what if the worst happens?

[crowdpleeser]

Prevention is better than cure, so I'm looking at the options I have if the worst happens, ie if I have an accident on my pushbike. I already have a helmet. I am about to fit lights on my bike this week, and I always carry a pen and pad so that I can take down the number plate, or details of the driver/motorcyclist/cyclist. But should I get third party insurance? (What is third party insurance anyway?) and how is it different from ordinary insurance? And what other options do I have? I am saying this because I cycle quite a lot, and I saw a nasty accident a couple of weeks ago.

[Miss Zippy]

If you want to cover all bases, take out a Third Party Liability insurance policy and or/a Legal Expenses policy and an accident and sickness (A&S) policy. The first type of policy will cover you in the event that you cause or contribute to an accident and a third party sues you for negligence. A Legal Expense policy will pay for you to sue a person/persons who cause an accident resulting in your personal injury etc. Both these types of policies will save you potentially large legal bills. An A&S policy will pay out if you have an accident and are unable to work for a certain length of time (assuming you are in employment, though if I recall rightly from previous posts I think you're a student?). Having been a personal injury litigator though, I can say that I dealt with many RTAs, some very nasty ones, and never have I come across a cyclist being sued for negligence. The presumption, rightly or wrongly, in the absence of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, is that the car driver is at fault if involved in an accident with a cyclist. Oh and always carry a camera with you if possible. I always keep a disposable camera in my car to record any accident I may be involved in or which I might come across (haven't had to use it yet, touch wood), saves a lot of hassle later I can tell you when people are disputing what happened etc.