The largest city in Louisiana is New Orleans and is rich with tradition and musical history and interesting places to ride a motorcycle around. There are also the big cities of Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Lafayette and in between by a whole array of physical features raging from marshes to beaches and everywhere in between. What stays consistent is that feeling of freedom you get, but coupled with that is the knowledge that you have a responsibility both to yourself and others to get full coverage Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance that can cover you for any eventualities you might face when exploring this magnificent state.
What are the state minimums for Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance?
There are certain state minimums that are laid down for Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance that you have to meet in order to legally ride your motorcycle on the roads of Louisiana.
These are:
$10,000 – Bodily injury cover for one person
$20,000 – Bodily injury cover for the whole accident
$10,000 – Property damage liability cover
These are often referred to as 10/20/10 cover.
Are the state minimums for Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance sufficient?
It is a reasonable question to ask whether the minimum levels for motorcycle insurance in Louisiana are sufficient because at the end of the day someone is going to have to pay for any accidents you do find yourself involved in. That can either be the insurance company or it can be you if the levels of cover you get are too low.
In practice 10/20/10 cover is very low even by state standards. Kentucky for example has as its minimum requirements 25/50/25 cover, and so you have to ask yourself why the Kentucky Insurance Department has deemed that you need 150% more liability cover than the Louisiana Insurance Department?
It is a reasonable question and the answer is that many of the figures that state insurance departments mandate as minimums seem to be extremely arbitrary in nature, and very far removed from what insurance companies would actually recommend.
Of course the insurance companies are out to make a profit and sell you as much insurance as they can, so they do have a vested interest in selling you more cover rather than less. But the fact remains that the ideal amount of Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance is probably somewhere between the two figures, and substantially higher than the low levels that the state has as minimums.
It is also important to realise that these are in any case ‘minimum’ requirements, not ‘recommended’ requirements. They are essentially the lowest figure that the state’s insurance department can come up with, and yet still not have disastrous repercussions for its citizens.
But you individually should almost certainly be seeking out much more comprehensive Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance that not only includes much higher levels of liability cover, but also covers you for other factors that you might face.
Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage
One of these areas is Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage because this means that if you are involved in an accident with another vehicle whose driver does not have proper insurance (currently estimated to be about 15% of ALL drivers), then you would still be covered.
Cover for Theft, Vandalism and Fires
Another area to consider getting much fuller coverage Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance is in order to cover yourself if your motorcycle is stolen, vandalised or damaged in a fire.
(You can check for state minimums of Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance at the Louisiana Department of Insurance)
If you only get the state basic minimums then none of these areas will be covered, and yet motorcycle theft is endemic in most big cities precisely because motorcycles are so portable and easy to steal.
Many times it is simply a case of thieves physically picking up a bike and then putting it in the back of truck, without ever having even to pick any locks or break in (as they would with a car); and your bike is gone. What’s more the chances of getting it back once that happens are extremely slim with most crime statistics indicating that only about 20% of motorcycles that are stolen are ever recovered.
If it is a performance motorcycle then it could well have cost you in excess of $10,000; and yet it will be gone for good. If you only have the basic insurance then you will be faced with a choice of whether to replace it or simply suffer the loss, neither of which is a nice choice to have to make.
The same principles are true of vandalism, because all of the chrome parts on a bike, beautiful paint finishes, custom tyres etc. can be covered if you take out comprehensive Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance, but will not be covered by a standard policy.
There is of course a weighing up of Costs vs. Benefits with any type of insurance, because we all have budgets that we have to meet and work with. But it is certainly a good idea to get a selection of Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance Quotes and see exactly what is available, before blindly getting the state minimums.
Of course the insurance companies are out to make a profit and sell you as much insurance as they can, so they do have a vested interest in selling you more cover rather than less. But the fact remains that the ideal amount of Louisiana Motorcycle Insurance is probably somewhere between the two figures, and substantially higher than the low levels that the state has as minimums.
