Utah is dominated by Salt Lake City and about 80% of the population of the state live within the metropolitan area of Salt Lake City. It is also one of the fastest growing states and is culturally greatly influenced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or which about 60% of the population are members.
Utah is also a beautiful state to explore on a motorcycle with a wonderful array of natural features and offers a diverse spectacle from pine forests to mountains, scrubland and skiing higher up, which all combine to make it an attractive proposition for any adventurous motorcyclists.
One thing that does need to be sorted out however before you set out is good quality Utah Motorcycle Insurance, because accidents do happen and it is important that you are properly prepared.
In this article I will be looking at the states minimum requirements when it comes to motorcycle insurance in Utah, as well as dipping in to some of your other options and thoughts about how to go about choosing which policy to go for.
What are the minimum requirements for Utah Motorcycle Insurance?
As you might expect there are some minimum requirements for insuring your motorcycle in Utah, and these are very much aimed at providing at least some basic cover so that every driver has some cover when they ride on the roads of Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo, West Jordan, Sandy or any of the other cities in Utah.
They are as follows:
$25,000 – Bodily injury liability for one person
$50,000 – Bodily injury liability for one accident
$15,000 – Property Damage liability Cover
There is additionally a single limit of $65,000 in Utah.
These levels of cover are normally referred to with the shorthand of 25/50/15 cover.
Are the Utah Motorcycle Insurance minimums really sufficient?
The issue of whether the minimum requirements for Motorcycle Insurance in Utah are sufficient is a pertinent one, because at the end of the day it is important to realise that minimum requirements are common across all of the states, but they are designed to be a last line of defence, and not the final word as to what the best cover really is.
25/50/15 levels of cover are about average (though the property damage liability cover’ is a little low, $25,000 would be more typical amongst the other states), but at the end of the day if you want to feel like your insurance is going to actually do you any good, then you may want to consider increasing the levels a little.
For many more basic or small motor accidents it is true that those amounts of cover are probably sufficient. But it is the small, but not uncommon cases of the more serious accidents that you should really be looking for extra cover to protect you from, such as multi-car pileups or accidents involving multiple people or multiple cars. Because these have the potential to skyrocket the costs, and you could well find yourself out of pocket.
One way to get around this is to substantially increase the basic levels of cover, so that even on those rare occasions where fate does play you a bad set of cards and you find yourself in a potentially wallet-busting accident, you can at least focus on helping yourself and others, and not on the potential cost of any accident.
Are there any other types of cover you should consider?
It is also important to realise that there are certain additions that you could make to your motorcycle policy which would substantially strengthen it, and widen the scope for the kind of things that you can claim for.
This would include such things as vandalism, damage by storms and theft.
Theft is particularly a big deal in the towns and cities, so if you live or around Utah City then you should probably consider adding these types of cover to your policy. This is done easily enough by simply adding comprehensive, full coverage Utah Motorcycle Insurance to what you need, because this also adds in those extra elements.
Theft is relatively rare, but still affects tens of thousands if motorcycle owners every year, and so if you live in a neighbourhood which makes it a more pressing requirement, or you plan on riding your bike to any less than stellar neighbourhoods, then it is well worth looking into adding this to your policy.
Another area that you should consider is Uninsured/Underinsured Drivers cover which protects you in the event that you have an accident with either a totally uninsured driver, or else one who does not have adequate amounts of cover, and where you find that in order to make any outstanding payments you need to chip in to your pocket.
(You can also check out any other Utah Motorcycle Insurance legal requirements at the Utah Insurance Departments website.)
What this all adds up to is that the process of choosing Utah Motorcycle Insurance that is right for you is far more involved then you may have first thought, and so it is essential that you do your homework and get some Utah Motorcycle Insurance Quotes that really give you a good idea about what you can expect to pay, and the types of cover that you can realistically get for your budget.
25/50/15 levels of cover are about average (though the property damage liability cover’ is a little low, $25,000 would be more typical amongst the other states), but at the end of the day if you want to feel like your insurance is going to actually do you any good, then you may want to consider increasing the levels a little.
