A Guide to Motorcycle Insurance in Mississippi (MS)
The forests of the Mississippi Delta are lush, and the climate of long summers and short winters is a tremendous boon if you love motorcycling. But in order to be able to properly use that space and time you need to get some comprehensive Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance that leaves you properly protected as you explore the Hospitality State, and in this article I am going to explore how to get properly covered.
The Challenges...
There are some real challenges with regards to medical care in the state because Mississippi is ranked 50th in terms of health care provision according to a non-profit foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, and so the lack of a well-funded public health care system makes it essential that your Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance is comprehensive enough on the medical front so that you don’t have to worry about your treatment options if you were unfortunate enough to have an accident.
But with all that said, Mississippi has a well-developed road infrastructure with nine different interstate highways (10, 20, 22, 55, 59, 69, 110, 220 and 269) and fourteen main US Routes, so it is well served for the keen motorcyclist in terms of places to travel and the ability to get there.
But coupled with that is the fact that Mississippi finished in the bottom five states in 2011 for the number of accidents caused by litter and debris on the roads, with at least 19 people killed by litter, animal carcasses and other non-fixed objects.
So it is clear that riding a motorcycle on the roads of Mississippi is more dangerous than in many other states, and so it is vital to get good quality Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance that can cover you for unforeseen crashes and accidents.
What are the minimum requirements for Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance?
Like most other states Mississippi has laid down some basic requirements for motorcycle insurance coverage in the state that all motorcyclists must adhere to.
These are centred on liability insurance coverage so that if you are involved in an accident with another vehicle, and another party is injured due to a fault of yours, they would still be covered.
These minimum Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance Coverage amounts are:
$25,000 – Bodily Injury cover for one person
$50,000 – Bodily Injury Cover per accident
$25,000 – Property Damage Liability Cover
These amounts are usually referred to as 25/50/25 cover.
They vary from state to state and some are lower, some higher, but 25/50/25 is probably about average in terms of what the states demand as minimum requirements to ride on their roads.
Are the Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance Minimums Adequate?
The 25/50/25 levels of cover are realistically quite low, because they are not intended to constitute comprehensive levels of cover. They exist simply to act as a safety net and ensure that there isn’t anarchy on the roads, because of no-one being held responsible for motor accidents.
Accordingly, you should probably take out considerably higher levels of liability cover, and also supplement it with some extra types of cover to get a more comprehensive policy.
The main extra types of insurance that you should look to add to the policy are:
Uninsured Driver/Underinsured Driver Cover
15% of the drivers on the roads are driving around either without enough insurance, or else with no insurance at all, and hence it is imperative that you consider them when taking out a Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance Policy.
If you get uninsured/underinsured cover, then even if you are involved in an accident with these drivers (and they were at fault), you would still be covered.
Comprehensive Cover
The basic liability requirements do not cover you if your bike is stolen, vandalised or set on fire, so it is well worth adding extra provisions on to the policy to cover this.
(Remember, you can also check out the legal backgroun to Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance at the Mississippi Department of Insurance's website.)
You will often find that this extra cover costs less than you think, but it does provide considerable amounts of extra protection.
To summarise, the basic amounts of insurance are useful to show you some minimum requirements, but you should look into getting some Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance Quotes that more accurately reflect the needs of the modern motorist in Mississippi and provide you with the levels of medical, liability and comprehensive cover that you really need.
Are the Mississippi Motorcycle Insurance Minimums Adequate?
