1 Million Liability vs 2 Million Liability worth the upgrade?

N

nikos1965

Well-known member
Forum Sponsor
I am shopping around for a new Insurance Company for my Motorcycles and have asked the brokers cost of going from 1 mill Liability to 2 mill. So it varies between bikes and companys but my cost to upgrade my one bike is a mere $18 and the other bike $47.

My question is since there is a slim chance that I will cause harm to another motorist to be sued for millions and usually the other way around, is it still worth going to 2 million? I mean god forbid I could run a pedestrian over and cause serious injuries or death.

What are your thoughts on this people?
 
for almost nothing more, take the upgrade

chances are vanishingly slim of needing it
but imagine this scenario:

you are found at fault in an accident where the other motorist is killed
they are a 30 year old professional pulling in a huge salary
their spouse is at home raising 3 kids under the age of 10

they will sue your azz
a million won't be enough
2 million is likely not enough
but they are much more likely to settle at 2
 
J_F said:
for almost nothing more, take the upgrade

chances are vanishingly slim of needing it
but imagine this scenario:

you are found at fault in an accident where the other motorist is killed
they are a 30 year old professional pulling in a huge salary
their spouse is at home raising 3 kids under the age of 10

they will sue your azz
a million won't be enough
2 million is likely not enough
but they are much more likely to settle at 2
Click to expand...


I agree and thanks for the scenario. Anything can happen in life
 
^^^^ 100% this.

It's a token amount of money in the greater scheme of motorcycle ownership. Just do it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: J_F
Also, two people could easily get hurt in a crash. As with the above examples, people will be much more likely to settle for 1M each than 500K each.

FWIW, I have a 1M rider on my policy. It covers all vehicles I have insured (even with other carriers although I need to inform TDMM about those vehicles prior to them moving). It was cheaper to do this and carry 1M on each vehicle than to put 2M on each vehicle.
 
Also ask about lowering your deductible.

Going from $500 to $300 deductible might be only $10-$20 difference annually. That a $180-$190 savings in case of ****
 
oioioi said:
Also ask about lowering your deductible.

Going from $500 to $300 deductible might be only $10-$20 difference annually. That a $180-$190 savings in case of ****
Click to expand...
The alternative way to look at that is how often do you have a claim that requires you to pay the deductible? If it is more often than every 10 years, pay the money to buy the deductible down. It is is less often, keep your money. Your 180 to 190 savings is only in year one. It goes downhill from there (especially if you invested the $10 to 20).

As an aside, $300? $500? I run the numbers every time I adjust a policy and normally end up with $1000. I find the savings in premium to go to $2000 is not worth it, IIRC maybe $20 a year. I do expect to have to pay a deductible more than once every 50 years.
 
When I quoted my FZ6 recently. With $500 deductible it was $799. $300 deductible the premium went up to $806.

I don’t expect to make any claims unless (knock on wood) it’s some accident.
 
Yeah, the difference between a $500 deductible and a $1000 deductible was only $8 or something like that for me as well. $500 is as low as my insurance company goes otherwise I'd have opted for less yet for a few dollars more.

Does it add up over years you remain claim free? Yes, of course....but a $500 difference (in my case at least) can be the difference between "Someone knocked my bike over in a parking lot but I'll just fix it myself rather than put in a claim because the deductible doesn't make it worth it" or "Someone knocked my bike over in a parking lot, here it is, fix it".
 
raginduck said:
One of my wife's friends just got sued for 1.4mil. Her daughter caused an accident in her car.. multiple vehicles/occupants... not enough insurance.
Click to expand...
Yeah, once you get into multiple people being injured, especially if they are someone with no insurance of their own that they can draw on (like pedestrians), it is hard to have enough insurance.
 
You have to be riding like a real a-hole to cause a $1m accident with a motorcycle. $2m is a good idea for a cage. Mind you, $1m doesn't go far these days.
 
GreyGhost said:
You just have to knock one jaywalker over and have them hit their head.
Click to expand...
Jaywalker .... that is somebody that is illegally and unsafely crossing a street right?
Would the car driver be the only one liable for that persons safety or subsequent injuries :unsure: Call them a pedestrian and everything changes imho.
 
raginduck said:
One of my wife's friends just got sued for 1.4mil. Her daughter caused an accident in her car.. multiple vehicles/occupants... not enough insurance.
Click to expand...

Once the case gets to discovery and the lawyers on the other side discover she doesn't actually have that much coverage, watch....the claim will probably "mysteriously" be lowered. Now that some people are carrying 2M vs 1M laywers are probably aiming for the "well, lets try for 1.5m" in case the person does have 2M in liability - only once they discover they're going to be trying to get blood from a stone if they actually only have a 1M policy do they adjust down.
 
Trials said:
Jaywalker .... that is somebody that is illegally and unsafely crossing a street right?
Would the car driver be the only one liable for that persons safety or subsequent injuries :unsure: Call them a pedestrian and everything changes imho.
Click to expand...
Percentages. Almost no personal responsibility in the Canadian legal system. A bus company just lost a court case where a grade 8 student opened the rear door and jumped out while the bus was moving. She hit her head and requires lifelong care. The student was found 10% at fault. Imo, that is just the legal system pushing around stats based on ability to pay and it is a complete travesty. How is the person that decided what to do, then did it only 10% at fault? Rubbish. What is the bus company supposed to do? Lock the emergency door? Bus company was ordered to pay millions.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Once the case gets to discovery and the lawyers on the other side discover she doesn't actually have that much coverage, watch....the claim will probably "mysteriously" be lowered. Now that some people are carrying 2M vs 1M laywers are probably aiming for the "well, lets try for 1.5m" in case the person does have 2M in liability - only once they discover they're going to be trying to get blood from a stone if they actually only have a 1M policy do they adjust down.
Click to expand...

It's the insurance company(s) suing to recover costs that she wasn't covered for... not a personal injury lawsuit. The accident happened a couple years ago... lawsuit came about a month ago.
 
we need 2mil minimum for our sailboat for racing. Was a club rule, now the marina demands it.
I carry 2 mil on cars/bikes.
given the settlements being handed down, I will never carry less.
 
J_F said:
for almost nothing more, take the upgrade

chances are vanishingly slim of needing it
but imagine this scenario:

you are found at fault in an accident where the other motorist is killed
they are a 30 year old professional pulling in a huge salary
their spouse is at home raising 3 kids under the age of 10

they will sue your azz
a million won't be enough
2 million is likely not enough
but they are much more likely to settle at 2
Click to expand...

Ditto here. Also the higher liability indicates responsibility. In some US states bike insurance is as little as $25,000.
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom