By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
As the weather warms, the number of motorcycle accidents, both fatal and severely damaging, has rapidly risen. Along with this rise, many riders find themselves confused when navigating the web of insurance and liability following these accidents. Attorney Steven Jensen joined the KOAL newsroom to discuss motorcycle safety and some insurance tricks riders should be aware of.
“This is a time of year when there’s a convergence of all sorts of problems. Coming out of winter, drivers are seeing more motorcyclists on the road, but they’re adapting to now seeing these motorcyclists, and there’s more of them on the roads given the weather, and so it’s a hot topic right now,” said Jensen. “With insurance coverage, liability limits in Utah are often low. We’re required as motorists to carry $25,000 of insurance, which goes very quickly when it comes to injuries that we often see with motorcyclists. The best way for us to protect against those underinsured motorists is to purchase underinsured motorist coverage on our motorcyclist policies.”
He continued,” You can purchase as little or as much as you want in underinsured motorist coverage. That means if you’re hit by another driver and they have a minimum policy of $25,000, you can purchase underinsured motorist coverage, or it’s often called UIM coverage, to cover any excess damage that’s done to you.”
A common trend seen is the underpayment of motorcycle claims; Jensen explained why this is: “I’m biased because I fight with insurance companies all day, but they certainly undervalue in injuries across the board, but when it comes to motorcyclists, they play off this bias the public has against motorcyclists. Everybody thinks motorcyclists are going faster than they are; even spectators on the road witness these accidents, and they always say, ‘Oh, the motorcyclist is speeding,’ but in reality, it’s just their minds playing tricks on them. They hear sounds of engines and they induce that this motorcycle was going faster than it really was. Insurance companies play off that and often apportion fault to our clients driving the motorcycle to reduce what they recover in their accident.”
To overcome this, Jensen provided some insurance tips for motorcyclists: “Purchase MedPay coverage. MedPay is the first line of insurance that pays on these accidents … It’s relatively cheap and can often cover your health insurance deductible so that you’re not having to come out of pocket for as much. Number two, purchase more liability and UIM coverage on your policy. I would get at least $250,000. Yes, your premiums will be higher, but in the long run, it’s well worth it for you to have that extra coverage. Thirdly, you want to make sure that you’re purchasing insurance from a good insurance company. Don’t always go for the cheapest premium.”
In closing, Jensen shared,” Just stay safe out there. Take extra looks, wear all your safety gear and understand that motorists are coming out of hibernation and are trying to get used to smaller vehicles on the road that are harder to see. You have a lot of distracted drivers out there on cellphones. So be extra aware, extra defensive and don’t take it for granted.”