Uninsured Motorist Insurance Advice

Daniel Buckfire

Contributor

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My friends and my clients often ask me about types of insurance they should buy for their motorcycles. I am always happy to review someone’s insurance policy and give them my recommendation.

Many people do not have uninsured motorist (UM) coverage because it is not required by law and is deemed “optional.” This is very unfortunate because uninsured motorist insurance is extremely important and necessary to fill gaps left by the legally required insurance. To see why, think about what happens when you are involved in an accident.

When a motorcyclist is involved in an accident with a car, the motorcyclist would submit a claim to his insurance company for medical expenses, lost wages, household replacement services, and other benefits. In an accident in which the motorcyclist is severely injured, the biker would want to sue for additional damages. For example, let’s say his insurance company will pay lost wages for the first three years after an accident, but that the accident was so bad that the biker is permanently disabled and cannot work. He would want to sue the driver for his lost wages for the rest of his life after those three years. Normally, the driver’s insurance company would defend this lawsuit and pay for the settlement or judgment, but what happens if the driver does not have insurance?

This is where UM insurance comes in. If a motorcyclist is involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist, then the motorcyclist can file a UM claim with his or her own insurance company to collect the damages not covered under a regular policy and they may be able to collect an amount up to the limit of the UM policy they purchased.

Because of this, I always recommend bikers purchase the maximum UM coverage available. UM coverage is some of the cheapest kind of insurance available, but it is one of the most important policies you can buy.