Shifting Gears ~ Dondi Vesprini - Attorney

Spring has sprung (at least that is what the calendar tells me)!   At time of writing this article, the days have getting longer and dare I say the sun has been making more frequent appearances.  Hopefully, by the time this edition of the Rider reaches you, the Spring weather has come to stay.  In any event, the warmer weather also means we have reached the time of the year to get your bike tuned up and ready to rumble down the roadways.   I use this article to serve as a reminder, that in addition to tuning up your bike and making sure it is ready to ride, you should most definitely also tune up your insurance coverage to make sure it to is ready to roll and adequately protect your financial wellbeing.  Having inadequate insurance coverage can and has proven to be just as dangerous as Inattentive drivers and bad roads, especially given the precarious and unfair situation that no fault reform laws have placed motorcyclists in the event of a wreck.

As I have discussed in past articles, ever since no fault reform took effect, a motorist essentially has the option to choose a medical expense cap of $50,000.00, $250,000.00, $500,000.00 on his/her auto insurance policy, or they may elect for unlimited medical expenses.  If a motorcyclist in an accident involving a motor vehicle (car, truck, bus, etc.), the motorcyclists claim to get his/her medical expenses paid is bound by the cap chosen by the motorist on his/her auto insurance policy.  As I have written about in past articles, this is patently unfair, as every other category of vehicles, ORV’s, bicyclists, snowmobiles and even persons struck by  a motor vehicle as a pedestrian get to utilize their own chosen medical cap on their own insurance policy for their medical bills.  (This is an issue that I, together with the legislative leadership of ABATE, continue to work on addressing and ultimately fixing with the powers that be in Lansing….stay tuned.)  Unfair as it may be, that is the law in Michigan, so you need to put yourself in the best possible position with your own insurance coverage to protect yourself under the current circumstances.

When reviewing your insurance coverage, you should be reviewing both your motorcycle and your auto insurance policies.

I’ll start with your motorcycle insurance policy.  

THRE IS NO SUCH THING AS NO FAULT BENEFITS ON A MOTORCYCLE POLICY.  Nonetheless, motorcycle insurers may offer medical payment coverage (the name of the coverage may vary from insurer to insurer but will typically be called “Medical Payments” or “Medical Benefits”) you can purchase.  While policy language differs from insurer to insurer, this type of coverage will usually provide payment of medical expenses if you are in a wreck on your bike.  If the wreck involved a motor vehicle, the auto insurer of the involved motor vehicle will be first in priority to pay your medical expenses, but your medical payment coverage may come into play if your expenses exceed any medical cap on the auto insurance policy or if there is not a motor vehicle involved in your wreck (i.e., going down due to bad road conditions or an accident with another motorcycle).  While this coverage can be a bit expensive, I recommend you purchase as much as you can reasonably afford.

Also, given the situation a motorcyclist is in being handcuffed to the medical cap chosen by the involved motorist, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you purchase underinsured motorist benefits on your motorcycle insurance.  This coverage applies if you are in a wreck with a motor vehicle who is at fault for causing the accident and the motor vehicle insurance liability policy limits are insufficient to fully compensate you for your injuries sustained in the wreck.  In such a circumstance, in addition to collecting the liability insurance policy limits from the insurer of the negligent motor vehicle, you can make an additional claim with your own motorcycle insurer for your underinsured motorist benefits.  This becomes even more important coverage to have because in addition to seeking compensation for your pain and suffering, you can also seek payment of any medical expenses you have incurred which are in excess of the cap chose by the motorist that you are handcuffed to.  For example, lets say you are hit on your bike by an at fault motor vehicle which causes you to sustain significant injuries and $500,000.00 in medical expenses, which is not an unrealistic number and in many cases can be much higher in my experience representing injured motorcyclists.  Let’s also say the at fault motorist chose a $50,000.00 cap on no fault medical expenses and has $250,000.00 in liability policy limits on his auto insurance policy.  After you max out the medical expenses cap of $50,000.00, you still have $450,000.00 in unpaid medical bills, not to mention considerable pain and suffering.  If the at fault driver’s insurer pays you the $250,000.00 liability policy limits, now you still have $200,000.00 in unpaid medical expenses and nothing yet for your pain and suffering.  If you don’t have underinsured motorist benefits on your motorcycle policy, sadly, there is nothing much more that can be done.   However, let’s say you have $1,000,000.00 in uninsured motorist benefits on your motorcycle policy.  Now, you can claim up to an additional $750,000.00 in damages (the motorcycle insurer gets a credit against the policy limits ($250,000.00) of the at fault driver) to cover the remaining $200,000.00 in unpaid medical expenses and leaves up to $550,000.00 to compensate you for your pain and suffering.  (It is not fair that a motorcyclist should have to use any of his/her damages recovered from the at fault driver’s auto insurance or his/her own motorcycle underinsured motorist coverage to pay medical bills, but given the current state of the law, it is sometimes a necessary evil)   Given the importance of underinsured motorist benefits, I STRONGLY suggest you purchase as much as you can afford!

Also, , I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you purchase uninsured motorist benefits on your motorcycle insurance.  This coverage applies if you are in a wreck with a motor vehicle who is at fault for causing the accident and the motor vehicle is uninsured.  Regarding your medical expenses, this is the only scenario under the current law, where you get to utilize your own choice of no fault medical expense cap on your auto policy to pay for your medical bills.  Hopefully, you chose on your auto policy to keep your medical expense coverage unlimited!  This way, your no fault coverage will take care of your medical expenses and you will get to pocket the entire amount of compensation paid pursuant to your uninsured motorist coverage for your pain and suffering!  However, if you chose a medical cap on your own auto insurance policy, and you have incurred medical expenses that exceed the cap, your claim with your motorcycle insurer for uninsured motorist benefits can  include a claim for the excess medical expenses.  Similar to the rationale above regarding underinsured motorist benefits, I suggest you purchase as much in uninsured motorist coverage as you can afford to fairly compensate you if you are injured by an at fault motorist and especially if you have chosen to cap your no fault medical benefits on your auto policy as opposed to keeping them unlimited (which you should always choose to do – SEE BELOW).

Let’s talk about your auto insurance policy.

As it pertains to a motorcycle wreck, essentially the only relevance your auto insurance policy may have will be in the event the wreck involved an uninsured motor vehicle.  As mentioned above, in that situation, and only in that situation, will you get to go to your auto insurance and exercise your own choice in no fault medical benefits  to pay for your medical expenses.  As I explained above, you are doing yourself a great disservice if you choose to cap your benefits at any of the elective caps of $50,000.00, $250,000.00 or $500,000.00 instead of choosing to keep your medical benefits unlimited!  The alleged “savings” on your auto insurance premium if you choose a cap have proven to be miniscule, if at all, and any alleged “savings” is usually made up for by increasing your premium for other coverages on your policy.  By keeping your auto insurance premiums at unlimited, you will be sure that all medical expense will be taken care of and any pain and suffering recovery you may be entitled to receive from an at fault uninsured driver will stay in your pocket instead of having to be used to pay medical bills! 

Having the right coverage may not cure the planet of bad drivers, tar snakes and pot holes in the roadway, but it can provide financial peace of mind in the event of a wreck.  

I understand that insurance can be complicated and confusing.  IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON YOUR MOTORCYCLE OR AUTO INSURANCE COVERAGES, DON’T HESITATE TO EMAIL YOUR POLICIES ABD.OR DECLARATION PAGES SHOWING YOUR COVERAGES TO ME AT Dondi@buckfirelaw.com FOR A FREE REVIEW!

As always, if anyone has any questions or if I can be of legal assistance to you or anyone you know who has been injured in a motorcycle accident, please don’t hesitate to contact me as I successfully represent injured motorcyclists statewide. 

Further, if you would like to have me come out to your Region or any other organization you belong to, to speak or give a presentation on the legal rights of an injured motorcyclist or on any specific topic that your group may be curious about, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at (248-569-4646) or shoot me an e-mail at Dondi@buckfirelaw.com.  I give presentations state-wide and there is never a charge associated with having me out.  I enjoy having the opportunity to come out and meet motorcycle enthusiasts from all parts of our State!