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I was knocked off my bicycle by a car driver. He stopped and offered to pay for damages. My phone was broken in the incident. He says that his insurance does not cover it, and he is only willing to make a small contribution towards a replacement.

But I thought that this would be covered by his 3rd party insurance, since it is damage to third party property. Can anyone shed some light on this please? Thanks!

(Note, this happened in the UK)

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    This is probably better on the legal StackExchange site, but I think the short answer is that it would be covered. You should get the details of his insurer (which he is legally obliged to provide) and contact them directly, if he's being difficult. Also, if you were at all injured in the accident (relatively likely if you were knocked off a bike) then the police should be informed of it.
    – Ganesh Sittampalam ♦
    Commented Sep 20, 2015 at 8:26
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    @GaneshSittampalam I think you should write that as an answer! I've upvoted the comment.
    – Vicky
    Commented Sep 20, 2015 at 15:15
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    In the US, it'd be your responsibility to submit a claim to his insurance company. Your own insurance carrier may help you do so.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 20, 2015 at 16:19
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    In the US this would definitely be covered, can't speak to the UK unfortunately. :(
    – Alex B
    Commented Sep 20, 2015 at 16:46
  • @GaneshSittampalam: I've been knocked off a bike by a car without being injured (the car ran over my front wheel as it was stopping, throwing me partway off the bike).
    – Vikki
    Commented Dec 19, 2018 at 4:28

1 Answer 1

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Third party car insurance covers the car driver's entire liability to others, so yes it would cover this case.

Even if the car driver was uninsured or by some unlikely chance his insurance refused to pay, he is still personally liable for any damage caused by an accident that is his fault (which seems to be implied/admitted here).

As a car driver he is legally obliged to give the details of his insurance coverage to anyone like you with good reason to ask for it, so if he is being difficult you should demand this information and deal with his insurer directly.

Note that if you were at all injured the car driver ought to have also reported the incident to the police (though realistically he may not have done this). You also may wish to go to them yourself, whether or not you were injured, if you have any difficulty getting the insurance details.

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