For the past few months we all have been anxiously waiting for our riding season to start, well the warm weather is here, and bikes can be heard roaring down most roads. As we enter Motorcycle Awareness Month, I would be amiss if I didn’t write about motorcycle safety and what WE can do as riders to ensure in the event of an accident that we have all our basis covered.
Insurance, Insurance, Insurance
As President and Founder of BikerDown, I hear from injured motorcycle riders almost daily about their accidents and one of the biggest problems most riders face is not having the proper coverages on their bike and themselves. Riders quickly find out when they get into an accident, that they really didn’t understand what coverages they were purchasing when speaking to their insurance agent and then pay the price later.
Under and Un-insured motorist – This is the #1 coverage that every biker should have on their bike. If a driver collides with you and you later find out that he is driving with no insurance, state minimum coverage of $25k, or it is a hit/run, there is no other way to put it, but you are sh*t out of luck. In Colorado the uninsured rate for drivers is at 16.2 percent, which works out to around 600,000 people or approximately one out of every six drivers. The truth also is that 50% of motorcycle accidents are caused by a driver in a vehicle/truck. Make a pledge right now that you will call your insurance company and make sure that you have at least a minimum of $250k on your bike.
Med Pay – is a valuable protection for consumers. Med pay coverage only averages about five dollars a month yet provides $5,000 in medical coverage without any deductible. That same five dollars a month to a health insurance company would not provide nearly the same benefit! Additionally, this can be used by people who lack health insurance, or to supplement to existing health insurance policy. Even if a person already has health insurance, they still must pay large deductibles for ambulance and emergency room care, instead MedPay is now available to cover those costs. Furthermore, some health insurance policies explicitly state that it will not cover treatment for auto accidents, and even if it does you still may not be able to pick your doctor; thus, MedPay gives you greater freedom in choosing care providers and saves you a lot of money.
Supplement Accident Policy – Working with bikers, I am always amazed at how many have never been presented Accident Insurance. Less than 10% of Americans own Supplemental Insurance yet it is the very policy that pays you when you need it the most. Think about how long it can take to receive money in a motorcycle accident even if you are not at fault. Will your mortgage company wait? How long can you not pay your electric bill before they turn it off? If you were hurt on Saturday and couldn’t return to work on Monday, how might that affect your family?
The Aflac Essentials policy also comes with a $20k Accidental death benefit, and too many times in the event of a fatality, families scramble on how they will pay funeral expenses to properly bury a loved one.
If you aren’t offered any type of accident policy at your work place, I encourage you to check out the BikerDown membership. We offer inclusive in our $35.00 per month membership the Aflac Essentials policy that will pay you cash back benefits to help you pay your bills while you are recovering.
Gap Insurance – Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP) insurance is the difference between the actual cash value of a vehicle and the balance still owed on the financing (car or bike loan, lease, etc.). GAP coverage is mainly used on new and used small vehicles (bikes, cars and trucks) Sadly, too many times a rider will total their bike and find out that they owe more on their bike than they are insured for an are now on the hook for the difference.
The FREEDOM of the RIDE is sadly no longer FREE, while we LIVE TO RIDE, and there is nothing that we enjoy more than daily or weekend wind therapy. We must as riders take responsibility for our ride and have the coverages in place to protect us!
May Events
May 18th is BikerDown’s Look Twice Save a Life and we ask all riders to take May 18th to stand with us against distracted driving. This is also a time to memorialize and remember riders that we have lost.
May 26th Molly Hatchet is coming to Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden – Tickets are available thru Eventbrite and you can go to the Dirty Dogs Facebook page. Tickets are selling out fast and this event will surely sell out!
June Events
June 2nd – Eye’s on Awareness ride. The Sport bike community has also seen their fair share of motorcycle accidents and the community is gathering together to help raise awareness for motorcycle riders. You can get more information by visiting www.bikerdown.org/events.
June 2nd – Antique Motorcycle Swap – Dirty Dogs Roadhouse – for more information go to their Facebook page, but come out as they will have a lot of cool antique bikes for the guys to look at.
June 8th – Scrap Meet – Dirty Dogs Roadhouse – this will be the 2nd annual Scrap meet and a time-honored tradition in Golden. Vendors are welcome and Mark and Rob always have tons of surprises for that event.
Safe riding out there!
