No Personal Injury Protection for Motorcycles in Maryland

Motorcycle riders in Maryland already know there are many ways the law treats you differently than car drivers. Here is one more: Motorcycle riders are not usually provided with PIP insurance in Maryland.

In our opinion, this law does not make logical sense and should be changed.

If you need a Waldorf motorcycle accident attorney, contact us today for a free consultation. And discover everything you need to know with our Free Legal Guide to Car Accident Cases in Maryland. Know your options and be informed before you make big decisions about your accident case.

What is PIP & Why is it Valuable?

PIP is a special type of insurance for drivers in Maryland. It stands for Personal Injury Protection. It provides a (very) small amount of “no fault” coverage to pay medical bills and up to 80% of your lost wages if you are injured in an accident.

PIP coverage can be invaluable if you are injured because of some other driver’s negligence. It will pay medical bills directly, which is a life saver if you don’t have health insurance. Even if you do have health insurance, PIP can even be used to repay health insurance liens in your case. That really makes PIP stretch.

You can still file a personal injury lawsuit against the at fault driver, and recover your full damages in that case, but PIP will pay some immediate benefits in the meantime.

For more details about PIP coverage and why you should always have it, and get more of it, see our blog post explaining PIP here.

PIP is for Cars – at least in Maryland

Having PIP coverage is the default choice for most car drivers in Maryland. If you drive a car in Maryland, your insurance will usually provide you with $2,500 coverage for personal injury protection.

You can waive PIP coverage, but the insurer has to get you to do that in writing using a particular form the Maryland Insurance Administration mandates. If you don’t go out of your way to waive PIP and sign this long form, then you will usually have it on your car insurance.

By the way, we never recommend you waive PIP. It is cheap! And can be very, very valuable if you need to use it.

No PIP for Motorcycles – Usually

PIP is the law for car insurance. As you probably know, motorcycle insurance law is different. Maryland law allows insurance companies to deny this personal injury protection coverage to motorcyclists. Consequently, you will have a hard time finding a motorcycle policy in Maryland that includes PIP. You will have to shop around and demand it. And even then, I am not sure anyone will offer it to you.

This means that if you are injured in a motorcycle accident, you will not receive the same level of benefits from your own insurance company as a driver of a car would receive.

What could possibly be the rationale for this? There is only one – the belief that motorcycles are more dangerous and riders are more likely to get injured in an accident than someone in a car.

Many lawyers think this is unfair, and I bet most motorcyclists would also think this is an unfair law. If they passed a law extending personal injury protection benefits to motorcyclists, it would not cost the insurers much money, and they would just raise their motorcycle insurance rates to cover it. They would just make you pay for it!

And it is only $2,500 worth of coverage. It isn’t like it is a lot of money. PIP coverage hasn’t been raised in the 30+ years I have been practicing law. I don’t think they will raise it any time soon either. In that same time, medical bills have gone way up! $2,500 doesn’t cover much these days.

This denial of PIP for motorcycles has been the law for a very long time, and there are no signs that it will change anytime soon. Only the politicians in Annapolis can make such a change to the personal injury protection law.

If you are a motorcyclist, you should write your delegate and state senator today and ask them where they stand on this issue. Chances are, they haven’t given it a moments thought. Maybe you could change their mind and change this rather unfair law.

Conclusion & Next Steps

If you drive a car in Maryland, your insurance must provide you with $2,500 coverage for personal injury protection. If you drive a motorcycle, you get nothing. That is not fair.

Want to know more? Discover what you need to know about car accident cases in Maryland. Click here to see our Free Legal Guide to Maryland car accident cases and get answers to your questions today. Know your options. Be informed. Protect yourself.

Need a Personal Injury lawyer? Please contact us for a consultation today if you need a Maryland attorney for your personal injury case.

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Author: This content was written and approved by Tucker Clagett, an attorney at Southern Maryland Law – Andrews, Bongar, Gormley & Clagett.