Motorcycle Accident Attorney in San Antonio for Insurance Claims: Liability, UM and UIM, PIP and Liens

The insurance that may pay after a motorcycle crash

Coverage	Whose policy	What it pays	Does fault matter?
Bodily injury liability	The at-fault driver’s	Your injury damages, up to its limits	Yes
Property damage liability	The at-fault driver’s	Your motorcycle, helmet and gear	Yes
Uninsured motorist	Yours	Your damages when the at-fault driver has no insurance	Yes, the other driver must be at fault
Underinsured motorist	Yours	Your damages beyond the at-fault driver’s limits, up to yours	Yes
Personal injury protection	Yours, if your policy has it	Medical bills and lost income, up to its limit	No
Medical payments	Yours, if your policy has it	Medical bills, up to its limit	No
Collision	Yours, if you carry it	Repair or value of your bike, less the deductible	No
Health insurance	Yours	Medical care under its terms, often with a right to be repaid	No

The at-fault driver’s liability insurance

Texas requires drivers to carry liability insurance of at least $30,000 for bodily injury to one person, $60,000 for bodily injury to two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage, in one collision, under Transportation Code Section 601.072. Many drivers carry only those minimums. For a rider with surgery, a long hospital stay or a lasting injury, $30,000 can be used up quickly, and if a passenger was hurt too, both of you share the $60,000 per collision limit.

So one of the first things we do is find every policy that may apply: the driver’s, the vehicle owner’s if the driver was borrowing the car, and the employer’s if the driver was working. A driver must give the name of their liability insurer at the scene under Section 550.023, and the insurer is also listed in the CR-3 crash report. When the other side’s coverage will not cover the harm, the claim turns to your own policy.

Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

Insurance Code Section 1952.101 says an insurer may not issue an auto liability policy in Texas unless it provides uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, in the policy or supplemental to it, and that the coverage does not apply only if a named insured rejects it in writing. If you never signed a rejection, the coverage may be on your policy even if you do not remember buying it. Look at your declarations page, and if you are not sure, ask us to read it with you.

• Uninsured motorist coverage pays when the driver who caused the crash has no insurance, and depending on the policy terms, after a hit and run. The Texas Department of Insurance said in March 2025 that more than 2.4 million state-registered vehicles, 12 percent, were not matched to an insurance policy.
• Underinsured motorist coverage pays when the driver had insurance, but not enough. Under Section 1952.106 it pays what you are legally entitled to recover, up to your own limit, reduced by the amount recovered or recoverable from the other driver’s insurer.
• Insolvent insurers. Under Section 1952.102, a vehicle whose insurer cannot pay because of insolvency is treated as uninsured for this coverage.
• Burden of proof. Under Section 1952.109, the insurer has the burden of proof in a dispute over whether a vehicle was uninsured.
• Where you can sue your insurer. Under Section 1952.110, a suit over this coverage may be brought only in the county where the policyholder lived at the time of the accident or where the accident happened.

An underinsured motorist claim is a claim against your own insurer, but that insurer does not act as your advocate. It stands in the shoes of the at-fault driver and can dispute fault and damages the same way the other driver’s insurer would. Policies also set their own conditions about notice and about settling with the at-fault driver’s carrier, so read the policy, or have us read it, before you accept any settlement.

Personal injury protection and medical payments

Personal injury protection, or PIP, is defined in Insurance Code Section 1952.151. It pays reasonable expenses arising from an accident and incurred within three years of it, for necessary medical, surgical, x-ray and dental services, ambulance, hospital and nursing care, funeral services, lost income for a person who earns income, and essential household services for one who does not. Under Section 1952.152 an auto policy must include PIP unless a named insured rejects it in writing. Section 1952.153 says the law does not require more than $2,500 per person, though higher limits can be bought.

• No fault. Section 1952.155 says PIP benefits are payable without regard to who caused the collision and without regard to other sources such as health insurance.
• No claw-back, usually. Under Section 1952.155(b), the insurer that pays PIP generally has no right to recover it from the at-fault driver, except where that driver had no insurance.
• Prompt payment. Section 1952.156 says benefits are due as claims arise and no later than the 30th day after the insurer receives satisfactory proof of the claim. A policy may set a period of not less than six months to present the original proof of loss.
• If the insurer does not pay. Under Section 1952.157, a person owed PIP benefits who has to sue for them can recover reasonable attorney’s fees, a 12 percent penalty and interest.

Not every motorcycle policy carries PIP or medical payments coverage, and a car policy may or may not reach a crash on your motorcycle. That turns on the wording of each policy, which is why we ask for every policy in your household at the first meeting.

Health insurance and hospital liens

Your health plan pays medical bills under its own terms while the claim is open, and many plans have a right to be repaid from what you recover. Medicare, Medicaid and military coverage have repayment rights of their own. Hospitals have a further right under Property Code Chapter 55: a hospital that admits you within 72 hours of the accident has a lien on your claim (Section 55.002), secured by a written notice filed with the county clerk of the county where the services were provided (Section 55.005). A release of the claim is not valid against the lien unless the hospital’s charges were paid as Section 55.007 requires, or the hospital is a party to the release.

For a rider treated at University Hospital or Brooke Army Medical Center, that means the Bexar County clerk’s records may show a lien before any settlement is discussed. We look for every lien and deal with it before money is paid out.

How adjusters handle a motorcycle claim

Insurance adjusters are trained, they are often pleasant, and they work for the insurer. In a motorcycle claim the same steps come up again and again:

• The early recorded statement. A call within a day or two, asking you to describe the crash on tape before you have seen a doctor or the crash report.
• The broad medical authorization. A form that lets the insurer gather your medical history for years back, looking for an earlier injury to blame.
• The quick offer. A small payment offered early, before the injuries are understood, in exchange for a release of the whole claim.
• The fault percentage. A suggestion that the rider shares the blame, because every percentage point comes off the claim and 51 percent ends it.
• Treatment gaps. Any break in treatment is described as proof that the injury healed.
• Social media. Public posts are read and used to say a rider is not really hurt.

You do not have to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement, and you should not sign its forms. Your own insurer is different: your policy probably requires you to report the crash and cooperate with the claim. Report it, keep to the facts, and talk to us before any recorded interview. Once we represent you, the adjusters call us.

What it costs to have us handle the insurers

The consultation is free. We work on a contingency fee: there is no attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you, and we advance the case expenses. If there is no recovery, you owe us neither a fee nor those expenses. The written fee agreement sets out the percentage and how expenses are repaid from a recovery.

For how the whole claim runs, see how a motorcycle accident lawyer San Antonio riders hire handles the claim. For the medical side, see rider injuries and their value. For more about the firm, visit lawboss.com.

Questions people ask