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OPINION

I was knocked off my bike by a driver… and faced more than just a physical battle

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When road.cc contributor Emma Silversides decided to buy a car, she didn't anticipate this would involve extra stress because she was hit by a driver while cycling months previously

On top of the physical and emotional stress that came with being knocked off her bike, in this blog road.cc contributor Emma Silversides recounts another frustrating hurdle that she was forced to climb over following the incident last year. Here’s what happened when she tried to insure a new car…

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“While out on the bike in November last year, I was hit by a driver while going round a roundabout. The driver literally drove into my left side, and afterwards he stopped, as did the woman behind him.

He started to claim I wasn't visible, as the incident happened at night. The female driver who had been behind him as he came onto the roundabout was swift to support me: “How did you not see her? She is glowing, even I saw her and I was behind you”, she said.

Indeed, I had two front and two rear lights and fully reflective Proviz gear on. The driver quickly relented and handed over details. I was in shock but could move, which I figured was just bruising at first as nothing felt broken at the time. 

The following morning, when I went to stand up, my knee gave way. I went to the hospital, and the incident was reported to the police. The driver admitted fault and was sent on a driver's awareness course. 

An insurance company specialising in cycle claims, took up my case. Payment for repairs to my bike and equipment was paid out very quickly following the driver's admission of guilt. Sadly, my physical injuries are still being treated so the civil case is not yet closed. 

> Hit by a driver? The 9 vital steps you should take next

At the time of the incident, I was actually car-less. I'd terminated my car insurance in August 2020 and sold my car, and the incident occurred in November 2020. Last week I decided to look into getting another car, and priced up insurance on one that I had my eyes on. With 24 years of no-claims bonus and a car with a humble value, the quote came in at £165… however, the payment for it was refused.

I was instructed to call the insurers, which I did and was told I hadn't provided ‘the correct information’. According to their database I'd been involved in an accident in the last 3 years! The agent cut and paste what the database was telling him (it was a webchat, so fortunately for him he couldn’t hear my expletives). To my surprise, this included the date of my cycling incident, the pay-out (for repairs) and the insurance company that paid out the money. Then, even more shockingly, my 'fault'. 

Two things pissed me off here. Firstly, I was not at fault! So why was it showing that I was? Apparently (and yes, many people I've spoken to were aware of this, even if I wasn't), until a case is closed, both parties are deemed 'at fault', even if one has admitted that the fault was theirs. Okay, I accept that. Indeed, the insurance company I was dealing with just wanted to see the letter (from my insurance company) documenting that the other party had admitted fault. They could adjust the premium accordingly, but wouldn't amend the 'at fault' part; this wouldn't change until the case is fully closed.

However, the second issue I had was that on this insurance database (that all insurers can access), nothing was mentioned about the fact that I was on a bike. How could this be affecting my premium given that I didn't even own a car at the time of the incident? This was an oversight on the part of the company paying out for repairs to my bike and kit. When I contacted them, they rectified and amended it without hesitation, but it did require me to send a letter proving that I was on a bike. Indeed, much of the documentation records damage to the 'vehicle'. This vehicle was named as a 'Decathlon Triban'. 

I don't really know how this error/oversight has been allowed to happen. I guess for anyone who doesn't know anything about bikes, a Decathlon Triban could be anything. I am much calmer about the situation now, but I do feel that whoever entered that information should at least know that a Decathlon Triban isn't a car! However, as cyclists we very much remain a minority on the roads. Part way through one of the many conversations I had in my efforts to resolve this, an agent said to me: “I’m so sorry that you were knocked off your motorbike".  

In short, I'd say for any cyclist involved in an incident and looking to make a claim, be aware of these things. Maybe people are already aware and I was just naive. A huge part of me was angry that not only was I suffering the physical consequences of a driver's careless actions, but it appeared that I was going to be penalised financially; even though I’ve kept a clean slate on my actual driving licence for 24 years. On the plus side, all the agents I dealt with were actually super helpful in explaining and resolving the issue.

While the case is still not closed, I have paid a premium in extra stress and admin that I wouldn’t have had to deal with if someone hadn’t have knocked me off my bike.”

Emma’s first encounters with a road bike were in between swimming and running. Soon after competing for GB in the World Age Group Triathlon Championships in Edmonton in 2001 she saw the light and decided to focus on cycling. 

After a couple of half decent UK road seasons racing for Leisure Lakes, she went out to Belgium to sample the racing there and spent two years with Lotto-Belisol Ladies team, racing alongside the likes of Sara Carrigan, Grace Verbeke, Rochelle Gilmore and Lizzie Deignan. Emma moved from Lotto-Belisol to Dutch team Redsun, then a new Belgian team of primarily developing riders, where there was less pressure, an opportunity to share her experience and help build a whole new team; a nice way to spend her final years of professional racing. 

Since retiring Emma has returned to teaching. When not coercing kids to do maths, she is invariably out on two wheels. In addition to the daily commute, Emma still enjoys getting out on her road bike and having her legs ripped off on the local club rides and chain gangs. She has also developed an addiction to touring, with destinations including Iceland, Georgia and Albania, to mention just a few. There have also been rare sightings of Emma off-road on a mountain bike…

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19 comments

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wycombewheeler | 2 years ago
0 likes

deleted

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nicmason | 2 years ago
2 likes

Get a good lawyer (I agree about getting a cycle friendly one)  and check everything. When I was knocked off I was sent to see a doctor for a report by my lawyer. When I checked the report it didnt mention I'd been knocked out and taken to hospital. 

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SaneRebel | 2 years ago
3 likes

CyclingUK offer their members free legal help with cycling accident claims that involve person injury (as well as free third party insurance), which I had to use on one occasion. Hopefully their legal people are suitably familiar with cycling, so that any claims are recorded correctly with insurance companies involved and not confused with motor vehicle claims. But I would also hope that the company Emma used 'an insurance company specialising in cycle claims' would do this.

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UrbanCommuter | 2 years ago
6 likes

If either party misleads in an insurance claim, technically, insurance fraud has been committed. I would usually recommend going to the financial ombudsman to complain about the insurer. Unfortunately the FOS in the UK has recently been identified by Channel 4's Dispatches as a captured regulator (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/14/whistleblower-reveals-f...) they are therefore worse than useless, because they will not even take up your case and call the matter closed very quickly to get your complaint off their system.

A first step could therefore be ActionFraud UK to report the individual at the insurer who has written up the false details. You'll need to be relentless and persistent in bringing the perpetrators to justice though because that's what justice entails for the non rich and powerful in this day and age.

I'll bet you have a new found sympathy for those people bending the truth with their insurers though!

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wycombewheeler | 2 years ago
9 likes

if insurers are inclined to take cycling incidents into account, will they be offering no claims discout for years of cycling insirance with no claims?

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OldRidgeback | 2 years ago
3 likes

We had a false claim made against us for a crash that our car hadn't been involved in. It took a year before the insurance company gave us the money back, having bumped up our premium somewhat.

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Awavey | 2 years ago
4 likes

I had that when someone drove into my car, was a total PITA till it got sorted, but Id never have expected being involved as a claim as a cyclist would count with the same hassle.

is this just someone got their wires crossed about the situation and typed something in a computer wrong and then you spend years trying to correct it, or do they genuinely count them as relevant ?

I mean what happens if one of those car hits your house things happens, do you get hit on your car insurance as well ?!?

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Aberdeencyclist replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
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If a Third Party vehicle hits your house you don't have to declare that on your car policy . But you touch on a point about Insurers systems. They've not got as many options for logging claims as you'd think , they've got front line staff geared to bump through volume transactions rather than dwell , and tend not to delete or correct stuff that quickly as a result and usually not until they see paperwork from the other insurer taking the blame

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CyclingSilvers replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
2 likes

Yep, I'd say failure to enter data correctly, or no option for bike (how worrying). I'd like to think that anyone working in car insurance questions Triban Decathlon as being a car but then they are just doing a data entry job and probably don't really care.
As I said, the people I dealt with to correct the fault were really helpful, sympathetic and polite, without exception.

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Pyro Tim | 2 years ago
5 likes

When I changed insurance company last week a similar thing happened to me. Luckily I was on the phone and was able to sort it there and then, but not nice being accused of not declaring an accident. The accident was when I was knocked off my bike. Both my bike and their car was written off, and they accepted liability straight away. Luckily I wasn't really injured

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Hug | 2 years ago
7 likes

Thanks for writing this Emma. I had no idea that there could be so many problems with motor insurance when the not-at-fault party is a cyclist. I wonder if it would be the same if one was a pedestrian?

I hope that you make a full recovery  

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CyclingSilvers replied to Hug | 2 years ago
0 likes

Have to admit having had the same thought myself about a pedestrian, I don't know, but horrific to think that it could.

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Seventyone | 2 years ago
11 likes

I had exactly the same issue. Hit by a car who pulled out from a side road. Driver convicted for driving without due car and attention, my car insurance policy then made more expensive as there was a record of a collision on my file even though

I. It wasn't my fault

2. I wasn't driving

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
9 likes

I'm afraid you are a victim of simple processing where data is entered by rote.

Part of my job is resolving the issues caused by this behaviour and it is very hard to get people to change.

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doodlydiddle replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
5 likes

Could I ask some advice? I was knocked off my bike in february. The drivers insurer has accepted full liability and claim is ongoing (injury and losses).

I have both motorcycle and car insurance policies. Do I need to declare this incident to them? I didn't think I needed to, but this article now has me concerned!

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Aberdeencyclist replied to doodlydiddle | 2 years ago
7 likes

Depends on the wording of your policy proposal and policy document which both form part of the contract . No one here can speak for your insurer , so call your broker or insurer for clarification . I did 42 yrs in insurance , subtle variations exist in quite everyday policies that can trip you up. If you've got a letter from the Third Party insurer accepting blame, you'll be fine. A bicycle legally is a vehicle , so if e.g your insurer asks " involving any vehicle " you may have to declare. If it asks " any motor vehicle " that differs . Do call your broker or insurer . Be aware the first person you speak to may or may not know the answer , but they'll get you a definitive answer eventually which you should get as an email or letter and retain, for at least 5 yrs.

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Hirsute replied to doodlydiddle | 2 years ago
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Sorry, was just making a general point about data entry !

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kil0ran replied to doodlydiddle | 2 years ago
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It's complicated. Strictly speaking, you should even declare "accidents" where a claim hasn't been made. It's the same with house insurance - if you've had a break-in but not claimed (e.g. someone nicking a couple of spades from your shed) you should declare it. It depends on the wording - some will just ask about claims, others will ask about incidents. In this case, if the question was "have you had any accidents in the last 3 years" then not notifying them of the bike incident was potentially fraudulent. 

If you think about it from the insurers perspective, if you're regularly having accidents but not claiming you're still a higher risk than a policyholder who hasn't.

This has come up a few times in the past in performance car clubs where people haven't declared that they're using their vehicles for trackdays, even with the knowledge that track use isn't covered, and that they wouldn't claim for it. People doing trackdays in mainland Europe in particular were quite wary about it

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CyclingSilvers replied to doodlydiddle | 2 years ago
0 likes

Unfortunately, I'd say yes. But have the letter to hand that shows they have accepted liability, be ready to scan it and send it to your insurers. Hopefully that will avoid changes to your premium.

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