Road Justice Tip: Do not assume the other driver has good insurance. Many Texas drivers carry only the bare minimum. Your own UM/UIM coverage is your safety net — make sure you have it.
Hip Fire: Quick Bullets Nailing The Answers Covered in this FAQ
(detail with sources below)
- Texas minimum liability insurance is 30/60/25: $30,000 per person injured, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage.
- For a serious motorcycle crash, these amounts are almost always way too low. One ER visit and a surgery can blow past $30,000 in a day.
- You can only recover up to the at-fault driver’s policy limits from their insurance — no matter how bad your injuries are.
- This is exactly why UM/UIM (uninsured/underinsured motorist) coverage on YOUR policy is so important.
- If the at-fault driver has no assets beyond their insurance, you may not be able to collect more from them personally.
- Talk to a lawyer about all available sources of recovery — your own policy, the driver’s policy, and any other liable parties.
A seasoned Texas motorcycle accident lawyer can identify additional avenues of recovery, uncover overlooked insurance coverage, and make sure you are not leaving money on the table, especially when minimum policy limits fall short.
What 30/60/25 Actually Means
When people say a driver has “minimum limits” in Texas, they are talking about the lowest amount of liability insurance the state requires drivers to carry. Those numbers — 30/60/25 — break down like this: $30,000 is the maximum the insurance will pay for one person’s injuries. $60,000 is the maximum it will pay for all injuries in the entire accident (so if you and a passenger are both hurt, you share that $60,000 pot). And $25,000 is the maximum for property damage, which includes your motorcycle.
Source: Texas Transportation Code §601.072 (Minimum Liability Insurance Requirements)
Why This Is a Huge Problem for Riders
Here is the math that makes this so scary. The average cost of a serious motorcycle injury — we are talking broken bones, road rash requiring skin grafts, a head injury, or a spinal cord injury — can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. A single helicopter medivac can cost $30,000 to $50,000 all by itself. One surgery? Another $50,000 to $150,000. Physical therapy for months? Tens of thousands more.
Now look at that $30,000 limit again. If the driver who hit you only carries minimum insurance, you might recover $30,000 total from their policy — and that is it. The insurance company has no obligation to pay a penny more than the policy limit, no matter how catastrophic your injuries are. And if the driver does not have significant personal assets (savings, property, etc.), there may be nothing else to collect from them. This is why a skilled motorcycle accident lawyer is critical; they can identify additional insurance coverage, evaluate liability beyond the at-fault driver, and pursue every possible source of recovery to maximize your compensation.
Where Does the Rest Come From?
This is where your own insurance policy becomes your lifeline. If you carry UM/UIM coverage (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage), it kicks in when the at-fault driver’s insurance is not enough to cover your damages. We cover UM/UIM in detail in the next FAQ — but the short version is that it is the single most important coverage a Texas rider can buy. If you’ve been injured in a crash, contact an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in Texas to review your coverage and help you pursue every available source of compensation.