Maine only borders one other state (New Hampshire on the western side) and has an amazing abundance of forests and coastline that makes it unlike any other state for motorcyclists. It creates a depth of experience unlike any other ride, and from the big cities of Portland and Lewiston to the scenic forests that cover seventeen million acres, it is a great place to ride. If you do plan on exploring Maine more on two wheels though it is vital that you get some good quality Maine Motorcycle Insurance that can cover you for any unexpected events or accidents.
What are the minimum state requirements for Maine Motorcycle Insurance?
Maine has one of the highest minimum limits for liability cover of any of the states, and does serve to indicate quite how inadequate the minimum requirements are in many of the other states.
These are:
$50,000 – Bodily injury cover for one person
$100,000 – Bodily injury cover for an entire accident
$25,000 – Property Damage liability cover
This combination is usually referred to as 50/100/25 cover and if you compare it with Louisiana for example where the minimums are 10/20/10, or Kansas which is 25/50/10 then it is clear to see that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of logic in what most of the state minimum requirements are.
One thing it should however do is to make you a little sceptical that the various departments of insurance have all the answers when it comes to deciding on how much motorcycle insurance you REALLY need in Maine, and perhaps help you to move towards more comprehensive Maine Motorcycle Insurance cover that can protect you against many more eventualities.
Are the state minimums for Maine Motorcycle Insurance adequate?
As I alluded to above the waters are rather murky when it comes to establishing what exactly is a good ‘minimum’ amount of motorcycle insurance to have. But at least Maine is perhaps being a little more responsible in demanding higher limits that actually cover the real costs of many motor accidents, rather than their compatriots in other states who seem to be pitching them a little too low.
Logically if you consider the real costs of any serious motor accident then it rapidly becomes clear that low-ball figures like $10,000 to cover individual liability cover for one person are simply not enough.
If you look at most commercial Maine Motorcycle Insurance policies then you will immediately notice that $50,000 is very much on the low end of the scale, and that figures of up to $500,000 (50 times as much as Louisiana demands, and ten times what Maine insists upon) are not uncommon for real-world policies.
This makes a lot of sense because if you compare motorcycle insurance with medical insurance or travel insurance where liability cover is often over $1 million per person, then it starts to get into perspective the level of costs that you might realistically face if something does go wrong.
The main element in travel insurance for example is the medical liability part, because it is spiralling hospital costs (if you collapsed or were involved in an accident) that can cause costs to rapidly escalate.
And that is precisely the same element that is being covered by individual liability cover (which remember is a minimum of $25,000 in Maine, no-where close to a million) with the liability portion of Maine Motorcycle Insurance - https://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance/ )
You can of course question the disparities, or simply face the fact that the minimum levels are not a good guideline to shoot for and that you really should aim for a fuller, more comprehensive policy.
Some Other Thoughts
Additional areas that you should investigate covering are underinsured motorist cover and uninsured motorist cover, because about 1 in 6 drivers drive without any kind of insurance, and unless you have taken out extra provision to cover this fact, then you could well find yourself out of pocket if you are involved in an accident where the other party was to blame, but had no proper insurance policy.
The other areas that you should explore are getting a comprehensive, full coverage policy that also includes cover for if your bike is stolen, damaged by fire or vandalised. These are far more common events then you might think, and so availing yourself of these affords you extra protections that you wouldn’t otherwise have.
Motorcycles are by their very nature easy to move quickly, and so the rate at which motorcycles gets stolen is extremely high, and what is more it can happen very quickly, so make sure that you don’t end up as victim by getting proper cover.
The bottom line is that whilst you can drive on the roads of Maine with only a minimum amount of insurance that you should take the time to properly investigate your options. You will find that you can get considerably more cover for not much more than the basic policies, and simply by getting a selection of Maine Motorcycle Insurance Quotes and choosing between them, can also cherry-pick the best deals.
Logically if you consider the real costs of any serious motor accident then it rapidly becomes clear that low-ball figures like $10,000 to cover individual liability cover for one person are simply not enough.
