Arizona is a great place to ride motorcycles. Year-round warm weather and low levels of precipitation are ideal for two-wheeled transportation. Although the weather may be perfect, aggressive drivers, distracted drivers and even snowbirds who come every winter can make the roads a dangerous place for motorcyclists.
Arizona does require that motorcyclists, just like drivers, carry insurance on their vehicles. All too often, motor motorcycle riders will try to keep their insurance costs low rather than maximizing coverage. Some drivers will discover after a crash that they don’t have enough protection.
The minimum is often far too low
Every driver in Arizona, including motorcyclists, must carry liability coverage. If you were the one who caused a crash, your motorcycle liability protection will pay for someone else’s bodily injury expenses and property damage costs.
You typically need to have $15,000 in property damage coverage. The state minimum for bodily injury liability protection is $25,000, although you need to carry $50,000 worth of coverage if a crash leaves two or more people hurt.
Your policy will not necessarily cover any of your costs if the other driver is at fault, which can leave you in a difficult position following a motorcycle crash. Carrying more coverage can be a way to better protect yourself and limit your financial liability for the claims made by others.
Extra coverage can offer substantial protection
If you get hit by a drunk driver who doesn’t have insurance on their vehicle, you could suffer a spinal cord injury or brain injury that forces you into early retirement and wrecks your motorcycle. Since they don’t have insurance, you can’t make a claim against their policy.
Only by adding coverage to your policy can you protect yourself from drivers without insurance or without enough protection. Uninsured and underinsured motorist protection, as well as collision coverage, can help you cover your medical expenses, lost wages and property damage costs following a motorcycle crash.
Of course, making a claim against their policy isn’t ideal because it will increase your future costs and may mean that you have to pay a significant deductible first. Some motorcyclists hurt in crashes caused by those in control of four-wheel vehicles can file personal injury lawsuits under Arizona state law.
Learning more about what protects you after a motorcycle crash can help you protect yourself against the risks you take every time you go out for a ride.