# do juniors really need third party insurance?



## alecstilleyedye (9 May 2015)

my eldest son, 12 (nearly 13) has been coming out with me on some evening club rides. i've just looked into signing him up but the club, that previously admitted juniors for free, want £18 for third-party insurance.

i would have thought (and i may be wrong) that i would be liable if he was in my care at the time for anything he did (caused a crash that damaged another rider or their bike) and that that would be covered by my liability insurance either from the CTC or via the home insurance.

as it's not possible to sue a 13 year old for damages, does he really need insurance of his own?

legal eagles advice welcome…


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## Pro Tour Punditry (9 May 2015)

He should get free cover from British Cycling Bronze membership - unless things have changed since I was involved in helping out with youth (not "junior") racing


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## Profpointy (9 May 2015)

alecstilleyedye said:


> my eldest son, 12 (nearly 13) has been coming out with me on some evening club rides. i've just looked into signing him up but the club, that previously admitted juniors for free, want £18 for third-party insurance.
> 
> i would have thought (and i may be wrong) that i would be liable if he was in my care at the time for anything he did (caused a crash that damaged another rider or their bike) and that that would be covered by my liability insurance either from the CTC or via the home insurance.
> 
> ...




point of detail - it IS possible to sue a child for damages eg after an accident. It's not same as criminal responsibilty which does indeed have an age limit. That said, most 13 year olds have little money so it's not worth winning your case and they pay it off at 10 pence a week out of their pocket money.


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## jazzkat (9 May 2015)

I recall someone else having an issue after a crash.
Found it
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/t...y-crash-in-race-training.156248/#post-3079964


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## raleighnut (9 May 2015)

There was a post on here sometime last year (not sure when cos I was on serious pain relief at the time) about a collision between 2 youth riders and the parents of one got quite snotty to the parents of one of the CC members, I think they were trying to claim hundreds of pounds for damage to the bike.
What is the cost of a 'round of drinks' when it comes to stopping claims like this occurring.
Edit - that's the one I remembered


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## Profpointy (9 May 2015)

raleighnut said:


> There was a post on here sometime last year (not sure when cos I was on serious pain relief at the time) about a collision between 2 youth riders and the parents of one got quite snotty to the parents of one of the CC members, I think they were trying to claim hundreds of pounds for damage to the bike.
> What is the cost of a 'round of drinks' when it comes to stopping claims like this occurring.
> Edit - that's the one I remembered



well .... bear in mind insurance would only pay up if the insured were liable, and in the case you mention, the parent forked out for a quiet life although likely not liable, hence insurance may not have covered it if that makes sense.


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## Drago (9 May 2015)

You can't sue a child for damages. Someone tried it on my eldest when she was 17 and spent a lot of money getting nowhere. In the advice of our solicitor we didn't bother even defending it. Just let them spunk money away until they realised they were no further forward.


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## Profpointy (10 May 2015)

Drago said:


> You can't sue a child for damages. Someone tried it on my eldest when she was 17 and spent a lot of money getting nowhere. In the advice of our solicitor we didn't bother even defending it. Just let them spunk money away until they realised they were no further forward.



Though what you say is right in practice in that it'd usually be a waste of time & money. , I'm pretty sure that in law you really can sue a child - and win. But it's likely to be futile as they've usually not get any money. Your 17 year old could have been driving at least a moped, and most definitely could have been sued for that (presumably covered by insurance in that scenario).


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## ufkacbln (10 May 2015)

IIRC there was a thread on here where a young lad had been involved in a "touch of wheels" in a track session.

It was decided by one of the parents that the clash was down to the other rider and expected them to pay for repairs to a carbon bike

It got quite difficult


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## sidevalve (10 May 2015)

Not too sure of the big problem here. Is the insurance for on the track or out in the real world where the damages could run into thousands if he caused an accident ? If it's the latter then I suspect that lawyers could try to move the blame to the next responsible person or the club. Finally even at £18 is that really so much for peace of mind - I mean really. It's little more than the price of a tyre and less than 5 pence a day and as above there are lots of cheaper options anyhow.


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## alecstilleyedye (10 May 2015)

well insurance time it is then…


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