I joined a local bike group and last summer was awesome as I spent many happy hours cruising country lanes and grabbing a bag of chips at the seaside. The difference between now and being 16 years old (the last time I had a Vespa) is I could afford the petrol and the chips! To blow out the cobwebs at New Years, our local bike group met up for the first ride of the year to the coast.
Spirits were high and as I sat in the line of traffic, one of our group leant over from his Harley to muck about and rev my throttle as a joke (I had also seen him turn someone else’s kill switch off as a ‘joke’). However, what our ‘hilarious’ member had forgotten was that I was on an automatic bike. You know what happened next… carnage.
I shot off like a scolded cat, crashing into the back of a Bentley of all cars. I went over the handlebars and broke both wrists. Not a fun day out. My insurer has paid out to the poor Bentley owner. However, his claim has trashed my insurance record and I’m wondering what I can do, if anything, i.e., because I wasn’t actually hit by ‘Mr. Hilarious’ and I rear ended someone else. Do I just have to suck up my bad day out and my injuries?
Answer
Not exactly the New Year anyone wants. No, you do not have to ‘suck up’ your bad day out.
Your insurer paying out the Bentley owner is a smart move as he was truly an innocent victim. i.e., your bike hit the rear of him. Your insurer probably wanted to avoid an expensive hire claim.
Whilst ‘Mr. Hilarious’ didn’t hit you, your injuries arose from his negligence that occurred whilst he was riding his bike. Therefore, I suspect your insurer will be looking to get their outlay back from Mr. Hilarious’ insurer. If they do that, your insurance record should get sorted.
As for your injuries, you can make a claim against Mr. Hilarious and his insurer. Whilst it’s a bit unusual, his insurer will have to pay out for his negligence. What a dipstick.
Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast
More Bikes March 2020
