Motorcycle Insurance Coverage: What are your State’s Unique Motorcycle Insurance Rules?

Time to slip on your leather jacket, get on your Harley and hit the road?  Hold on.  You need to protect yourself.  Besides your helmet, of course, better have some motorcycle insurance in place.  Most states require minimum liability coverages, (property damage and bodily injury), for both cars and motorcycles. These coverages provide benefits to pay claims against the policyholder if he is found legally responsible for causing an accident with his motorcycle. In most states, these requirements are the same for cars and motorcycles.  In fact, in many states, you cannot even register your car or motorcycle without proof of insurance. Your liability insurance will protect you and your wallet from the risk of hurting someone or damaging someone’s property while you are riding your bike. 

State variations
There are some special rules, exceptions and options in some states regarding some coverages for motorcycle owners, but liability coverage does not appear to among them.  Other coverages, mandatory and optional, vary from state to state.  For rules state by state, I would suggest a visit to http://www.edgarsnyder.com/auto-accident/resources/insurance/, which offers a comprehensive summary of each state’s motorcycle laws.  Here are some of the variations you will find:

Examples

• Oregon--there is no Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage available to motorcycle owners.  This is usually found in no-fault states and covers medical bills for insureds.
• Kansas--a motorcycle owner has the option to reject PIP coverage and then not have to pay for it if he or she rejects it in writing.
• Kentucky and Maryland--insurance companies are not required to offer uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage to motorcyclists.
• Indiana--motorcycle owners can reject UM/UIM coverage.
• New York—(a no-fault state) Their no-fault provision does not apply to motorcyclists if they are injured in an accident and want to sue the at-fault driver for damages from their injuries.  Their injuries need not be “serious” in order to sue, as is required for auto drivers.

There are many more special rules across the country for motorcyclists, so I encourage you to check with your insurance agent for the regulations in your state before you drive that bike out of the dealership.