Summer is here and the bike paths are crowded. A dangerous overtaking, a risky maneuver… And you could be involved in a collision between bikes. From material losses to medical expenses, the consequences can sometimes be expensive. Are you well protected by your insurance?
“In the event of a collision involving a motor vehicle, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec [SAAQ] will compensate for the damages. We do not look at who is responsible, that is to say whether it is the car or the bicycle that is at fault. It is a system that is without regard to fault,” recalls Benjamin W. Polifort, civil law attorney at the firm Lambert Avocats.
The SAAQ does not cover the loss of your bicycle, but it can compensate you for your injuries, your care and your loss of wages.
However, in the case of a collision between bicycles or between a bicycle and a pedestrian, the SAAQ does not cover these damages. “Usually, people are covered by home insurance that includes a civil liability component,” says Mr. Polifort.
No civil liability?
“Civil liability is used to cover property damage and bodily injuries that we cause to others,” says Dominique Larouche, property and casualty insurance advisor at CAA-Québec. “In an ideal world, we would like everyone to be covered for civil liability, but that is not the case,” she adds.
According to data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, approximately 30% to 35% of Quebec renters—one third of them—do not have home insurance. If a cyclist does not have liability insurance, “they are potentially exposed to prosecution in the event of an accident and will have to come out of their own pockets if they are responsible,” Polifort points out.
However, costs can quickly add up depending on the severity of a collision. Compensation claims can include ambulance fare, dental care, physiotherapy sessions, lost wages, etc. “You can send a formal notice to the person who is at fault and tell them to forward it to their insurance company to claim these compensations, otherwise they will have to reimburse you,” explains Mr. Polifort.
“If you ride an electric bike, if you go fast, the danger is greater. So it can be very risky not to be insured,” says M.me Larouche.
Compensation for all users?
In Quebec, there is no data on the number of collisions between bicycles or between bicycles and pedestrians, laments Jean-François Rheault, CEO of the Vélo Québec organization. “The damage that can be done by bicycle is more limited compared to that done by car, but the risks are still present,” he says.
According to Vélo Québec data, 9 out of 10 cyclists pay for a driver’s license. “So they pay for the SAAQ compensation fund. But if they have a collision between bicycles or with a pedestrian, they are not insured,” says Mr. Rheault.
“What shocks us a little is the idea that a person who decides to take their bike – and therefore to make a mobility choice with many positive externalities – finds themselves less well protected than when they take their car,” he adds.
In a brief filed last February, Vélo Québec renewed its request to the Quebec government to expand the scope of the public automobile insurance plan to all road accident victims.
Asked about this by the Dutythe office of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, indicates that it has “received” this request, and that it is “still under analysis”. The study of this proposal remains, however, at the “embryonic” stage, specifies the office.