Jacksonville Motorcycle Accident Answers:
Is Florida motorcycle accident law the same as Florida automobile accident law?
Answer: No. Motorcycle law and automobile law differ greatly. The requirement of sustaining a permanent injury is not required in a motorcycle accident. There is no restriction on recovery for pain and suffering. Some insurance companies do offer a special motorcycle PIP that is similar to the coverage offered to an automobile. However, since motorcycle PIP is not required by Florida law, the coverage is not regulated by Florida law. Motorcycle PIP is covered by the terms of the insurance contract.
What kind of insurance should I carry?
Answer: Bodily Injury coverage. In the rare case that you, as a motorcycle rider, injures
someone, you are covered.
Property damage. Property damage liability coverage protects you if you damage someone else’s property with your motorcycle by driving negligently. It does not protect you for any bodily injury the other person sustains, if you caused their injury due to your negligence.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage:
If you are injured in a motorcycle accident, the negligent person’s Bodily Injury “BI Liability Coverage” should hopefully cover your medical bills, lost wages, as well as your pain and suffering. However, what if your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering exceed the negligent person’s Bodily Injury coverage? Or even worse, what if that person causing a motorcycle accident has no Bodily Injury coverage at all? To protect yourself and your family, you must have Uninsured Motorist coverage (UM) to protect you! UM coverage takes the place of the Bodily Injury coverage the negligent driver may not have had. Statistics show that twenty-five (25%) of automobile drivers in the State of Florida are driving without any insurance whatsoever.
Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you from the negligent automobile driver
who has only a minimal policy, which cannot compensate you for your serious injuries. Many drivers in Florida have only the minimum coverage of $10,000 in Bodily Injury coverage. This is simply not enough to cover most motorcycle rider’s injuries.
When obtaining your motorcycle insurance, please make sure you have Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage of at least $100,000. You can also get “Stacked” UM coverage, which increases your UM by the number of vehicles you own, which have their own UM coverage. You must make sure, however, that when you obtain your coverage, that it is indeed, “stackable”. If you have been injured in a Jacksonville motorcycle accident be sure to call an experienced Jacksonville motorcycle accident attorney.