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[LC0112G]

So, from what I gather from the consensus here is the majority of you would advocate that in order to level the playing field all cyclists should be obliged to take out legal cover insurance (I do not mean 3rd party insurance) in order to protect their right to fair compensation when somebody else makes a mistake that affects them?

Obliged - No. Advised - Yes. Like it or not, cycling on a public highway is a high risk thing to do compared to driving a car. If you are worried about being injured (or worse) whilst cycling, then you should take out insurance to protect yourself. If you are injured, then it'll pay out whatever you're covered up to - £100K seems typical. And if you can show that someone else is responsible for your injuries, then much greater sums may be available by going to court and suing the other party.

 

[LC0112G]

Compulsory basic third party insurance, paid for through NI, whilst not perfect, is more realistic than trying to insist on individuals having cover.

It would offer a level of protection to those who need it against those who otherwise wouldn't bother, and those who would bother would have better coverage in place anyway. And if everyone had a level of cover, then top up premiums would be significantly lower for those that were fully insured

Awful idea. Every Tom Dick and Harry would be suing the state (who administer the NI system) for injuries. The state would have to either just pay out, or employ armies of lawyers to investigate and defend against spurious claims. Either way it would cost a fortune, and it's and the tax payer - you and me - that foots the bill.

[05omegav6]

Those that can/do have insurance already  pay for that cost... Both in premiums and taxation.

Anyways, back to the Op...

[Kevin Wood]

The thing is, car insurance has been completely sewn up by the insurance companies. They effectively pay out for your losses and sort it out amongst themselves as to who pays, and how much, covering their own arses first.

It's not just cyclists..  A friend of mine ended up in the middle of a 3 car crash in a car that was insured 3rd party by a foreign insurer (long story but the car is registered in Dubai and he was driving it in Scotland on the only insurance he could obtain).

The incident was purely the fault of the car following him, who punted him into the back of a car carrying a heavily pregnant woman, simply because he was not paying attention. Neither of the insurance companies would even talk to him about covering his losses. They were keen to talk to his insurer about seeing if they could fit him up for the woman's compensation, and dealing with the fact that they'd opened her car up like a tin can to get her out, however. 

The car insurance business in this country has become a totally self-serving cartel which needs to be sorted out, IMHO.

Anyway, compulsory insurance for cyclists is too daft to even be talking about. Politically, the last thing that will ever happen in today's climate is such barriers to be erected in the way of a healthy and green means of transport.

Car insurance companies need to be obliged in some way to compensate third parties if their clients have been found at fault, IMHO, because you'll have the same problem claiming for anything unless you have a bottomless pit of legal cover to call on.