One in eight drivers in America are uninsured, so if you don’t value the welfare of others, don’t bother buying coverage! Nearly one in eight drivers believe that way, since that’s the national average of uninsured drivers.
In 2019, 12.6% of motorists (28 million U.S. drivers) were uninsured, according to the latest data from the Insurance Information Institute, and as an attorney representing accident victims, I know this rate has been increasing steadily since the pandemic and a noticeable increase in reckless and lawless drivers!
If you know anyone who has been involved in a vehicular collision, you know that gambling on the other party being dutiful and carrying the lawfully prescribed insurance coverage is like playing Russian Roulette with your life and livelihood, and the odds are almost the same.
More than 284 million vehicles will be operating across the U.S. by December 2022. Approximately 243.4 million licensed drivers will be operating on U.S. roadways by 2023. Over 6 million passenger car accidents occur in the U.S. every year, or about 17,000 accidents every day!
Motor vehicle accidents have a significant impact on the U.S. each year, resulting in numerous injuries and fatalities and costing approximately $340 billion. This amount represents 1.6% of the $21.4 trillion real gross domestic product for 2019, which breaks down to about $1,035 per American citizen. According to Annual United States Road Crash Statistics (ASIRT), there are more than 46,000 traffic-related deaths annually, with a fatality rate of 12.4 deaths per 100,000 people. This equates to an alarming average of 131 deaths every day in the U.S. Additionally, there are approximately 2.35 million injuries or disabilities reported each year due to car crashes, averaging about 6,438 per day according to the National Safety Council.
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America estimates that unlicensed and uninsured drivers cause more than 20% of fatal accidents in the U.S. (that’s one in five!).
Despite the fact that most people think, “It’ll never happen to me!”, the chances of getting into a collision in your lifetime are shockingly high, since even the best drivers cannot always avoid collisions with distracted and negligent drivers, and an even scarier gamble is that up to 1 in 4 drivers in some states don’t have insurance despite laws virtually everywhere requiring minimal insurance coverages!
As a result, the chances of encountering an uninsured driver by accident are at record highs, and so are the chances of being injured in a motorcycle accident.
It is therefore your responsibility to protect yourself, your home, your job, and your family from financial ruin!
Also, a relatively minor impact can easily total a motorcycle, so you could be stuck with a bike you can’t use.
Without a paycheck, you can get hit with huge hospital bills and household expenses even if you’re not at fault in the accident. When you’re laid up in recovery or rendered unemployed or unemployable, it’s possible to lose your motorcycle or your car due to property damage that isn’t covered, and possibly even your home if you can’t pay your bills or mortgage!
There could be even more complications if the other driver is not clearly at fault, or if your case is contested.
Even if you get hit by a driver who admits fault, most drivers only carry the minimum liability limits mandated by state law, such as 25/50 in Ohio — $25,000 bodily injury liability/$50,000 bodily injury liability maximum for all injured (Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia are also 25/50, but Pennsylvania is only 15/30, while other states vary).
As someone who handles motorcycle accident claims, I can tell you that “minimum coverage” does not even come close to covering the costs of a simple bone fracture.
There is no escaping the fact that it doesn’t take long for bills to accumulate that exceed the state’s minimums. Even if you have health insurance, your medical providers and other creditors won’t wait long before sending you to collections, which means your credit score will suffer.
A serious injury, such as crushed legs, head trauma (with or without a helmet), or worse, loss of life, can result in claims of several hundred thousand dollars. Perhaps a million dollars or more. Who pays?
What UM/UIM is, and why it is so important;
If the at-fault party is legally liable for injuries and related expenses, UNINSURED MOTORIST (UM) coverage covers them. If you choose Uninsured Motorist coverage, the amount paid may include medical treatment and lost wages, depending on the limit you choose.
Injuries and related expenses that are not covered by the insurance of the at-fault person are covered by the UNDERINSURED MOTORIST (UIM) coverage. In other words, Underinsured Motorist coverage is designed to cover the gap between the other person’s liability limits and the amount of your injury expenses, up to the Underinsured Motorist limits you select.
If you don’t have UM/UIM coverage, you could be on the hook for the total amount due, or a huge chunk of it that is not recoverable.
Your injuries can prevent you from returning to work. In some cases, the impact on your earnings may be temporary, but it can also be permanent.
As an advocate for injured riders, I have often been told, “It wasn’t my fault! I shouldn’t have to pay anything.” While this may be true in theory, the reality is that if you are seriously hurt while riding, the responsible party may not have insurance or enough assets to fully cover your losses and damages. This could leave you with an unenforceable judgement or facing bankruptcy. Even if they declare bankruptcy, they may discharge their liability towards you.
It’s up to us as motorcyclists to protect ourselves, so C-Y-A (Cover Your Assets) by buying as much coverage as possible is the best option. A 100/300 policy is barely adequate, but far better than what most riders carry now. UM/UIM is relatively inexpensive, and you can often reduce your premium by choosing higher deductibles.
To further protect yourself and your possessions, I suggest looking into an umbrella policy; umbrellas are an excellent way to add a million dollars of liability and uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage – at a price that’s less than the cost of a t-shirt on a monthly basis!
There have been too many accident cases recently involving ‘minimum coverage’ policies, or no insurance at all! Chances are good you won’t rely on anyone else’s insurance coverage, but are you willing to risk it?
– Camille, The Podor law firm’s Research queen
