Here’s a true tale out of the woods near Park Falls, Wisconsin that can help you see why it’s important to have ATV insurance.
Mary and three friends were enjoying the trails on their all-terrain vehicles, and they stopped to take a group photo. A six-wheeler came speeding around the corner and hit Mary just as she was climbing back on her ride. She was thrown from the ATV. The other driver stopped and took full responsibility for the incident but admitted the vehicle he was riding was borrowed from a friend. He provided his name and the name of the owner.
Mary’s injuries left her bruised and battered and her ATV was totaled. She ended up requiring physical therapy and quite a few visits to both the medical doctor and a chiropractor. Now, three years later, she is still not without daily back pain and may need surgery.
But the real pain in the neck was lack of insurance by either party. Mary lost her totaled ATV worth about $5,000. To make matters worse, she was unable to get the other driver to follow through on his own admission of responsibility. The young driver, who was visiting from near Milwaukee when the accident occurred, stopped returning phone calls. The vehicle owner refused to discuss the matter. Mary’s attorney eventually gave up the case.
Mary’s biggest regret: not having ATV insurance! She’s happy to share her story if it prompts other ATV owners to insure their vehicles.
There are a lot of rules about registering your ATV in the state of Wisconsin, depending on how you are going to use it.
If you already own an ATV, you likely know what’s required. If you are in the market for one, the salesperson will probably brief you on just what you need to do to register it with the state and might even start the paperwork for you.
But registering your ATV won’t protect you from accidents.
Just be aware that your ATV probably won’t be covered by your homeowners insurance if you ride off your own property. So, unless you are using the vehicle exclusively on your farm, you might want to consider ATV insurance.
Just like with car insurance, you can protect yourself with collision coverage, which will pay when significant damage occurs in a crash (not the usual dents and scratches caused by off-road riding). Comprehensive coverage protects you if your ATV is damaged by something other than a collision (theft, vandalism, fire). Bodily and property liability would have been nice for the driver who hit Mary since it would have covered her medical bills. Alternately, it would have been smart for Mary to protect herself with uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, since the guy who hit her wasn’t insured.
Give us a call or stop in our office to talk about ATV and 4-wheeler insurance. We’ll figure out together what coverage you may need, based on how you use the vehicle. Then, you can get back to enjoying the trails.
