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Hopefully, you'll never be involved in a traffic accident while riding your motorcycle, but unfortunately, thousands of bikers are struck by drivers each year. If unlucky and you're hit while riding your motorcycle, you can obviously be seriously injured and your motorcycle could sustain a significant amount of damage. When the at-fault driver has sufficient liability insurance, you can typically expect your hospital bills to be covered and the expense of fixing your motor bike to be reimbursed.
However, an alarmingly high number of people are either insured at their state minimums or are driving around without insurance. If you're hit by an uninsured or underinsured motorist, you may not have recourse to recover monetary compensation. Read on to discover more about how uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage works and why it's so important for motorcycle owners to have this coverage.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Works Like This:
It was created to bridge the gap between the amount of the at-fault party's liability and their level of coverage. Here's an example: assume you're involved in a collision where the other driver is at fault. You're injured and your motorcycle is damaged. Your hospital bills total $40,000 and the cost to repair your bike is $12,000. Unfortunately, the at-fault driver is insured at the state minimum requirements.
The minimum car insurance requirements in California (at the time of writing), allow up to $15,000 for each injured person and $5,000 in property damage. Neither would be enough to cover your hospital bills and the repair expenses for your bike. Without uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, you may have a serious financial problem on your hands. But by having uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, you can be more certain that the your bills and expenses related to the accident will be paid even if the at-fault party is uninsured or underinsured.
Compensation For The Impact To Your Earning Capacity
Being injured in a traffic accident can result in costs far in excess of just your hospital bills. Your injuries could prevent you from returning to your previous job. In some cases, the impact to your earnings may be temporary, but, it could also be a permanent or long term consequence of the4 accident. An at-fault driver's health insurance and comprehensive car insurance will pay for your medical bills (assuming the driver has sufficient coverage), but, they often don't pay for the loss of earning capacity. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will usually fill the gap and compensate you for your lost income going forward.
Protect Yourself And Your Motorcycle As Well
Firstly, motorcycles can be expensive items. A really nice bike can cost $20,000 or more. Secondly, motorcycles are easily damaged and more often totally wrecked than cars. Even a minor accident at low speed could cause enough damage to your bike that you may need to scrap it. What's worse, a fairly large percentage of drivers out there don't have any insurance. So, if they hit you while you're on your motorcycle and they're at fault, it could be devastating to you financially. In the event that this happens, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can be a massive safety net. You won't be vulnerable to the consequences of the at-fault party not having sufficient insurance to cover your expenses.
Be Sure To Review Your Personal Circumstances Carefully Before Deciding What To Do
The primary drawback to increasing your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is that most states require you to boost your liability coverage as well. Your liability coverage must either match or exceed your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Because motorcycle riders are typically in more danger of sustaining injury than causing injury to others, this clause does seem rather odd. Having said that, each case is unique and you should review your own personal situation before proceeding with any purchase. Consider your family, if you own your home, operate your own company, or own other significant assets, make plans to protect them. You'll want to limit your exposure to financial risk if an underinsured or uninsured driver hits you while you're riding your motorcycle.
Don't take chances and enjoy your ride!
Kade Phillips is a writer for several popular insurance quote comparison websites powered by Kanetix. Want to learn more ways to save on your motorcycle insurance costs? Visit us for motorcycle insurance quotes, and if you're from Canada, please visit motorcycle insurance in Canada.
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