Do cyclists have to have insurance?

I think you can take them to court but you would have to google it .

Household insurance covers you for public liability whether you're on a bike or on foot. But the number of cases of cyclists or pedestrians causing damage to a car by jumping a red light is minute. It must be, or the insurance companies wouldn't include it in the policy basically for free.

If you want to earn the insurance industry's undying gratitude by making separate third-party cover compulsory for everyone who might ever want to leave their house, then go ahead and campaign for it.

Many cyclists, myself included,have insurance included in their membership of British Cycling, CTC, or Cycling UK. Fortunately you also get free legal assistance which enabled me to claim against the motorist who came over a "Halt sign" and t-boned me resulting in 6 months off work and permanent damage to my left leg and destroying my bike.   
You'd be a lot wiser to worry about the 1 million uninsured cars on the road who'll do you and your precious car a lot more damage than ever a cyclist jumping a red light.

No. Cyclists don't have to have insurance but many of them do. Whereas motorists have to have insurance but many of them don't.

Cyclists cause lots of accidents by disregarding the rules of the road and causing cars to take preventative action and hitting another car.

THE UK’S INDEPENDENT FACTCHECKING CHARITY:

11,929 incidents involving cyclists were included - accounting for two-thirds of all bike accidents in 2010. Of these, 48 per cent did not record a contributory factor as a reason for the accident. From this, we can conclude that 52 per cent of bikes involved in accidents contributed in some way towards the incident.

For teenage and adult cyclists, accidents are more likely to involve collisions with motor vehicles, but about 16% of fatal or serious cyclist accidents reported to the police do not involve a collision with another vehicle, but are caused by the rider losing control of their bicycle.

Problem is these half witted cyclists watch British triumph after triumph on 2 wheels at the olympics and take to the road in tightly clad lycra with a beer belly hanging out or some bint with a rear end bigger than a dumper truck and haven't a clue as to the laws of the road governing cycling; or indeed any awareness of what's around them.

Never a single day or should I say a single hour go by without seeing dozens of Cyclists jumping red lights or riding on pavements or swerving in and out of traffic cutting up motorists, flimsy bikes shouldn't be on the same road as such powerful machinery, they are a menace and a law unto themseves, not all of them but a helluva lot. The ones clad out in full lycra gear are always the most aggressive.

They should have number plates, that would make them think twice if they could be traced.

Dopey Boris thought it was a good idea to put thousands more onto the streets, where you don't have to wear helmets.

Shouldn't be allowed in busy cities full stop, countryside yes.

oh, and it's never thier fault.

I think that trick cyclists have to have some form of insurance.

Sorry to hear of your 'accident' bix, a similar incident happened to me on my motorcycle. Yours, like mine, must have been some time ago as I think they last installed 'HALT' signs in 1965.