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Insurance
Motorcycle
Q: What about
insurance?
A:
You should know that riding motorcycles
is and can be dangerous and risky, more
so than in automobiles.
Although
it is not frequently discussed, the fact
remains that you need motorcycle
insurance to protect you from the
overwhelming loss that can occur in an
accident. Well thought out coverage
ensures no great loss of income or
economic burden that could disable you
financially after an accident. There are
different kinds of coverage that pay for
different kinds of loss. This is what
confuses many riders when they buy
motorcycle insurance. Not having the
right kind of coverage can be
devastating. It is like going into
battle with holes in your armor.
In
Texas you are required by law to carry a
minimum amount of liability insurance to
legally operate a motor vehicle on the
roads. In general, liability coverage
pays for damages to others if you cause
an accident and injure another person or
damage their property. Your injury or
loss is not covered by this insurance
coverage.
Part
of the liability coverage is for bodily
injury liability, a type of coverage
that you are required by law to carry in
most states. A legal minimum in many
states is as little as $10,000 per
person, per accident. Your coverage pays
for injury to others when the accident
is your fault. Important- remember that
loss above that amount is not covered
and the other person can seek legal
action to obtain a judgment against you
for that amount.
If
you are involved in an accident and the
other driver is at fault, then the other
driver’s property damage liability
coverage pays for your injuries and
motorcycle damage. Property damage
liability insurance is required by law,
but the legal minimum amount for this
coverage in some states is only $5,000
per accident. So, if a driver with the
$5,000 minimum totals out your $15,000
bike, his insurance company will pay you
only $5,000. How will you get the other
$10,000? If the other driver files for
bankruptcy, you end up with nothing.
That is where underinsured motorist
coverage is important.
If
you purchased underinsured property
damage coverage, you may be able to
collect the other $10,000 to fix your
bike. This insurance is used to “fill
the gap” between the actual amount of
damages and what the other driver’s
insurance paid, but only if the other
driver caused the accident and only if
you purchased limits high enough to
cover all of the remaining damage. In
other words, if the legal minimum
requirement in your state is $5,000 for
property damage liability; and you drive
a $15,000 bike, you should have at least
$10,000 limits on you underinsured
property damage.
Underinsured
motorist coverage picks up where the
other driver’s insurance runs out.
This typed of insurance is very
important. If you are injured in a
motorcycle accident, break your leg,
spend a week in the hospital and are off
work for six months, and experience a
great deal of pain and suffering, but
the other driver only had a minimum
liability policy on their vehicle, you
are left holding the bag. For example,
someone else caused an accident, crashes
into you, and puts you in the hospital
with serious injuries. You end up not
working for three or four months (if you
have already used all your sick time and
all your vacation time, you will receive
no income until you go back to work). To
make matters worse, the co-payments on
your medical bills, if you have
insurance, are several thousand dollars.
So, if someone else causes an accident
with you, and they only carry the
$10,000 minimum, what will you do if
your damages amount to more than
$10,000? The average one night stay in a
hospital is around $4,000, so you can
see how easily and quickly medical bills
can add up. And what about your lost
wages? Finally, you are entitled to an
amount for your pain and suffering. You
need underinsured motorist coverage. It
might be wise to consider strongly this
insurance.
Underinsured
motorist coverage is usually sold along
with uninsured motorist insurance.
Uninsured
motorist coverage is a very important
insurance coverage for you to consider.
In many metropolitan areas of the
country the other drivers may be
uninsured. These uninsured drivers can
make up as high as 40% of the drivers on
the road!
The
motorcycle driver is not at fault in
most accidents. Therefore, you have a
high probability of being hit and
injured by a driver who has no
insurance. The only way you can protect
yourself is to purchase uninsured
motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist
coverage pays for medical expenses,
property damage, and pain and suffering
(however, there are limitations in
no-fault states). We strongly recommend
that you purchase this insurance and do
not drive without it. Many riders
mistakenly believe uninsured motorist
coverage pays only for medical bills,
and that they do not need it because
they carry health insurance. WRONG!-- it
pays for medical expenses, as well as
loss of earnings, and pain and
suffering.
It
is a very good good idea to talk to your
agent, or talk to several agents, to
determine the best coverage that will
provide the most protection against loss
that you can afford. Then again what can
you really afford to loose or be
responsible. You need to remember that
different insurance companies have
different exclusions to their insurance
policies. The most common for motorcycle
policies is the passenger exclusion,
which means that your insurance company
will not pay for injuries to your
passenger under your bodily injury
liability coverage if you were at fault.
There are other types of exclusions
that, unless you ask, you may never know
about until it is too late. Therefore,
the most important thing you can do is
to fully understand you entire coverage.
Collision
is a type of insurance that pays, after
your deductible has been met, for your
bikes repair if you hit anything, even
something like a dog or a deer, or if
the accident was your fault. Many times
bike component add-ons are excluded or
value reduced by the insurance company.
Understand this.
Comprehensive
is a type of insurance that pays for
your bike, after your deductible has
been met, for the replacement of your
bike if it is stolen, suffers damage
from fire or hail, or is vandalized.
Again there are exclusions and
deductions.
The
time to find out about coverage and
exclusions on any policies is before you
buy it. Before you sign anything, ask
your insurance agent if there are any
exclusions or notice requirements in the
policy. Always ask to have all
exclusions and notice requirements
explained to you before you buy any
insurance.
RECOMMENDATION
A
critical insurance coverage to consider
for bike riders is uninsured and
underinsured motorist coverage. This
type of coverage could be extremely
important, because 2/3 of motorcycle
accidents are caused by the other
driver.
You
need to protect yourself just in case
your injury is more than minor, such as
a broken leg or foot. Hospital bills,
loss of wages, and pain/suffering
together can easily be greater then the
minimum liability coverage in All
States. In that your losses are
frequently much greater than the other
persons coverage.
Consider
Uninsured/Underinsured coverage of
100/300 limits. That means $100,000 per
person, $300,000 per accident. The
insurance carriers require you purchase
liability insurance at the same level.
This is not a problem because additional
coverage is not a lot of money, usually
$90 to $110 per year.
If
you have any questions about types of
policies or limits of coverage contact
your insurance agent ASAP.
Also
another source for questions if you do
have a motorcycle accident call 1-800-4-BIKERS.
They can provide advise regarding
you individual circumstances, and tips
on how to deal with your insurance
company.
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