Motorcycle Insurance
Insurance requirements vary by state and it’s imperative that you are properly insured. Due to the severity of motorcycle accidents, obtaining adequate motorcycle insurance is a must. Although the state requires a minimum amount of coverage, we recommend that you have beyond the minimum coverage at level that you can afford. Too often, motorcyclists and other vehicles involved in accidents are either uninsured or underinsured. As a result, it is difficult to obtain adequate compensation for injuries, lost wages, and the repair or replacement of your motorcycle. To avoid such challenges, it’s your responsibility to maintain adequate motorcycle insurance.
Understanding motorcycle insurance terminology requires an insurance background, a dictionary, or a qualified agent. Although we as motorcycle lawyers strongly recommend that you consult with your insurance agent, we have provided a list of important insurance coverage terms with which you should familiarize yourself.
Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist
This type of policy pays up to the coverage limits for the insured rider and passenger on the motorcycle when they’re injured as the result of an accident where the at-fault driver is uninsured, underinsured or a hit-and-run situation. This also comes in a second form – Uninsured/Underinsured Property Damage (UMPD) – to cover damage to your motorcycle if hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver. However, most people do not purchase the second form of coverage because they carry collision and comprehensive coverage
Comprehensive Coverage
Optional coverage pays for your motorcycle when it is stolen or damaged in ways that don’t involve a collision. Examples include: hail damage, glass breakage, fire, vandalism, collision with an animal, flood, earthquakes, falling objects and theft. The cost of comprehensive insurance coverage is affected by the risk of loss, meaning the likelihood that an insured motorcycle will be stolen or damaged, and the motorcycle’s value at the time of the loss. According to the most recent data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 77 percent of insured drivers carry this coverage.
Collision Coverage
This optional coverage pays for motorcycle damage as a result of colliding with another object—a wall, for example. It also can come into play if you hit a pothole that severely damages your motorcycle. This insurance applies only to your motorcycle. It doesn’t cover the object the motorcycle collided with (that’s what your property damage liability insurance is for). According to the most recent data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 72 percent of insured drivers carry this coverage.
Liability Insurance
Protection in case others hold you financially responsible for bodily injury or property losses as the result of a motor vehicle accident. In other words, coverage to protect you in case you cause an accident where there is either physical or property damage to other people. This is a general term that covers both bodily injury (BI) liability and property damage (PD) liability
Medical Payments Coverage (MP or Med Pay)
This coverage pays the doctor, hospital bills, and funeral expenses for injuries to you and the passenger on your motorcycle, regardless of who causes the accident, up to the policy limits. Med Pay is sold in states with traditional tort insurance laws. In states where Med Pay is optional, drivers and passengers may choose to rely on their own health insurance to cover medical bills for resulting injuries. Most insurance companies offer a wide range of coverage amounts.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
This a package of first-party benefits that provides broad compensation for medical costs, lost wages and loss of essential daily services but if not for the accident, would be provided by the injured person (i.e. babysitter, housekeeper), as well as funeral costs. It is usually associated with a state no-fault auto insurance system.
Property Damage Liability
This coverage pays for the damage to someone else’s property caused by your vehicle when you are at fault in an accident. Usually it’s covers vehicles or property like buildings, utility poles and garage doors.
