Whilst Wisconsin has often been perceived to be mainly a rural state, it is in fact home to some large cities such as Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha and Racine. And Middleton was actually ranked as the “Best Place to Live in America” by Money Magazine in 2007 (although by 2010 rather confusingly it did not even make the top 100, Eden Prairie, MN was then at number 1, but Madison did sneak in at number 95).
But regardless of journalistic judgements on the towns and cities of Wisconsin, the fact is that there are many beautiful spots in Wisconsin that makes this a great state for motorcyclists.
In this article I will be exploring Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance, the states minimum legal requirements when it comes to getting covered, and the different considerations that you should mull over before finally deciding which policy to get.
What are the legal minimum requirements for Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance?
The state’s insurance regulator does lay down certain minimum requirements for Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance that you have to follow if you wish to leally ride your motorcycle in the state.
They are as follows:
$25,000 – Bodily injury liability cover for one person
$50,000 – Bodily injury liability cover for one accident
$10,000 – Property Damage Liability Cover
These are more typically referred to as 25/50/10 cover.
Are the Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance Minimums adequate?
It is important to consider if the minimum requirements for motorcycle insurance in Wisconsin are actually good enough, because at the end of the day insurance is your best safety net against disaster striking, and it so it makes sense to make sure that that net is as secure as possible.
If the net is not stable, or has holes in it then you are going to run into problems, and so it is essential that you don’t blight what is otherwise a wonderful experience (riding a motorcycle around the streets of Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay or out in the countryside) with negatives of wondering whether your Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance is actually comprehensive enough, or whether in fact you should have opted for greater levels of cover.
There is of course always a balancing act with any type of insurance and so you have to know how much you can afford, because you can always increase your insurance cover, but you probably cannot increase your income instantly!
But it is worth saying first of all that the 25/50/10 minimums are roughly average when compared to most of the other states minimum requirements for motorcycle insurance (although the property damage cover is on the low side as $25,000 is a more normal level than the $10,000 minimum in Wisconsin).
However, the minimum requirements are really only a starting point to make sure that you ride on the roads legally and have some level of cover. You should really be aiming much higher, as the costs of accidents in the United States is on the rise, and factors such as the medical bills that you might have to face are also rising, but the state minimum requirements for motorcycle insurance is generally not keeping pace with these rising costs.
There is a certain sense in why this is so, because in truth setting minimum requirements is also a political issue, and politicians do not want to be seen to be pricing ordinary people with lower incomes out of basic necessities like riding a motorcycle. So often the rates that are the minimums are kept lower than perhaps would be ideal if purely economic considerations were at work.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t really affect you, because you can always get higher levels of Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance, and you are not tether-bound to get those lower levels. In fact it would be a good idea to increase the amounts of liability cover and property damage liability cover if at all possible, because even other states like Maine have minimum levels that are several times higher than those of Wisconsin (50/100/25 as compared to 25/50/10 in Wisconsin).
You should also look into adding Comprehensive, Full Coverage Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance that includes cover for theft, vandalism, storm damage and fire damage into the mix. This is especially true when your motorcycle is particularly expensive, because then the cost of replacing the bike can possibly be prohibitive, and it makes sense to be able to replace it in the event of it being stolen or damaged in any of the other ways I just alluded to.
Another type of cover that is not in the basic minimums, but which is also important is Uninsured Driver Cover, which would protect you in the event that you had an accident with another vehicle, where the driver did not have any insurance. This is far more common than you might believe and so it is essential to at least get a few Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance Quotes where this is included, before deciding on whether or not you can afford it.
(Also remember that you can always check in about Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance on the Wisconsin Insurance Departments website for the latest legal requirements.)
With insurance knowledge is power, and the best knowledge you can get about what cover is really going to cost you is to go and get a variety of Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance Quotes and really dig into what it is possible to get on your budget.
Try to stay focused, shop around and you really can get a good deal!
If the net is not stable, or has holes in it then you are going to run into problems, and so it is essential that you don’t blight what is otherwise a wonderful experience (riding a motorcycle around the streets of Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay or out in the countryside) with negatives of wondering whether your Wisconsin Motorcycle Insurance is actually comprehensive enough, or whether in fact you should have opted for greater levels of cover.
