May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. As a part of this awareness we want to make sure our riding friends know the rules when it comes to Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. While everybody knows that you must purchase liability insurance for any vehicle. You might not know that Kentucky Motorcycle insurance policies DO NOT have to include PIP coverage. PIP coverage is to designed to cover your medical costs if you are hurt in an accident, no matter who is at fault for the crash. This basic PIP coverage is optional for motorcycles.
You should be aware that unless basic PIP coverage is purchased for the motorcycle, neither the operator nor the passenger of the motorcycle is entitled to collect basic PIP benefits from any source. Pursuant to KRS 304.39-040. If a motorcycle owner elects not to purchase basic PIP coverage, he/she accepts the limitations on his/her rights to sue for damages unless a no-fault rejection form is filed. Most important to note is that if the no-fault rejection form is not filed, he/she will be unable to recover the first $10,000 of a motorcycle injury claim from the at-fault party.
At Gibson Law Offices we have represented our share of injured motorcyclists, who had waived their PIP benefits and did not properly file this all important Kentucky No Fault Rejection Form. It is sad to see a client who was injured in a motorcycle crash, through no fault of their own, lose $10,000.00 from their settlement proceeds. It is very important that if you waive PIP coverage, you file the Kentucky No Fault Rejection Form (link below) with the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Insurance, your insurance agent, and your insurance company. Again if this form is not properly filed you and your passenger will be unable to recover the first $10,000 of a motorcycle injury claim from the at-fault party. http://insurance.ky.gov/Documents/nf1abc030713.pdf .
