Why You Need Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
This is a screen shot of part of an email I got from the claims adjuster handling the bills from my crash.
I was at the July RMMRC meeting and we were discussing my recent crash. Tom, who is an attorney, said very authoritatively that if the guy was uninsured then I would be stuck with all the costs, because uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your car stays with the car, not with you.
I told him no, he was wrong. I had been told by someone in the emergency room that that sort of coverage goes with the person, not the vehicle. One of the first things I did once I was released from the hospital was to call our agent. He confirmed that the coverage goes with me, not the vehicle, and he urged me to open a claim right away. I did.
The first bill I got was for the ambulance. It was about $1,800. I directed them to Colorado Farm Bureau, giving them the claim number. That was the last I heard of that.
I later got an email from the claims person handling my case. That screen shot above is what she told me about charges they would be covering. Apparently everything else is being covered by Medicare.
It’s important that you understand this situation. As an attorney, Tom has a lot of experience in this sort of thing. But he was wrong. How many thousands of dollars would I have been billed for the ER physician and the ER facility? I know as far as radiology goes, they did three CT scans on me while I was there. We’re talking serious bucks here. All this while suffering the financial loss of my motorcycle and my helmet, about $3,500 worth by my estimate.
If you’ve been following this all along I hope you’re not getting too burned out on hearing about my crash and the aftermath. It has been a real learning experience for me and I’ve been trying to pass what I’ve learned along to you. There’s so much I had no idea of and I suspect most people have no more clue than I did.
So anyway, on Friday I’ll go in for my eighth and, I hope, final CT scan. Then on Tuesday I’ll go in to see what the scan showed and to have these staples removed from my head. Then maybe I’ll be able to turn my attentions to more upbeat topics, such as the new bike I’ll be buying and the new helmet and riding suit that I plan to get. And after that maybe I’ll even be able to start writing about rides I’ve gone on. That’ll sure make me happy.
Biker Quote for Today
Any motorcycle can serve you your whole life if you ride fast enough.
Tags: drunk driver crash, insurance coverage after motorcycle crash
August 14th, 2025 at 6:10 pm
I have uninsured/underinsured coverage on all my vehicles. It costs very little extra on my numerous policies. I tried to talk my agent into insuring me, instead of the individual policies on cars, trucks, and motorcycles, but can’t be done in Wyoming. Hopefully,I’ll never need it. Glad to see you are recovering in a timely fashion. Although I don’t comment often,please be assured that I check your blog daily, as I can never remember the days that you publish.
August 17th, 2025 at 12:22 pm
Clif–It’s Monday and Thursday.