Posts Tagged insurance coverage

Motorcycle Accidents: Insurance, Compensation, and Lawsuit Information for Victims

Motorcycle registrations are increasing in the United States each year, and fatalities and injuries from motorcycle accidents are also escalating yearly.

Each state has its own minimum motorcycle insurance requirements but, basically, in most states bodily injury and property damage insurance are compulsory. The required amounts of insurance for bodily injury range from approximately $20,000 to $50,000, while property damage coverage may be from $5,000 to $30,000. Bodily injury insurance protects you from claims if you are the cause of a motorcycle accident that injures another person and property damage insurance is against damage to another person’s property. If the amount of the injured party’s claim or the property damage loss is higher than your insurance policy coverage, you will be financially responsible for payment of the difference. Insurance policies also cover legal fees if a lawsuit is brought against you for a motorcycle accident.

This insurance does not compensate you for your injuries if you are injured in a motorcycle accident that is not your fault. For this reason, it is important you obtain insurance coverage for yourself. Uninsured motorist protection is optional insurance that pays your medical expenses and property damage if the person at fault does not have insurance. Not everyone has insurance despite the legal requirement to carry coverage.

Motorcycle insurance operates in the same manner as automobile policies. If you suffer injuries in a motorcycle accident that is the fault of another, you are entitled to reimbursement of your medical expenses, pain and suffering, past and future wage loss, and property damage. Insurance adjusters will negotiate with you directly regarding your claim unless you hire a lawyer to act on your behalf.

In some instances, it may be necessary to retain a lawyer. This may happen if the insurance company denies your claim, delays payment of your claim, or does not fairly compensate your losses. A lawsuit may become the only method available to collect compensation for your losses if the person responsible for the motorcycle accident does not have enough insurance coverage to make full restitution for your claim.

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Tips on Lowering the Premium Rates of Motorcycle Insurance Coverage

Most states require people to have motorcycle insurance coverage that will help them pay for any damages and injuries they sustain after a crash. This coverage will also help at-fault motorcycle riders to pay for the repair and hospital bills of their victims.

Meanwhile, many people think that motorcycle insurance is just another unnecessary expense. But contrary to this belief, such coverage may even lessen their expenses in the event of an accident, whether they are the at-fault driver or the victim.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT PREMIUM RATES

Insurance providers based the premium rates on several factors that will determine if a person is a high risk rider or not.

  • Age. Insurance companies require higher premium rates for younger people who are more prone to crashes compared to middle-aged bikers. Experts attributed this disparity with the tendency of young people to underestimate a dangerous condition.
  • The type of motorbike. The more expensive the bike is, the higher its premium rate. So for those who want to lower their premiums, it is better to stick with ordinary motor bicycles.
  • Driving record. This record will show if a person is a high risk policyholder or not. According to insurance lawyers, tainted driving records will result to higher premium rates.
  • The policyholder’s job. A person’s premium rates will be influenced by his job. For example, an office clerk will have lower premiums compared to a messenger who always need to travel from different places.
  • The policyholder’s location. Insurance companies require higher rates for people who are living in areas with a high crime and accident rate.

LOWERING PREMUIM RATES

By knowing these basic factors used by insurance companies in computing the premium rates, it will be easier to adopt strategies that will lower the cost of insurance.

Meanwhile, here are some of the basic tips to reduce the premium rates:

  • Shop around. People should call as many companies as possible and decide on which of these provide the best deal. According to Los Angeles lawyers, the most common mistake of people is assuming that their existing insurance providers for their properties, cars, and business establishments will also offer better deals.
  • Do not over insure. Another wrong notion about insurance is that people can over insure their bikes thinking that they can receive higher claims in case of an accident. According to lawyers, people will only receive claims that will cover the exact amount of damages.
  • Take special training. Taking safety motorcycle training can drastically decrease a person’s insurance rate. However, policyholders should keep their certifications to show these to the insurance companies.
  • Secure the bike. Premium rates are lower for motorcycles with alarm and anti-theft system and if these are parked in a safe place (ideally in the policyholder’s garage).
  • Travel less. The fewer miles traveled, the less likely a person will encounter accidents. With this, insurance companies demand lower premium rates for people who travel less.

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Which Motorcycle Insurance Coverage You Need and Which You Probably Don’t

With all the different types of motorcycle insurance out there, it can be hard to decide exactly what you need. It can get very expensive. However, in some situations you can probably skip certain types of coverage and save a lot of money on your insurance.

One of the most expensive parts of most motorcycle insurance policies is the comprehensive and collision coverage. However, if you are paying for the bike yourself and not financing it, you can probably forgo this type of coverage if you get an inexpensive bike. Find out what the savings would be compared to the price of the bike and it might just be worth it to go without this coverage.

Many people already have health coverage through their workplace. If this is the case with you, you probably don’t need to get the Med Pay coverage offered by motorcycle insurance companies. Your regular health insurance will cover any injuries you get while riding your motorcycle.

If you never carry passengers, you can also do without guest passenger coverage. This type of coverage is for anyone else that you carry on your bike, so as long as you are willing to commit to not carrying anyone else you don’t need this coverage unless it is mandated by the state where you live.

The categories of motorcycle insurance that are mentioned above can sometimes be left off of your policy. However, there are some types of insurance that are important to include. Many motorcycle riders frequently do not purchase enough coverage in the areas of medical liability and uninsured motorist insurance. You should get at least $100,000 of coverage, just like you would with your car because you will have the same liability as if you were driving a car.

You can lower the cost of your motorcycle insurance premiums in other ways besides eliminating certain types of coverage. Paying your bills on time will get you lower insurance rates, as will joining certain organizations, taking a motorcycle safety course, purchasing multiple types of insurance with the same company, storing your bike in a locked garage, and adding security devices to your motorcycle.

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Motorcycle Insurance Advice

Choosing the right insurance policy for your motorcycle is like the choice of the motorcycle. You want to fit your needs and lifestyle, and also not take much of your budget. In any state have a minimum amount required to your liability insurance coverage, but also there are additional types of insurance coverage that can provide you with additional coverage. It is best before to buy insurance policy, compare quotes and rates from different insurers, as well ask your insurance representative about which laws apply in your state. To get the right insurance policy, you have to explore all available options.

Liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage to third parties involved in an accident. This type does not apply to you and your bike. Also you need to clarify whether your insurance will provide cover bodily injury to your passenger, it depends on your state and insurance company.

Collision coverage – this type of insurance covers damage caused to your motorcycle, if you have an accident. You get paid for damage, minus your franchise. You can save on insurance by increasing the franchise.

Comprehensive coverage – pays for damage caused by theft, fire or vandalism, as well as other collision which are not covered by other types of insurance.

Uninsured motorist coverage – this type of insurance pays for medical treatment, damage to the motorcycle, if you get in an accident caused by a driver who has no insurance.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage is similar to uninsured motorist coverage, but is used when the other side has a lower coverage than you do.

When choosing an insurance policy, many factors (your age, location, staff, driving experience, type of motorcycle, driver’s record and etc.) play a decisive role in determining the cost of insurance, which you need.

Learn some tips to help you better understand how you can save when buying motorcycle insurance:

Many insurance companies offer discounts from 10% to 20% for graduates of training courses, learn which courses you can take in your state. According to statistics, is that drivers under 25 have higher risks and therefore their premiums are usually higher, but after passing a course, they can lower the rate.

Also included discounts 10%-20% for members of the motorcycle association and experienced riders. The amount of discount depends on the company and state in which you are live.

One of the factors that affects the insurance rate is a type of motorcycle (sport bike, cruiser, chopper) and mileage a year. Obviously, a sports bike you ride less, but faster to pass long distances than the chopper.

It is important to devote time to choosing an agent or company that is suitable for you. To do this, you better search reviews on the Internet or ask relatives or friends where they bought insurance for their vehicles or motor bikes.

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Four Crucial Types of Motorcycle Insurance

Just like cars and trucks, there are various types of motorcycle insurance that a rider can buy and each type of insurance covers different things. For the purposes of simplicity in this article we will only focus on the basic types, which are under insured and uninsured coverage, bodily injury, and collision coverage.

1. Under insured insurance coverage:

These first two are both pretty obvious. Under insured coverage is insurance coverage for your motorcycle and your person that covers you in case a person that hits you does not have enough insurance to cover all of the damages.

A good suggestion is to carry 100/300. This means that you will have up to $100,000 per person and up to $300,000 per accident.

2. Uninsured Coverage:

Just like it sounds, this type of insurance is used when the person that hits you I not covered by insurance at all. Life can quickly turn into a nightmare when you are hit by an uninsured individual and they are not solvent to collect anything from . This leaves all the bills for bike replacement, medical services and even therapeutic services for you to pay.

This is why we highly recommend that you purchase uninsured motorcycle coverage. Insurance providers have different types of exclusions for this type of coverage so we recommend you talk with each potential provider individually to see what they cover.

3. Bodily Injury Coverage:

Bodily injury insurance is a required type of insurance in most states. This is the insurance that pays for injuries to others when the accident is your fault. It covers both bodily damage and property damage. The higher your bodily injury insurance is the better.

This type of insurance is organized in a 15/30/10 manner. This means that $15,000 can be paid out per person with not more than $30,000 per accident; the final number is the amount of property damage that will be paid out. In this case it is $10,000.

4. Collision Coverage:

This type of coverage covers the expense to you to repair or replace your motorcycle in the even that it is either damaged in an accident or stolen. In the case of collision coverage it usually does not matter who is at fault.

Collision coverage comes with a deductible that needs to be paid by you, the policy owner, before the insurance provider will pay on the coverage. The higher your deductible, the lower your monthly payment for this insurance will be.

Conclusion:

With this knowledge, we recommend that you take your time when looking for an insurance provider. Always use a reputable company that has been around for a while and has good customer feedback. Pricing companies is simple, just call them up and keep a list of what the different companies charge for similar types of coverage.

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