FYI...

Crashes...not the kind we cause between ourselves...but the kind between cyclists and vehicles. It happens far too frequently. My Hammerhead Racing teammate, Giselle Carson, a Jacksonville attorney, has written an excellent article that is helpful in understanding your car insurance. How many times have you heard of a cyclist being hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver. This is compounded if you are uninsured or underinsured.

Now, before an accident, would be a great time to read the article by Chris Burns, another Jacksonville attorney, on how to protect your rights. Most of us have families and need to understand this stuff. Here's the article:

If you ride, you need to understand your automobile insurance coverage.

Cyclists are at great risk of being injured by negligent, inattentive, careless drivers. Often these same drivers are the ones driving without insurance, in violation of State laws, or with minimal insurance coverage. If you ride, you need to be proactive about your insurance coverage. The best way to be protected is to obtain adequate automobile coverage of your own. Following is a general review of the types of coverage that can be of benefit to an injured cyclist.

1) Bodily Injury / Property Damage Liability. It pays for injuries and property damage that the insured causes to someone else. Under Florida law, vehicle owners are only required to carry $10,000 of property damage liability. Damages to your bicycle will be covered by these funds. Florida law does not require bodily injury coverage. Therefore, if the at-fault driver elected not to have bodily injury coverage and had the minimum required property damage coverage, you are practically left with paying for your bills.

2) Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or No-fault. This type of coverage is required in Florida. It is primary to other benefits i.e. will cover damages suffered by the insured up to the policy limit, regardless of fault. Most policies pay for losses and expenses up to $10,000 per person, per accident. If you have a deductible, your benefits are significantly reduced because the deductible is subtracted from the damages after they are reduced by the applicable PIP percentages as outlined below.

The purpose of the PIP statute is to reduce litigation for relatively small claims and to provide the injured person with quick payment for certain expenses. PIP pays 80% of all reasonable medical expenses, including surgical, medical testing, dental, ambulance services, rehabilitative services and medical devices. It also covers 60% of gross wages lost due to the injury and all reasonable expenses incurred for household services normally performed by the injured person. A claim for PIP benefits does not lead to an automatic increase on your insurance rate.

3) Uninsured motorist. If the party responsible for your injuries does not have insurance or is underinsured and you opted to purchase UM coverage; then, you can make a claim under your UM policy to cover your damages. Your insurer must offer you UM coverage in an amount equal to your automobile liability insurance. However, your UM coverage cannot be higher than your liability coverage. Therefore, you may need to increase your bodily injury/property damage limits, in order to obtain a reasonable amount of UM coverage.

In Florida, the UM policy can be stacked. If you opt for stacking coverage you can increase the limits of your coverage by the number of cars insured under your policy. For example, if your UM coverage is $100,000 per person and you have a stacking policy and two cars; then, you have $200,000 of coverage.

To collect under your UM policy, at least four factors must be present: 1) you must have been involved in an accident which was not your fault; 2) you sustained bodily injuries; 3) the driver that caused your injuries must be an uninsured motorist or not have enough insurance to cover your losses and 4) if the at-fault driver is insured, you must make a claim to the driver’s insurance. To protect your right to recover under your UM policy, you should not settle the claim with the at-fault driver insurer without obtaining permission from your insurer. Otherwise, your ability to recover from your insurer may be limited or denied. However, you may have a claim against your insurer, if your insurer unreasonably interferes with the settlement efforts.

In Florida, you can collect for pain and suffering resulting from your injuries if you have a permanent injury as defined by statute. See below Fla. Stat. section 627.737(2). You can also recover for these damages without meeting the permanency threshold, if the at fault driver has no PIP coverage. The value of your pain and suffering claim is often calculated as a multiplier of your medical bills. This value can range from 1 to 10 times depending on the severity and types of injuries sustained.

Fla. Stat. section 627.737(2) states that a plaintiff may recover damages in tort for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease arising out of the ownership, maintenance, operation, or use of such motor vehicle only in the event that the injury or disease consists in whole or in part of:
(a) Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.
(b) Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.
(c) Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
(d) Death.

Giselle Carson is an attorney with Marks Gray, P.A. in Jacksonville and a member of Hammerhead Racing. This article is reprinted by permission and is not intended as legal advice.

I know some of you will not be Florida residents, so check with a local cycling attorney and insurance agent in your area.