Motorcycle Insurance in Washington
 

Currently, insurance is optional for motorcycles in Washington State. HB 1014 has been introduced to change that. If passed, insurance will become mandatory for all motorcycles operated on public roads. This will become effective 90 days after passage. So far, there is no opposition to this bill in the House.

Insurance
 

Your still liable if you crash into someone, why risk your house, car's, other bikes on something like that. insurance is cheap considering the end results.:

I carry full coverage, but know a few who choose to carry nothing. I assume there are a large number of people who do not insure their bikes in Wa.

:icon_that:, And that`s no surprise because it would be another cash cow for the Dems in that state. I think it will pass without a whimper. :icon_munching:

They`ll be the ones crying about some obscure road "hazard" when they hit some wild animal and total their vehicle, to say nothing about injuries and medical costs. :icon_munching:

How about kids, in you're state, forced to wear helmets while riding? Another 'cash cow'?

Well... I just found out about this change in the law and I'm pretty pissed off about it. Heard about it from a friend and had to search for nearly an hour to find anything on it before I finally stumbled across the WA State Insurance Commissioners site to verify this is, infact going to be law after July 28th, 2019 ( https://www.insurance.wa.gov/washing...-insurance-law ). I'll save my bitching about the inconvenient timing to implement a new law late in the season, for a seasonal use vehicle.

Unlike many of you... I don't have any disposable income to waste on unnecessary, bullshit. This is just another bill to break my already tight ass budget. Living on an S.S.D.I. fixed income sucks but being forced to pay for year round insurance on a bike I can only ride, maybe 6 months out of the year (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less) really sucks. Bullshit bills like this pretty much negate the savings on fuel costs I get riding the bike over driving the Bronco. If riding wasn't in my soul, I'd probably give it up for this reason alone.

I carry broadform, liability insurance so I can have my main vehicle covered and to cover my old plow/wood/work truck on the few rare occasions it actually gets off my property and on the road. Broadform I use is getting harder and harder to find and I even had some insurance agents deny it even exists anymore. They're obviously lying to my face, which chaps my ass to no end. Anyway... my broadform doesn't cover motorcycles. Complying with these bullshit laws is getting really old.

Anybody else out there living on a string bean budget or just doesn't like to waste money... have any decent solutions? I'll be calling my agent to see what they can say but my old agency just got bought out by a new one in our rural area, so I'm not looking forward to it.



And I don't need any lectures about responsible insurance BS. It's a scam imo and anyone who's had to fight these companies from a hospital bed, just to pay out what you've been paying them for for years knows what I'm talking about. I've totaled and rebuilt my bike, on my own already so I've already lived through it and I'll get along just fine, taking care of my own shit, like I always do. I just want to be free to ride my machine without being hassled by the man!

Insurance
 

You have always been responsible for damaging property. As far as buying quarterly or bi-annual insurance isn't an issue.
It seems to me your complaint is it isn't covered under your broardform.... I agree with you that it's a pain.. the only real change is you have to carry proof on your person.
If your riding without insurance...are you going to afford running into the side of someone's Corvette. And pay for it out of pocket??? Dont think many can.
So when the vette owners insurance company gets thru with you. You won't be able to pay for toilet paper.
Like the law says for scooters and mopeds your still liable for any damage they cause.

Not news to me MGH. I'm more than aware that if a 2 party accident is even partially my fault, I am responsible for my share of the damage done. I also used to be an autobody repairman and assuming I actually run into another vehicle AND it's actually MY fault, if they're a reasonable individual, I would absolutely repair the damage to professional standards. If they are not as reasonable and choose to get their insurance company involved... that's their choice and that's fine but you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. I've got more time and talent than money. I'd loose my bike if they come after me but it's market value is currently pennies on the dollar when compared to what it's worth to me. I've literally got nothing else worth taking, that can be taken.

You can make up a million other possible scenario's and I'm sure there would be more than a few that result in me getting the shaft. Again... not news. I've totaled 2 bikes over the 33 years I've been legally riding on the streets and I've been fortunate enough to not have injured anyone or anything other than myself and my own bike, beyond scratching the bumper of a Sears delivery van. Please note; I'm not being arrogant about it. I realize the potential risks and I choose to accept them, rather than give up riding.

I've also had to hire a lawyer (significant and unnecessary $$$ out of my pocket) to force an insurance company to pay up, so I know the Insurance scam inside and out. You pay out every month, year after year and when it comes time you actually need it, they fight you tooth and nail all the way around before paying up for the service you faithfully paid them for. I was living in N. Idaho at the time, which has always required insurance for motorcycles. I have since, totaled and rebuilt my own bike... with a little help from some good friends of mine, from your side of the state.

While the fact that I can't just add my motorcycle to my broadform insurance is very annoying, my issue is that I have to pay another pointless, ongoing fee to be able to ride MY bike. From what I hear, WA state is also planning to allow for "lane splitting" in the near future. I haven't looked this up specifically yet but it was part of the information relayed to me by a friend I got into our beloved sport, who ended up becoming a motorcycle safety instructor for a number of years and is still a very active motorcycle enthusiast.

I do not see this as a coincidence, at all. My real frustration is, WA state legislators have apparently decided to implement a new financial requirement, without a vote from the citizens, that may potentially end up forcing me (and many others like me) to give up one of the few real joys left in my life, as a disabled individual living on a fixed income. Why are they doing that, after decades of motorcycle insurance being a non issue? Near as I can tell... it's so folks in the metropolitan areas can have the dangerous ability to ride between moving cars, to avoid the same traffic issues effecting everyone else on the road. In case you haven't guessed... I'm not a supporter of lane-splitting or the financial burden that is being shifted to other riders who either do not want or appreciate this change in Washington state law to emulate California state laws. You want to ride and pay through the nose like a Californian, move to or stay in California. This is exactly why so many rural residents hate interstate migration from the more liberally governed areas of our nation. If I didn't own property here or was in a better financial situation, I'd already be moved. As it is... I'm just starting to try and figure out how I can legally keep my bike on the roads in this F'd up state.