WARNING: Motorcycle Riders Must Purchase Adequate Insurance l Seattle Motorcycle Accident Attorney

SEATTLE, WA.
My office receives several inquiries each month from people who have suffered serious injuries while riding a motorcycle. Unfortunately, I have to turn several of these cases away. Here’s why: most motorcycle riders either do not carry insurance or don’t carry enough insurance to adequately protect them in the event they are injured in a motorcycle crash.

The type of insurance that motorcycle riders must have is called Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UIM/UM) Coverage. This coverage is designed to protect a motorcycle rider in the event he or she is injured in an accident that is caused by another driver who is either uninsured or underinsured. Many motorcycle riders mistakenly believe that they will be protected under the insurance policy that covers the automobile. Not so. Most auto policies have exclusions for coverage of a motorcycle. Often times the policy specifically states that a motorcycle must be covered under a separate policy. I can’t tell you how many times I’m contacted by a severely injured motorcycle operator who only purchased simple liability coverage of just $25,000 based on the erroneous assumption that if he or she is injured on the motorcycle then the auto policy will kick in to provide more coverage. This person is usually surprised and upset when I tell him or her that the auto carrier will not provide this coverage and that the separate policy covering the motorcycle is woefully inadequate.

There are other problems with insurance for a motorcycle. Under current Washington law, an auto insurance company must provide you with UM/UIM coverage and no-fault medical coverage when you purchase a policy that covers a normal motor vehicle (i.e., car). You can decline this coverage, but the insurance company must record your rejection in writing. If you later need this type of coverage and the carrier cannot provide you with a copy of your written rejection then the carrier is still legally required to provide the coverage (even if you really did reject the coverage when you purchased the policy). Unfortunately, this “written rejection rule” does not apply to motorcycles. Thus, if you want UM/UIM coverage on a motorcycle you must specifically ask the insurance company for this type of coverage. Many insurance companies don’t voluntarily offer this coverage to motorcycle owners.

UM/UIM coverage is extremely important for motorcycle riders. If a motorcycle operator is ever in an accident caused by another vehicle, the injuries are often serious if not catastrophic. Even a typical “fender-bender” that may be harmless between two motor vehicles can nonetheless produce debilitating and permanent injuries to a person if that “fender-bender” involves a motorcycle. The normal crash protections afforded to occupants of a motor vehicle are not present to motorcycle riders. Thus, motorcycle crash victims have a statistically much greater chance of suffering more severe injuries if they are ever in an accident. More serious injuries will produce much more medical expense and wage loss. Hence, motorcycle accident victims are likely to need much more money to cover the losses caused by an accident.

Here’s an illustration of just how financially devastating a motorcycle accident can cause when the rider fails to purchase an adequate motorcycle insurance policy. I was recently contacted by the family of a man who was severely injured while driving his motorcycle. Another driver traveling in the oncoming direction made a left turn at an intersection on a solid green light and failed to yield the right-of-way to the man driving his motorcycle. The motorcycle smashed into the front end of the car and was propelled nearly 50 feet ahead. He landed on the ground, broke his helmet and was knocked unconscious. His injuries were life-threatening. He also shattered one of his legs, which nearly had to be amputated. He was in the ICU at Harborview Medical Center for nearly 7 months. His medical bills exceeded $700,000. The other driver was clearly at fault, but she only had a $100,000 liability insurance policy issued by State Farm, not nearly enough to pay for the other man’s damages and medical bills. Although this motorcycle driver had a separate auto insurance policy with $1 Million in coverage, he did not purchase a separate policy with UM/UIM coverage for his motorcycle. This meant that the most he could ever collect from the other driver was her $100,000 insurance policy. Had this man purchased UM/UIM coverage for his motorcycle, he would have had additional money to pay for his medical bills.

I could not help this motorcycle accident victim because without adequate insurance there was virtually no chance the at-fault driver was financially able to pay this man’s damages, which I estimated to be more than $2 Million Dollars. In the end, I believe the man had to use his retirement savings and his family was also considering filing for bankruptcy. The $700,000 bill from Harborview Medical Center virtually wiped this man out financially, even when he was not at fault for this terrible accident.

My message to all motorcycle riders is this: Please, review your motorcycle insurance policy. If you do not have UM/UIM coverage, you need to get it. If you already have UM/UIM coverage, then please increase your coverage as much as you can afford. If I owned a motorcycle, I wouldn’t driver it without having a $1 Million insurance policy in place. Don’t take any chances by riding your bike without UM/UIM coverage.