From BRAC’s Newsletter
Brad Tucker and Colorado Bike Law has been a great friend and sponsor of BRAC for many years. Below he gives some useful advice for cyclists:
In my practice representing cyclists injured by the negligence of motor vehicle drivers, it is often the case that seriously injured people receive fair compensation only because of the uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage they have purchased on their own auto policy. This becomes problematic, because that coverage can be rejected, and folks looking to save every dollar on auto insurance premiums often unwittingly reject the coverage without fully understanding its importance. There are many motorists with no liability insurance. There are also many motorists who are carrying only the $25,000 minimum limits of liability required by the state. To protect yourself from a potentially financially devastating situation, I would encourage you to carry high limits of uninsured / underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage. I would encourage you to speak to your auto insurance agent about increasing your UM limits to at least $100,000, and potentially considerably more than that depending upon your circumstances and what you can afford. Generally, it is not terribly expensive to increase the limits of your UM insurance coverage. More is better, so be an informed consumer and get price quotes for different policy limits so that you can make the best decision for your circumstances. With UM coverage, you can be sure of having a source of recovery for any medical expenses, loss of income, disability, or other injuries and damages sustained in a bike accident caused by a motorist who carries no or very low limits of liability insurance.
I jacked mine to $500,000 which sits under my $1,000,000. Super affordable. It’s a no brainer to protect your assets and piece of mind for your family. Also, includes defense costs.
Increasing my Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage from 100k to 200k was around 4.50 per month, very inexpensive.