Motorcycle Insurance Articles
Determining Motorcycle Insurance Liability Limits To Meet Your Needs
2010-08-15
When you look at motorcycle insurance quotes you should know what kind of liability coverage is quoted. There are two kinds of liability insurance. Property damage liability covers the property of the other driver if you are at fault in an accident. Bodily injury liability insurance covers injuries to another person due to an accident. Liability limits are defined by the policy.
Motorcycle insurance quotes may show liability as three numbers, for example 30/60/30. The first number means that $30,000 is the limit that would be paid for injuries to one person. The second number means that $60,000 is the maximum that would be paid for all injuries per accident. The third number indicates that $30,000 is the limit to be paid for property damage.
Property Injury Protection is not required in every state. Each state has their own laws regarding minimum liability limits. A motorcycle owner may want up to three times as much as the required amount of liability in order to protect themselves financially. Liability coverage gives you protection in case you are sued due to an accident.
If you have a low limit on your liability coverage you are responsible for any damages over those liability limits. So if you hit an expensive car and you only have $10,000 in coverage you will have to pay any damages over that limit. You will want to choose a high enough limit to protect yourself financially. If you are single with no home, no dependents to support and a low-paying job then you may just need the minimum coverage because you have less to lose. If you are 20 years older and have a mortgage, children to support and lots of assets and the bills that go with them then you need more protection.
Another policy provision is guest passenger liability. This coverage is for a person besides the driver who is riding on the motorcycle. If you are involved in an accident and they are injured this coverage would pay for their medical expenses. This is not always automatically included in a policy. Check with the insurer and have it added to the quote if you carry riders on your bike.
The trick is to buy the coverage you need but still pay an affordable rate for your liability insurance. One way to get the most for your money is to shop around for motorcycle insurance quotes. Be sure that when you are comparing quotes they have the same coverage so that you are looking at like policies. If you do your homework you should be able to get the perfect policy for you.