Riders Protecting Riders - So you think you have full coverage?

Rear-ended by a careless driver while riding?  Your response is often - “Don’t worry, I have full insurance coverage on my bike.”  Well, wrong answer!  You should have concerns. Far too often we see that our motorcycle friends went to the insurance agency, got “full coverage” to protect their important investment in their bike and think that they are ok if they are in an accident.  Our riding friends even have uninsured motorist and they think they are ok.  The problem is that most of the time we find that our rider friends have “full coverage” to cover 100% of the damage to their motorcycle ($15,000-30,000), but do not have “full coverage” to cover 100% of the damage for their injuries including permanent disability and lost earnings.  We find that for just a little more money, or even adjustments of coverage for no more money, they can provide for 100% coverage to their bike as well as their injured body.

If the biker has a serious leg injury with hospitalization and time out from work, the damage is that he or she could be entitled to, in an injury case, could easily be $100,000 or more.  In a recent case, our rider had “full coverage” for his totaled new Harley but only $25,000 for uninsured motorist coverage even though he has a serious leg injury, is out of work for months, will have permanent injury, will need future medical treatment and should be compensated in the $500,000 range in our opinion.  Unfortunately without full uninsured motorist coverage for his injuries and the responsible driver with no assets, he is out of luck and may have to just rely on Social Security Disability for the rest of his life.  That sucks.  Our client with his $30 k bike and $950 in insurance coverage, could have had 100% coverage for his injuries for about $50 more.

 We strongly recommend that riders have at least $250,000 in uninsured motorist coverage.  $500,000 is better.  We also recommend that they consider having a $1,000,000 umbrella policy with an uninsured motorist rider that they could probably pick up for only another $200 a year.  Print this notice out. Contact your insurance agent.  They will agree with us.  Tell them that you want to have significant uninsured motorist coverage.  Most will offer it to you if you ask.  If you want further insight, feel free to check out nhattorney.com.  We ride and are worried about our unsuspecting friends who think they are ok with “full coverage” but are cut short when injured.

Articles contained here are not intended to provide legal advice, only providing general information. We encourage individuals to consult with an attorney regarding individual circumstances.