Hawaii Motorcycle Insurance Requirements

The State of Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places to ride if you like to ride in the tropics. But, before you can ride, whether you use your motorcycle to commute, just ride for pleasure, you must purchase liability insurance. Motorcycles and motor scooters must be registered and insured before you can ride them on public roads.

Definition of Two-Wheeled Vehicles That Must Be Insured

A motor scooter is a motorcycle with an engine that has less than five horsepower, and need to be registered and insured. A moped has two or less horsepower and doesn’t need to be registered and insured. A motorcycle has an engine that has five or more horsepower. It can also have three wheels. An ATV or a tractor with three wheels is not considered to be a motorcycle and does not have to be registered and insured.

Minimum Insurance Requirements

The State of Hawaii has minimum insurance requirements for motorcycles, but the requirements are quite low.

Depending on the type of motorcycle you ride and your financial position, you may want to purchase a policy with higher limits. Hawaii requires you to carry at least the following coverage:

• $20,000 for the death or bodily injury of any one person in any one accident,
• $40,000 for the death or bodily injury for two or more people in any one accident and
• $10,000 for property damage.

It’s important to note that Hawaii does require personal injury protection for automobiles, but this does not apply for motorcycles.

Check around with different insurance companies, as not all charge the same premiums. Also, some insurance companies may be stricter regarding motorcycle safety requirements. There is no law stating that an insurance company can’t cover you if you don’t abide by the safety requirements dictated by law. However, your policy could have a clause stating that it may not pay if you ignored a safety requirement and that was at least partially the cause of the accident. Your insurance company could even drop you.

If you took the rider education program, be sure to show proof to your insurance company. You will receive a 15 percent discount on motorcycle insurance if you took the course. Hawaii does not accept the RiderEd completion course from other states. If you want the discount, you must take the course in Hawaii. The state does accept motorcycle endorsements from other states.

Safety Requirements

The State of Hawaii requires anyone under the age of 18 to wear a helmet. In addition, the helmet must have reflectors on it. There are no restrictions for helmet speakers. Also, all riders must wear eye protection unless the bike has a windscreen.

It is recommended that you wear eye protection even with a windscreen, as anything — dust, dirt, a pebble or a bug — could still get into your eye, which could then cause you to lose control of your bike and crash. Further, Hawaii requires at least one mirror on a bike. Further, the handlebars cannot extend more than 15 inches higher than the seat — so no ape hangers.

If you want to carry a passenger, you must have a passenger seat and foot pegs for the passenger. In the State of Hawaii, no passenger can be younger than seven years of age.

Penalties for Not Carrying Insurance

If you are caught riding without insurance, whether you are stopped or in an accident, you will lose your registration. The only way to get your registration back is to pay the fines and obtain a new motorcycle liability insurance policy. Only then can you register your bike again.

Off Road Riding Requirements

If you are riding off road you do not need to wear a helmet or have eye protection. There is no restriction on age for driving a motorcycle off road. You do not need to take the rider education course and do not need a license. It is recommended that you do wear a helmet and eye protection, especially if you are participating in some type of sport, such as racing or jumping.

Also, you are not required to register and title your off road bike, but it is advisable to at least title it so that you can show proof of ownership.