Compensation for your Damaged Bike 
after an Accident

At McGee, Lerer & Associates, we demand that insurance companies compensate our clients in full for their property damage after a bike accident.

Carbon fiber bike? Demand cost of replacement, not repair.

After a bike accident, the insurance company will attempt to pay you as little as possible for your property damage. If the cost to repair your bike is less than the cost to replace it, they will always elect to pay for repairs. This is especially true for carbon fiber bikes, which can be very expensive.

But special circumstances arise with carbon fiber bikes. Carbon fiber bikes, valued by cyclists because they are light and strong, are also very fragile. After an accident, you may not be able to see the damage, but hidden cracks may exist. The slightest crack in a carbon fiber frame can compromise the entire frame. A carbon fiber bike's invisible subsurface damage can cause the bike to suddenly fail. This could have catastrophic consequences if you are on a 40 mph descent.

Bottom Line: Carbon fiber bikes should not be repaired. If your carbon fiber bike was in a bike crash, demand that the insurance carrier pay to replace it, not repair it.

Getting full compensation for your carbon fiber bike.

Insurance adjusters do not specialize in high-end bikes. You are a better expert on the value of your carbon fiber bike than the insurance adjuster. In order to get full compensation, you should provide the adjuster with as much documentation as possible as to the value of your bike.

Demand compensation for the cost of your bike.

For our car accident clients, we routinely demand "loss of use" compensation. Loss of use means compensation for the inconvenience of not having the use of your damaged vehicle. Bicycle accident victims are also entitled to loss of use, and we demand that insurance companies pay it. There is value in a bike being ridden. If you can't ride your bike because it was damaged in an accident, the insurance company must pay you for this loss. It does not matter if your injuries in the bike accident prevent you from being able to ride your bike; you are still entitled to loss of use. The insurance adjuster won’t disclose to you that you have a right to be paid for loss of use of a bicycle. But you do, and you should demand it. Don’t walk away from money you are entitled to.

How is this type of loss calculated? The insurance company must pay you for the cost of a comparable rental bike from the date of the accident through the date you receive a check for your damaged bike. We obtain a quote from a local bike shop that rents a bike like yours, and provide this quote to the insurance company. If bike shops don’t rent bikes similar to yours, we provide the closest comp we can find. If it costs $100/day to rent a comparable bike, we demand that the carrier pay you $100/day, from the date of the accident through the date you are paid for the repair or replacement of your bike. If it takes 30 days for the carrier to pay you for your bike, we demand $100/day x 30 days = $3,000.

When a bicyclist is hit by a car, the car’s insurance carrier often disputes liability. The adjuster may chose to wait until the police report is ready (if one was taken), before they finalize their liability determination. If LAPD did the report, that could take several months. Meanwhile, your loss of use claim is growing by the day. The longer they wait to accept fault and pay you for your bike, the more they must pay you on your bike loss of use claim.

Demand compensation for your damaged personal property 
after a bike accident.

After a bike crash, you are not only entitled to compensation for your damaged bike, but also for all personal property damaged in the accident.

The mindset of the insurance adjuster is to deny payment. The burden is on you to prove you had these items on you at the time of the crash, that they were damaged, and the value of the items. Keep the damaged items after a bike crash in case the insurance adjuster wants to inspect them. The larger the value of your personal property claim, the more proof the insurance adjuster will require. Provide the adjuster with photos documenting damage to each of the items. Provide the adjuster with receipts or online ads for the items.

Demand compensation for the loss of use of your bike.

For our car accident clients, we routinely demand "loss of use" compensation. Loss of use means compensation for the inconvenience of not having the use of your damaged vehicle. Bicycle accident victims are also entitled to loss of use, and we demand that insurance companies pay it. There is value in a bike being ridden. If you can't ride your bike because it was damaged in an accident, the insurance company must pay you for this loss. It does not matter if your injuries in the bike accident prevent you from being able to ride your bike; you are still entitled to loss of use. The insurance adjuster won’t disclose to you that you have a right to be paid for loss of use of a bicycle. But you do, and you should demand it. Don’t walk away from money you are entitled to.

How is this type of loss calculated? The insurance company must pay you for the cost of a comparable rental bike from the date of the accident through the date you receive a check for your damaged bike. We obtain a quote from a local bike shop that rents a bike like yours, and provide this quote to the insurance company. If bike shops don’t rent bikes similar to yours, we provide the closest comp we can find. If it costs $100/day to rent a comparable bike, we demand that the carrier pay you $100/day, from the date of the accident through the date you are paid for the repair or replacement of your bike. If it takes 30 days for the carrier to pay you for your bike, we demand $100/day x 30 days = $3,000.

When a bicyclist is hit by a car, the car’s insurance carrier often disputes liability. The adjuster may chose to wait until the police report is ready (if one was taken), before they finalize their liability determination. If LAPD did the report, that could take several months. Meanwhile, your loss of use claim is growing by the day. The longer they wait to accept fault and pay you for your bike, the more they must pay you on your bike loss of use claim.