Motorcycle insurance that protects the operator

There are two main coverage elements available that protect you while riding if you are involved in an accident—uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury and medical payments. Let’s dig into each to see how they will help you following an accident.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage

Many motorcycle riders are extremely confident in their own riding ability. They’ve taken every MSF course available, ridden for years, and know exactly what to expect from their bike in nearly every situation. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to help other vehicles on the road travel with the same amount of care. Many times accidents are not caused by the rider, but by the other driver.

In the event that another driver is at fault, that driver's insurance company will often pay for not only your motorcycle's repairs, but also for your injuries sustained in the accident. Well, that's how it's supposed to work. Too many people out there see insurance as an "option" and decide that they can save money by either driving with a lower amount of coverage than necessary or with no coverage at all.

That's where uninsured motorist bodily injury (UMBI) and underinsured motorist bodily injury (UIMBI) coverages come into play. These coverages can be a bit difficult to understand because many states treat them differently. So, we’ll give a broad overview with the caveat that you need to check with your insurance company about the laws, requirements, and coverages in your state and on your policy.

These coverages basically cover what they say (imagine that!). Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage will help to pay for your injuries if the other, at-fault driver doesn't have insurance. Underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage will help pay for your injuries if the other, at-fault driver doesn't have enough insurance.

That probably seems easy enough, but it gets more difficult when you look at how each state varies regarding how the coverages are offered (UMBI only, UMBI and UIMBI separately, or a combined UMBI/UIMBI coverage). That's why it is extremely important that you check with your insurance company about the way uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages are treated in your state.

Medical payment coverage

In the event that you are in an accident, whether you are at-fault or the victim of unfortunate circumstances, medical payments coverage will provide excess medical benefits to you and your passenger. This means that you will receive coverage, up to your policy limit, to help pay for expenses that were not covered either by your own health insurance or by the other party's insurance, if they were at fault. As you evaluate just how much medical payments coverage you'd like to include in your motorcycle insurance policy, be sure to take your level of health insurance coverage, including deductible amounts and co-payment requirements, into account. That will help you determine just how much medical payment coverage you may need on your motorcycle insurance policy.

As always, if you have any questions, please call us at 800-236-2453 to speak with one of our motorcycle insurance specialists.

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