Do i have to insure my bike carrier and the bikes separately or does my vehicle liability insurance cover them in the event of damage or theft??

adminonMarch 2, 2023April 6, 2023Leave a Comment

I have been asked this question frequently and it can be answered in a relatively general way. Nevertheless, the personal insurance regulation should always be checked in order to be sure that an insurance is also valid. Theft and accident are two completely different topics, so I will also consider them separately here.

Is my bike rack insured or do I need a separate insurance policy?

Basically, all bike racks that are permanently attached to the vehicle are covered by car insurance. Accordingly, if a bicycle rack is damaged, the insurance company will pay in the event of a claim. Mind you, this applies to the bike carrier, whether roof rack, trailer hitch bike carrier or tailgate carrier. Bicycles on the other hand are not insured if the accident was self-inflicted.

If you are not at fault for the accident, but the other party is, the situation is different. In this case, you can make a claim for damage to bicycles so that the opposing vehicle's liability insurance will also cover it.

Can it happen that my insurance does not cover a damage caused by myself??

Yes, this can happen. Namely, when the carrier is not handled properly. Worse still gross negligence has been committed. Therefore, in any case, take into account the safety instructions of the wearer. In a checklist I have also noted points that you should consider before starting your journey with the bike carrier.

Can I still insure my own bicycles?

Of course, in this case it is the household insurance that pays for it. Simply contact the insurance company you trust and bring up the subject of bicycles.

What about theft of bicycle racks and insurance?

If the bicycle rack is stolen while it was on the vehicle, your own motor vehicle liability will cover it. But again it does not concern the wheels themselves. The bicycles, in turn, must be insured through a household insurance policy, as previously mentioned.

Guide to taking your bike with you

Bicycle carrier for BMW
Do I have to insure my bicycle carrier and the bicycles separately or does my motor vehicle liability insurance cover them in the event of damage or theft??
Overview advantages and disadvantages of all bike rack systems
Transporting a bike – checklist bike rack before starting with the car
Which carrier system is best suited for e-bikes and pedelecs?
Legal requirements for a trailer hitch bike carrier
Five benefits of a trailer hitch bike rack

One of the worst things that can happen to you during your vacation is to suddenly find yourself without money.

Unfortunately, it is not, especially in Thailand and Southeast Asia.

I myself have stood countless times in front of an ATM and got no money. And believe me: when you suddenly can't get money anymore, possibly traveling alone and your pockets are empty, desperation (and eventually hunger) comes up very quickly.

I could have avoided it so easily if I had done some research beforehand and seriously prepared for my trip. It wouldn't have even cost anything, except for a few hours at most searching for information on the Internet.

And that's what this article is all about: I want to save you, dear reader, from the problems that have already happened to me and, on top of that, help you save a lot of money on your travels with "smart banking".

The problems with withdrawing money in Southeast Asia

There are three problems in Southeast Asia that you can avoid with the right preparation. I won't go into detail about each of these problems now. Instead I would like to focus on the solution of the problems.

1. Credit card loss

This danger is obvious. You lose your credit card and therefore you can't get any cash. For this reason, you should always do three things:

Never travel with only one bank or credit card. Always carry at least two, preferably even three cards with you. There are so many free credit card providers now that it's just silly not to take advantage of them and only travel with one or two cards.
Keep the cards in different places. If you lose your wallet or a piece of luggage, it should not mean the loss of all bank cards.
Have the blocking number of the banks stored in your cell phone. With this you can immediately block the card in case of loss.

2. EC cards do not work reliably in Southeast Asia

Not every card that works in Germany works in Asia.

EC cards with Vpay do not work at all.

Maestro cards only work at some ATMs and are therefore not reliable, especially in poorer countries like Laos, Myanmar or Cambodia. Also, Maestro cards must be activated beforehand at your bank for foreign use.

Whether you like it or not, credit cards are an absolute must when traveling to Southeast Asia. Visa and Mastercard are the only reliable cards in Asia.

3. High ATM fees in Thailand and Southeast Asia

For each withdrawal, one pays almost everywhere in Southeast Asia the equivalent of ca. 5€ fee. For a longer trip this can be quite expensive.

Provoked traffic accidents - trivial offense or serious offense?

"When I was parking out there was suddenly the other vehicle, I didn't see that before at all." Fender benders that occur in parking lots are often excused and justified this way by the person who rear-ended the car. In fact, it was stated in law that the person parking out of the car bears the burden of proof. He must prove that the accident was not his fault, which in many cases is of course difficult to do. In some cases, however, the person parking the car is actually not at fault, because there are drivers who provoke a traffic accident in this way and thus want to collect the insurance sum. This scam is not new, but in the meantime there are not only individual perpetrators, but entire gangs who want to make a living with this method.

A provoked traffic accident is insurance fraud

The alleged victims who intentionally cause a traffic accident in a parking lot, at a narrowing in the road or at other special features in the traffic routing want to collect the liability insurance of the rear-end driver. They deliberately cause collisions and it does not matter to them that not only property damage but also personal injury can occur in the process. Every deliberately caused accident is outright insurance fraud and insurance companies estimate that they incur a loss of around 1.5 billion a year as a result of this.

Dangerous interference with road traffic

From this description alone, you can already see that a provoked accident is no longer a trivial offense. From a legal point of view, deliberately caused accidents in which serious injuries are accepted constitute dangerous interference with road traffic, which can be punished with heavy fines, but also with a prison sentence of up to ten years. To do this, of course, those who caused the damage to their own vehicle must pay for it themselves, and they will be downgraded one claim class by their insurer. Points in Flensburg give it for a dangerous interference with the road traffic by the way likewise. If you are sure that you have fallen victim to a fraudster and do not want to approve of a wrong approach by your own insurance company, you can look for alternatives on the net here.

How can you tell if an accident was provoked?

Most of the time, provoked accidents are difficult to spot in practice, but there are a few small clues that can point to them:

– The vehicle of the "victim" already has previous damage

– Witnesses intervene immediately and exert pressure

– The "victim" behaves very routinely and remains completely calm

– Performed lane changes or hand signals are suddenly denied

– The "victim's" vehicle accelerated instead of braking

As soon as there is a suspicion that an accident was caused intentionally, the police should be called in to preserve evidence. In many cases it can also be checked on the spot whether the existing damage is actually due to the accident or has other causes. The officers also make sketches of the final positions of the vehicles, which can later help in reconstructing the course of the accident.

Is my bike rack insured or do I need a separate insurance policy?

Can it happen that my insurance does not cover a damage caused by myself??

Can I still insure my own bicycles?

What about theft of bicycle racks and insurance?

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