Understanding Insurance Coverage for Bicycle Repairs after an Accident

Q: I was injured after being in an Oregon bicycle accident, and my bicycle was damaged. Who will pay to repair my bicycle?

A: Property damage, including damaged or totaled bicycles after a bicycle accident or injury, should be covered by the insurance of the negligent driver. Since all Oregon drivers are required by law to carry a minimum level of insurance to be on the road, there should be a policy to cover this type of property loss. After an accident, you would need to obtain the insurance information of the driver that hit you and file a claim with their policy.

Once you have a claim number, you can take your bike into a shop to have it evaluated for repair or replacement. Most bicycle shops will be happy to provide you with an estimate for parts and labor to repair the bike. Because of their design, some frame damage will make the bike unsafe to ride even after an expert repair, leaving replacement as the only option. In this case, the shop should be able to provide you with an estimate of the value of the bike before it was damaged, or the replacement value. Essentially, this value is that of the bike