How Does Riding a Motorcycle Affect Life Insurance in New Jersey?
While some view riding a motorcycle as dangerous, others consider it to be an enjoyable pastime. So, where do life insurance companies fall on this spectrum? If you ride a motorcycle in New Jersey, what will that mean for your life insurance premiums?
Riding a motorcycle, whether as a hobby or your primary mode of transportation, should not affect your life insurance too severely. Unless that is, you regularly engage in motorcycle racing for your job. In that case, your life insurance premiums might be higher. Getting into an accident and sustaining life-altering injuries could impact your premiums if you try to purchase life insurance afterward. That is because the insurance company will ask you questions about your health, and previous motorcycle accident injuries might be noteworthy. To prevent motorcycle accidents from affecting life insurance premiums or motorcycle insurance premiums, riders should wear protective gear and have the experience necessary to operate a motorcycle safely.
To have New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer Jerry Friedman review your case for free, call us today at 1-800-529-4464.
Will Riding a Motorcycle Affect Your Life Insurance in New Jersey?
Having and riding a motorcycle may not automatically cause your life insurance premiums to spike in New Jersey. However, if your love for hogs is more than a hobby and is instead your profession, it might be another story.
When applying for life insurance, applicants typically provide detailed information about their jobs, hobbies, health, and other personal details. If you ride a motorcycle frequently, a life insurance provider might ask questions about how often you ride and your history of accidents. It might also ask whether you wear a helmet and other questions about your riding habits.
From there, the insurance company will assess your premiums. Although riding a motorcycle is a high-risk activity, it will not automatically increase premiums, depending on the rider’s specific history and whether or not they engage in races frequently.
For example, a professional motorcycle racer may be at a higher risk of sustaining fatal or serious injuries in an accident than someone who rarely takes their motorcycle out on high-speed roads.
Will Getting into a Motorcycle Accident Affect Your Life Insurance in New Jersey?
That said, if you get into a motorcycle accident in New Jersey and sustain serious injuries, your life insurance premiums might change after your policy term is up.
For example, say you bought a term life insurance policy for ten years and got into a motorcycle accident. Then, suppose the motorcycle accident left you permanently injured or caused injuries that lower your life expectancy. In that case, you might face higher premiums when the term runs out and you attempt to renew your policy.
Furthermore, motorcycle accidents can cause riders’ health and motorcycle insurance to go up, depending on who is at fault for a collision in New Jersey.
How to Prevent Motorcycle Accidents from Affecting Your Life Insurance in New Jersey
The best way to keep insurance premiums low as a motorcyclist is to not get into accidents. Of course, even the most responsible motorcyclists cannot always avoid negligent drivers on the road. So, how can you prevent motorcycle accidents from affecting your life insurance or other insurance policies in New Jersey?
Wear Protective Gear
Start by protecting yourself as much as possible. Under N.J.S.A. § 39:3-76.7, motorcyclists must always wear DOT-approved helmets while riding in New Jersey. All motorcyclists should follow this mandate, as wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of sustaining a head injury by 69%. Head injuries might lower a victim’s life expectancy and cause additional complications that might impact their health, possibly impacting insurance rates.
Motorcyclists can also wear other protective gear, such as jackets, boots, long pants, and gloves, to reduce the risk of injury in accidents. Adding a windshield to your motorcycle can lower your risk of accidents due to poor vision, and wearing goggles can reduce your chances of sustaining eye injuries while riding.
Take Motorcycle Safety Courses
You must have the necessary qualifications before you can legally operate a motorcycle. For example, you can take New Jersey’s Basic Rider Course and a vision test to get a motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license. This course teaches crucial tips about motorcycle safety, which can lower your chances of getting into an accident.
You could also get a motorcycle license instead of an endorsement, but you should still take the Basic Rider Course before doing so.
Motorcyclists should always practice safe riding. Lane splitting, speeding, and tailgating are dangerous for all drivers, especially those of smaller vehicles like motorcycles. Negligent drivers might try to use comparative fault defenses to evade liability for all of a victim’s damages in New Jersey. If you remain alert and aware while riding your motorcycle and do not contribute to an accident in any way, comparative fault rules should not affect your case or lower your damages.
Determine Fault for Accidents
While a motorcycle accident should not affect your current life insurance policy, it could cause issues down the line if you sustained a life-altering injury and then attempt to buy a life insurance policy. More pressing is the issue of your motorcycle insurance going up after an accident. To prevent this from happening, our New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer can determine liability for the accident in question. Jerry can review the available evidence, like eyewitness statements, surveillance footage, and physical evidence from the scene, to prepare a claim against the negligent party. Once we know who is to blame, we can help you file a lawsuit against them to recover damages. You must do this within two years of a motorcycle accident in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2(a).
Call Jerry About Your Motorcycle Accident in New Jersey Today
To get a free case review from New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer Jerry Friedman, call 1-800-529-4464 today.
