An accident is emotionally stressful, but the financial issues are also challenging. We reveal who pays in the event of an accident involving a bicycle and a car.
Over 80,000 accidents involving bicycles are recorded in Germany every year. While car drivers are covered by car insurance, the situation is different for cyclists. Who pays for the costs if the accident results in property damage or personal injury?
Cyclists do not have to take out special bicycle insurance and are therefore not automatically insured. If you use your bicycle to get to or from work, statutory accident insurance applies. If an accident occurs, it is classified as an accident at work.
Things are different in your free time. Private accident insurance is required to protect yourself all round. This insurance is not compulsory, but is recommended for amateur cyclists. It kicks in if high treatment costs or loss of earnings become a problem after a cycling accident that was your own fault.
If you cause damage to a third party as the cause of a bicycle accident, your private liability insurance will be liable. However, this only applies if you did not act negligently. If you drove under the influence of alcohol, your insurance cover may be reduced. This applies to accident insurance as well as liability insurance.
A notice: In Germany, insurance is compulsory for e-bikes and pedelecs. The S-pedelec is considered a light motorcycle and must therefore be insured.
If you don’t have liability insurance but cause a bicycle accident, it can quickly become expensive. You will have to pay all the costs yourself, including the damage to the other party. In order to protect yourself from these costs, liability insurance is essential.
The person responsible pays the costs. This principle applies if there is an accident between a car and a bicycle. In the case of the cyclist, the private liability insurance is responsible. If the car driver was at fault, the car insurance takes over. Here too, in the event of negligence, partial or complete withdrawal of insurance cover is possible.
