Anyone operating a motor vehicle on public roads in Georgia needs to carry insurance. Everyone knows that four-wheeled vehicles require insurance coverage, but people don’t understand the obligations imposed on motorcycles quite as well.
If you or someone in your immediate family use a motorcycle for transportation or for the thrill of the ride, you need to carry at least the same level of liability coverage required of four-wheeled motor vehicles. That means $25,000 worth of property damage coverage and at least $25,000 of bodily injury coverage if you hurt one person or $50,000 if two or more people get hurt.
Many people will want to carry supplemental coverage on their motorcycle policies to better protect themselves. What kind of coverage can you add?
Liability coverage is only the most basic protection available
Carrying the minimum amount of liability coverage on a motorcycle does make some sense. After all, when compared with much larger and heavier four-wheeled vehicles, motorcycles cause significantly less damage in a typical crash.
Of course, you could still cause catastrophic injuries to a pedestrian or a cyclist, and there are scenarios where the people in the larger vehicle could suffer serious injuries. For some people, increasing the amount of liability coverage on their policy is a good starting point.
Additional coverage is also important for your own protection. Comprehensive and collision coverage can protect you from all sorts of scenarios that could hurt you or damage your motorcycle. Underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage can help pay your costs when another driver has a subpar insurance policy and you have major injuries.
Many drivers in Georgia only have the coverage the state requires, which could leave you with tens of thousands of dollars and unpaid medical bills and lost wages. Adding the supplemental coverage will not increase your policy costs as much as you might expect, and the coverage you receive will provide you with peace of mind when you go out for a ride and protection in a worst-case scenario involving a major crash.
Your coverage protects you and the people you love
Insurance isn’t just an expense mandated by the state that increases how much it costs you to drive. It is a crucial protection against the devastating financial consequences of causing a crash or getting hurt in a wreck caused by someone else.
If you have a pragmatic approach toward your insurance coverage and invest in coverage to protect yourself, you will take a lot of the risk out of one of your favorite pastimes. Having the right coverage in place before a motorcycle crash can go a long way toward protecting you from financial devastation.
