1 bike wreck, insurance, laywers

i recently skidded into a bar ditch on a freshly graded dirt road.
did damage to me & the bike.
i have humana medicare/aid and foremost m/c coverage.
foremost said it wouldn't pay for personal injury because no other vechicle was involved (they won't have somebody to go after).
i thought that was why we have insurance, for "accidents".
does anyone have any experience on this issue ?
retain counsel? let foremost pay bike and humana pay body damage? and move on.
if anyone has advice or experience pls pm me and we go from there...
thanks.......db

Dan,

What about the injuy's?? Whats broken? Hopefully nothing, but I herd the ribs are banged up a bit?

You aren't seeling your bike right?? Right?

Let me know if I can help in any way.

redeye, first thinig......you probably do not want to talk specifics of what went on until you are done with the entire process.

I am in a similar situation. Single bike crash, $$$$ medical that BC/BS paid for, then went after my auto company. I am still in the middle so I am not going to discuss details. BC/BS told me that if they did not get a FULL payment from my auto carrier they were looking for me to pay the remainder. In addition, I got a letter from them claiming that I owed an amount to them. I sent a copy of the letter to the auto inisurance company.

I am waiting to see how screwed I can be.

I ALSO ASSUMED that auto insurance would pay for my medical if I was in a wreck.

I'll PM you for an email addy or phone number AFTER mine is resolved.

see the aarg site or regional forum, "redeye down" for broken details.
yes you can help.
help me sell the bike, COMPLETE. bags boots darian pant/jacket, everything but gps. even helmet, HJC modular, not arai X3, it's junk, did it's job.......

thanks

Don't assume, check with your insurance agent, you only get the coverage that you buy. Pretty much everybody understands that Liability covers $ you owe to the other person for damage you did to them (property or person), and that your own bike isn't covered for YOUR OWN wreck unless you also bought Collision coverage. (If another at-fault person damages you, their Liability pays for you or your bike.)

Similar thing can happen with YOUR OWN medicals in YOUR OWN wreck. It all depends on what coverage you bought (and the laws of your state). In effect, you need to buy the equivalent of "Collision" on yourself. Otherwise you don't have it. "Only policies with personal injury protection cover injuries to you." http://www.ehow.com/facts_5731414_car-insurance-covers-injuries_.html

This right here. Coverage of your own injuries is sold as "personal injury protection" in some states and "medical payments" (or "med pay") in others. In most states, it's not required. If you don't have it, your motorcycle insurance will not pay for your injuries in a wreck you caused.

Liability only covers injury to others, and UM/UIM only covers injury to you if the wreck was caused by an un- or under-insured driver.

The place to look for coverage is your health insurance. Some policies exclude motorcycle/snowmobile/boat/etc. accidents, but contrary to what motorcycle insurance salesmen tell you, it's not that common.

Subrogation--and insurance generally--are a mess. If your injuries were particularly expensive and it looks like you might get stuck with the bill, it might be worth your time and money to have a brief chat with a lawyer.

Both times I crashed badly dirt riding, I had good insurance through work, everything 100% covered.
Total bill was likely $100,000.00 with the helicopter rides and hospital stays and rehab.
Still, they tried to go after my motorcycle insurance, and kept asking about 'the other driver' and then the property owner (county/state land).
My motorcycle insurance sent paperwork that said no personal injury coverage.
My health insurance had to eat the cost.

If you do not have any, or poor coverage, you are screwed.

Our friends in Canada do not have to worry about such things...must be nice.

To a certain extent that is true. Any treatment you get in the hospital is covered by the provincial insurance made available to those who qualify. But...

1) Hospital care in Canada is quite mediocre compare to what is available in the US.

2) Once you're out of the hospital, you're on your own dime. Provincial health insurance doesn't post-release medication, physiotherapy, etc. For this you have to look at your private insurance that you get through your employer or purchase on your own accord. And these usually come with modest caps.

Insurance is highly regulated here in Canada. If affords a basic level of health care coverage, but I'm not sure to what extent. This thread is certainly motivating me to look into my policy.

@ redeye az;

Lonestar2112's advice against sharing particulars online is sound.

der saufer's advice about retaining counsel is also sound, despite his intoxication.

WTF is a bar ditch?

I hope your injuries heal quickly, and your insurance problems work out.

Good Luck!


@ BigBadandUgly:

I think some of your assumptions are off.

a) A good friend busted his hip this winter here in Onterrible, and got free PT and meds.

b) US ranks 36th in the WHO rankings; Canada 30th.

http://thepatientfactor.com/canadia...zations-ranking-of-the-worlds-health-systems/

This is put in perspective when you learn that the US spends more per capita than any other country.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/jun/30/healthcare-spending-world-country

We are luckier than we think...
.
.
.

Ditto. Scary to think about what is possible.

I hope the OP and others get through everything ok. Thanks for the unintended public service announcement.

bar ditch.....not sure what the acronym means. but it's basically the drainage ditch on the side of the road. don't know if that verbiage is regional or not.
they usually make good berms if needed.

My auto/motorcycle policy does not cover any personnel medical liability, and there's no rider I can purchase through either Erie (auto) or Progressive (bikes) that will. My agent, who I've had for quite a while and has been very fair to me, explained that a lot of insurance companies don't offer personal liability coverage at all. That's up to you to either have through your medical insurance or a separate policy specifically for such things. Now, if someone else was at fault it's a whole different story, but in a single bike wreck I know I won't get any injury coverage from my bike insurer.

redeye, get the full copy of your policy and read it. It will tell you what coverage you bought. If it'll help, sit down with your insurance agent and the policy in front of you to go through it. Don't take anybody's word for anything. You have what you bought as shown on your paperwork.

Subrogation...often misunderstood & messy. It simply means that the insurance only pays once for a claim. If your medical insurance pays first for the injury, then your vehicle insurance pays for the same injury, you don't get to pocket the second payment. You have to pay back to the medical insurance with the money the vehicle insurance sent to you.

Anyway, get your policies out, contact your agents, and find out what you're covered for. If it ain't on paper, it ain't real.

I have Safeco in NH, I fell on a trail, my F650GS had some damage, My boots were damaged as was my Arai helmet.
I'm have whats left of medicare and I was not hurt. Insurance fixed the bike and after I found the receipts, replaced my boots and helmet.
I have maximum insurance on my 4 motorcycles and its cheap ($400.00)

When you purchase auto insurance there are several aspects to it.

Comprehensive coverage pays for loss or damage to your vehicle caused by fire, theft, vandalism, hail, windstorm, riot, falling objects, flood, collision with an animal, and other events as stated in your policy contract.

Each comprehensive claim is subject to a deductible (the amount you will pay out of pocket). You should choose a deductible that meets your financial needs; the higher the deductible, the lower the premium charged for this coverage.

Comprehensive is an optional coverage. You may want to consider whether the present value of your vehicle justifies the cost of this coverage. If you finance or lease your vehicle, your lease or financing agreement may require you to have this coverage. You should refer to your lease or financing agreement for details.
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Collision coverage pays for accidental damage to your insured vehicle caused by collision with another vehicle or stationary object. Collision does not pay for incidents covered under Comprehensive (such as theft, fire, or collision with an animal). Collision pays for reasonable repair, towing, and storage costs. If repairing your vehicle is not reasonable, this coverage pays you the actual cash value of the vehicle.

Each collision claim is subject to a deductible (the amount you will pay out of pocket). You should choose a deductible that meets your financial needs; the higher the deductible, the lower the premium charged for this coverage.

Collision is an optional coverage. You may want to consider whether the present value of your vehicle justifies the cost of this coverage. If you finance or lease your vehicle, your lease or financing agreement may require you to have this coverage. Refer to your lease or financing agreement for details.
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Bodily Injury (BI) Liability coverage pays damages for other people's injuries or death resulting from an at-fault accident involving an insured vehicle or driver. This may include medical treatment, lost wages and compensation for pain and suffering. In the event of a serious accident, these costs can become substantial. If you do not carry a sufficient limit of insurance, your personal assets and earnings could be at risk. You should choose a coverage limit that will adequately protect your assets. BI coverage also includes payment for certain legal fees, bail bonds, and court costs that you might incur.

BI provides two limits of coverage. The first figure is the maximum amount paid for injury or death to any one person. The second figure is the maximum paid (regardless of the number of people involved) for injury or death stemming from a single occurrence.
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Property Damage (PD) Liability Coverage pays for damage to other people's property (such as vehicles, shrubs, signs, or buildings) resulting from an at-fault accident involving an insured vehicle or driver. In the event of a serious or multiple vehicle accident, property damage costs can become substantial. If you do not carry sufficient coverage, your personal assets and earnings could be at risk. You should choose a coverage limit that will adequately protect your assets.
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Medical Payments coverage pays medical, dental, hospital and funeral expenses for you, household relatives and guest passengers injured in your insured vehicle. This coverage extends to household relatives injured in other vehicles or if struck as pedestrians.

The limit of liability for medical payments stated in the declarations as applying to "each person" is the limit paid for all costs incurred by or on behalf of each person who sustains bodily injury in one accident. This applies regardless of the number of persons insured or the number of vehicles to which this policy applies.
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Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) pays you, your household relatives, and passengers in your insured motor vehicle for damages resulting from bodily injury or death arising out of accidents caused by uninsured motorists and, in most states, by hit-and-run motorists.Your UMBI limits must equal your Bodily Injury liability limits unless you specifically request lower limits in writing. To choose an appropriate limit, you may want to consider your ability to meet your medical expenses and other financial obligations if you were injured in a vehicle accident.

UMBI provides two limits of coverage. The first is the maximum amount paid for injury or death of any one person. The second figure is the maximum paid (regardless of the number of people involved) for injury or death stemming from a single occurrence.
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Uninsured Motorist Property Damage pays damages you are legally entitled to recover because of damage to your insured vehicle caused by uninsured or hit-and-run motorists. You must carry this coverage at the same limit as your Property Damage liability coverage unless specifically requested at a lower limit in writing. Uninsured Motorist Property Damage does not cover the first 200.00 of damage to your vehicle as the result of any one accident. In choosing a limit, you will want to consider the highest value of any of your vehicles listed on your policy.

In choosing an appropriate limit, you should consider your ability to meet your medical expenses and other financial obligations if you were injured in a vehicle accident.
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Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage pays you, your household relatives, and passengers in your insured motor vehicle for damages resulting from bodily injury or death arising out of accidents caused by motorists whose liability limits are not sufficient to cover your claim.

Underinsured Motorist Property Damage pays damages to your insured vehicle caused by motorists who have lower limits of liability coverage than those damages suffered by you. In choosing a limit, you will want to consider the highest value of any of your vehicles listed on your policy.
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In other words, you need to have Medical Payments coverage to cover yourself and passengers if you are involved in a single vehicle accident or any accident in which you are at fault otherwise you are SOL. Unless you have separate medical insurance.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/59/messages/994.html

Now excuse me, but WTF does "maximum insurance" mean? It that like "full coverage", which is pretty meaningless also? Does "maximum insurance" mean you have PIP, UIM, UMPD, UMBI, etc. etc., what what what? Oh yeah, and to what policy limits, $300,000 or $500,000 or what?

I agree with Viverrid on this one. Lemme tell you right now, if you have the true "maximum" coverage, you're looking at a HUGE increase in premiums. When I last looked at insurance, the "full" package was three times the amount of just comprehensive and liability. This stuff isn't cheap!! Even with multi-bike discounts, there's no way you'll get $400/yr or bi-annually; maybe per MONTH, but not yearly.

You might want to double check what your coverage actually details, and Wlfman's post is really good as a checklist.

Looks like we have some insurance folks in the house. Nice.

Full coverage is a mis-nomer. There is no such thing, or it's so ambiguous to be meaningless. What is "full" to your insurance carrier may mean something completely different to another carrier. Most people consider it comp (usually a mandatory coverage) and collision (an elected coverage). However, it can mean from minimum coverage (to include collision), to maximum limits with an umbrella. It's meaningless in the insurance industry.

We as consumers are responsible for what we buy and don't buy. To think an insurance company owes you something because you didn't purchase that coverage is asinine, maybe even asiten.

PIP or Medpay is first-party coverage for injuries. Every state is different so certain coverages are mandatory and others are not, but it's our responsibility as consumers to know what we pay for, or don't.

Most people are so concerned with premiums/rates that they don't even know what they buy, as long as it's cheaper than the last place. Talk to your agent (if you have one) and read the policy (declarations page). Also know that motorcycle coverages are not necessarily the same as auto. For example in my state PIP is mandatory on auto policies, Medpay is not on motorcycle policies. So, if you have auto coverage you have PIP, because you can't have auto without it. On a motorcycle policy you can purchase Medpay, but since it's not mandatory (and raises the premium) most people don't purchase it.

When your medical insurance carrier sends a letter to your auto/moto insurance carrier (if you don't carry PIP/Medpay) it's only to get a response that shows no coverage, a denial of coverage. It's because the insurance carriers need to determine which is primary (which carrier pays first, or at all). It's the normal procedure, to determine which carrier(s) should be receiving and paying bills and then if there is another carrier that steps up when that policy reaches its max.