There’s more to staying well protected on a motorcycle than just hanging a small bell from your frame.
Med Pay. Motorcycle liability insurance in Maine includes coverage for medical bills due to injuries you and your passenger incur while riding. Whether you tip your bike while practicing safe riding techniques in a parking lot or you hit wet leaves, you have at least $2,000 per person for the ambulance and treatment. You can buy coverage of up to $10,000 per person. If your injuries require you to file a claim with your health insurance, the medical payments coverage on your motorcycle policy should be able to be applied against your health insurance deductible.
Liability coverage. You may think you could not do much damage to someone else if you are at fault in a motorcycle accident, but there is a good reason to buy as much liability coverage as you can afford. In Maine, the limit of coverage you have, which will pay someone else if you injure them, is the same limit that will pay your medical bills if you are hit by a driver who has no insurance or has an amount that is insufficient to cover your medical bills. This is called uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage, and you will see it listed as UIM on many insurance policies.
For example: Assume you have $500,000 in liability coverage. You should also have $500,000 in UIM. They only way you wouldn’t is if you signed a form specifically requesting lower coverage. Let’s say a driver hits your bike, causing you $130,000 in medical expenses, but that driver has the state minimum limit of $50,000 in liability coverage. Because your insurance is greater than the insurance of the person who hit you, your insurance will pay up to your limit of coverage. In this case, your insurance is more than adequate to cover the extra $80,000.
Another thing to note: Your motorcycle insurance is not like an HMO with treatment exclusions. So if your doctor says you need chiropractic care, deep tissue massage or a wheel chair ramp into your house following the collision, your motorcycle policy will likely cover it.
On a motorcycle policy, you may have the option to include passenger liability protection. This means your liability coverage will extend to your passenger, even if they are related to you. Without this, your passenger only has Med Pay coverage protecting them.
If you purchase accessory coverage for your motorcycle to compensate you for damage to saddle bags and chrome bling, you should also have the option to include safety riding apparel as accessories. That means your helmet, gloves, leather or cordura jacket and rain suit can be replaced following an accident. Always keep receipts and pictures of upgrades to your bike and of your riding gear so you are properly compensated in the event of a claim.
If you are riding a classic bike and want full coverage, it will likely be written for an agreed value. That means it doesn’t suffer any depreciation like a newer bike might. Some agreed value policies don’t sell separate accessory coverage, and the value of the accessories should be included in the bike’s agreed value.
Other things you may want to add to your policy are roadside assistance/ towing , trip interruption coverage, disappearing deductibles, coverage for a trailer used to haul your bike, and for brand new bikes, guaranteed replacement cost.
Be sure to let your agent know if you have a motorcycle endorsement on your license, how many years of experience you have, whether you have completed a rider safety course, and if you belong to any riding associations such as HOG or BMW MOA.
