Massachusetts motorcyclists face unique insurance issues. When you’re riding a motorcycle, you are not covered by traditional no-fault coverage, known as Personal Injury Protection (PIP). For everyone else (those riding in cars and trucks) PIP provides up to $8000 for medical bills and lost wages when you’ve been in a motor vehicle accident, even if you are at fault for the accident. (That’s why they call it “no-fault” insurance.)

Since motorcyclists are excluded from PIP coverage, it’s often recommended that they purchase an optional coverage known as Medical Payments (sometimes called “Medpay” coverage). Having Medpay on your policy ensures that some no-fault coverage will be available to pay medical bills in the event you have an accident on your motorcycle.

If you have health insurance already, your medical bills from a motorcycle accident will be covered according to the terms of your health policy, so you might be able to justify not having Medpay coverage on your motorcycle. But still, keep in mind that your passengers might not have any health insurance coverage, and therefore they could be stuck with lots of bills if you crash and you don’t have Medpay on your bike. Therefore, it’s probably a good idea to purchase Medpay, even if you have health insurance, if you ever ride with passengers.

Keep in mind that you have lots of potential rights if you’ve been in a motorcycle accident, including rights to bring liability claims against at-fault operators who cause accidents. Medpay, PIP, and similar no-fault insurance coverages are unrelated to those rights, so if you’ve had an accident the smart thing to do is to contact a qualified attorney to help you right away