Massachusetts Motorcycle Insurance

The State of Massachusetts has one way to show financial responsibility for a motorcycle accident: You must carry motorcycle liability insurance. Massachusetts also has additional rules and regulations for safety requirement and registering a bike; plus it has penalties that you must face if you are caught riding without insurance. Riding a bike during the warm months is great, especially in the more crowded areas of the state. Often, public places have special parking for motorcycles.

Minimum Insurance Requirements

If you register a motorcycle in the State of Massachusetts, you must carry insurance that covers bodily injury to others, personal injury protection, bodily injury caused by an uninsured automobile and coverage for damage to someone’s property. Motorcycle insurance minimums are:

• $20,000 per person suffering from injury or death in any one accident (bodily injury to others).
• $40,000 for two or more people who suffer from injury or death in any one accident (bodily injury to others).
• $8,000 for personal injury protection — this protects you, your passenger, pedestrians or anyone you allow to ride your motorcycle.
• $20,000 per person for one person who suffers death or injury in any one accident (bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto).
• $40,000 for two or more people who suffered injury or death for any one accident (bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto).
• $5,000 for property damage.

When deciding who your insurance carrier should be, contact several for quotes. Ask about down payments and premiums and how many payments you can make. It is best to make one lump sum payment so that you do not inadvertently let your insurance drop for non-payment, but if you cannot do that, insurance companies offer monthly, quarterly and bimonthly payment schedules.

If you are registering and insuring a newly acquired motorcycle, you must complete the RMV-1 form when you apply for the registration. This is for proof of insurance. The RMV-1 form shows the date coverage started, when coverage ends, gives a description — including the VIN — of the motorcycle and spells out the insurance limits you have.

Penalties for Failure to Maintain Insurance Coverage

Always keep your insurance card with you when you’re riding your motorcycle. Make sure your coverage does not lapse. Penalties include higher insurance premiums and traffic citations.

You may also have face hefty fines and/or may have your registration or license — or both — suspended. Those with multiple offenses may face higher penalties.

Safety Requirements

The State of Massachusetts requires that every driver and every rider wear a helmet. Helmet speakers are prohibited. It also requires anyone with an instructional permit to wear eye protection if that driver does not have a windscreen. You should probably wear eye protection even if you do have a windscreen. Too often, something could catch you in the eye, causing you to lose control of your motorcycle.

If you want to carry a passenger, you must have a passenger seat and passenger foot pegs. There is no age restriction for passengers. The State of Massachusetts requires every bike to have at least one mirror. The handlebars cannot be higher than a person’s shoulders while the person is sitting on the bike.

Registration Requirements

When you register your bike, in addition to the RMV-1 form, you must have insurance on the bike before you register it. If the motorcycle is new, you must bring a certificate of origin. If the motorcycle had a previous owner, you must bring the title to the bike if the bike was built in 1980 or later. If the bike doesn’t have a title, you need to bring the bill of sale and the proof of last registration.

Be prepared to pay the registration fee and purchase your license plates. If you bought the bike from a dealer, the dealer will have collected the 5 percent sales tax and will turn it into the Department of Revenue.

Once the bike has been registered and insured, you have seven days to get an inspection sticker. Look for an inspection station that accepts motorcycles, as not all inspection stations will inspect the bike.