

"Uninsured motorist" coverage ("UM") refers to protection in the event that a negligent vehicle operator without any insurance at all causes injury to the person who owns that coverage. "Underinsured motorist" coverage ("UIM") provides the same type of protection in cases where a negligent person does not have enough of their own auto insurance coverage to pay for all of the damages sustained by the insured person who owns the UIM coverage.

The law "presumes" that every motorist who has insurance will have UM and UIM coverage. If you go to your local insurance agent and ask for "full coverage" you will get UM and UIM coverage. If you ask for "bare bones" coverage, you will get only the coverage you need to protect you in case you are at fault in an accident while operating your insured motor vehicle. But you will also get UM and UIM coverage in a "bare bones" policy UNLESS you sign a form in plain language that says you are waiving UM and UIM coverage. If there is no waiver, the full and complete provisions of the UM and UIM law (over 3 pages of small type in the California statute books) are made a part of the insurance policy.

How much coverage do you get for UM and UIM? In California, you are usually entitled to the same coverage to protect you against UM's and UIM's as you have in case you are at fault. If you have $100,000 of "liability coverage (your protection in case you are at fault in an accident), you can usually get $100,000 of UM and UIM coverage. But the absolute minimum for UM and UIM in California is $30,000 for each injured person and $60,000.00 for multiple injured people in the same accident. The only way that the law allows less than that is if you agree in writing; even then the UM and UIM limits cannot be less than $15,000 for each injured person and $30,000 per accident.

Every bicyclist should have UM and UIM protection. Why? Because protection is extended to the insured PERSON. UM and UIM coverage has nothing to do with whether or not you are an occupant of a particular type of motor vehicle. This is why UM and UIM coverage should never be waived and why many consumer advocates believe that UM and UIM policy limits should be as much as a person can afford. Simply stated, your UM and UIM coverage protects you while you are riding your bicycle. For that matter, it also protects you while you are walking. UM and UIM coverage protects you against uninsured and underinsured motorists pretty much wherever you are and regardless of what you are doing in the event you are a victim of a UM or UIM's negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

If you have UM and UIM protection, you have also protected all of your family members living in your household, in the event they are similarly injured while riding a bike.

As you can see, UM and UIM coverage can be the most valuable part of your automobile insurance policy. Unfortunately, many insurance agents do not recognize this fact and often write coverage with inadequate limits for UM and UIM. In most cases, the increased limits for UM and UIM do not result in a significant premium increase. It is therefore very important for you as an avid bicyclist to be aware of the importance of UM and UIM coverage and to take out a level of coverage you can afford that will provide meaningful benefits in the event of an accident involving an uninsured or underinsured motorist.

With UIM coverage, you are typically protecting yourself against the negligent driver who has chosen to take out only the California minimum of $15,000.00. UIM coverage only kicks in once you make a claim and obtain the negligent driver's $15,000 of coverage. If you have $30,000 of UIM coverage, and if the nature and extent of your injuries justifies it, your claim against your own carrier is for $15,000 (that is, you are entitled to the $15,000 from the "underinsured" driver and $15,000 from your own policy for a total of $30,000). As you can see, the wise choice is to have as much UM and UIM coverage as you can afford, so that you can recover fair compensation in the event you are injured at the hands of an uninsured or underinsured motorist.

Finally, what can you do about the damage to your bicycle? Many avid cyclists are the proud owners of special and unique bicycles. Unfortunately, the UM and UIM law will not help you. That is because a UM/UIM policy does not reimburse you for your damaged bike if you are hit by an uninsured motorist. Our recommendation is that you obtain specific coverage for your bicycle under your homeowner's insurance policy. You need to shop around. Some policies will not cover a bicycle damaged in a motor vehicle collision. But this is not always the case. It is important to find a policy that does not exclude your bicycle. It is also important that the policy you buy include replacement cost coverage, so that the insurer cannot depreciate the value of the bike.

A full discussion of all of the ins and outs of UM and UIM law is not possible in this short article (there are a number of exemptions, limitations and exclusions not covered here). Hopefully, you have learned from this article that meaningful, substantial UM and UIM coverage (as well as appropriate homeowners coverage) is important not only for motorists, but also for bicyclists, who are as exposed as anyone in society to the risks created on our streets and highways by uninsured and underinsured motorists.