Short answer: A motorcycle passenger can usually claim against whoever caused the crash, whether that is the other driver, the person riding the bike, or both. What changes on a motorcycle is the insurance. Motorcycle policies do not have to include the PIP coverage that pays a car passenger’s first medical bills, so the early bills and the later claim work differently.
Passengers on a motorcycle are rarely at fault for anything. They do not steer, brake or choose the lane. Yet they often end up with the worst injuries and the most confusing insurance picture, especially when the rider is a spouse, partner or friend. Here is how Utah law handles it.
No PIP on the Bike
A Utah car policy must include personal injury protection, which pays medical bills regardless of fault. A policy for a motorcycle is not required to have it (Utah Code 31A-22-302(2)). Motorcycle policies may offer optional first-party medical coverage instead (Utah Code 31A-22-302(4)(a)), often called medical payments coverage. Ask the rider’s insurer, in writing, whether the policy includes it and whether it extends to passengers.
If it does not, the first bills usually go to your health insurance. Your health plan may later claim reimbursement from any settlement, which is one reason the net number matters more than the gross one. We cover that in medical liens after an accident in Utah.
Your own car policy may still help
If you have your own car insurance, or live with a relative who does, check it. Utah’s PIP statute covers the named insured when injured in an accident involving any motor vehicle, and household relatives on the same terms, with exceptions for injuries from the use of your own vehicle that is not insured under the policy (Utah Code 31A-22-308). The statute’s carve-out for motorcycles says that owners and operators of motorcycles are not covered by PIP for injuries incurred while operating them (Utah Code 31A-22-302(4)(b)). That language speaks to riders, not passengers. Whether a particular policy pays for a passenger’s injuries on a motorcycle depends on its terms, so put the question to your insurer in writing rather than assuming the answer is no.
Why PIP Changes What You Can Claim
Utah’s tort threshold limits pain-and-suffering claims by a person who “has or is required to have” PIP coverage. That person can sue for general damages only with death, dismemberment, permanent disability or impairment based on objective findings, permanent disfigurement, a bone fracture, or more than $3,000 in medical expenses (Utah Code 31A-22-309(1)).
So the threshold does not automatically apply to a motorcycle passenger. A passenger with no PIP coverage anywhere may fall outside it. A passenger who has PIP through their own car policy may be inside it. Most serious motorcycle injuries clear the threshold anyway, but it is worth knowing which side of the line you are on.
Utah also protects people who had no PIP. An at-fault driver, or the insurer covering that driver, may not reduce compensation to an injured person because the injured person was not covered by a PIP policy (Utah Code 31A-22-303(9)).
The Claim Against the Other Driver
When another vehicle caused the crash, the passenger’s claim goes against that driver’s liability insurance. For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the minimum is $30,000 per injured person and $65,000 per accident (Utah Code 31A-22-304). If the rider was also hurt, the rider and passenger may be drawing on the same per-accident limit, which is one reason to identify every available policy early.
The Claim Against Your Own Rider
Sometimes the rider caused or contributed to the crash: too fast into a curve, following too closely, or a lane change without looking. A passenger can make a claim against the rider’s liability coverage. Motorcycle policies must carry liability coverage like any other vehicle policy (Utah Code 31A-22-302(1)), and in practice this is a claim against the insurer, not the rider’s savings.
If both the rider and another driver share the blame, name both. Utah does not make one defendant pay another’s share; no defendant is liable for more than the proportion of fault attributed to that defendant (Utah Code 78B-5-818(3)). A passenger who pursues only one of them can leave part of the recovery behind.
When the rider is your spouse or a relative you live with
Many passengers are married to the rider, and many assume the policy excludes family. Utah law limits that. A liability policy must insure household relatives of the named insured to the same extent as the named insured, and when the named insured or a household relative brings the claim, the coverage may not be reduced or stepped down because the named insured or a household relative was the at-fault driver (Utah Code 31A-22-303(1)(a)(iii)-(iv)). When the claim is solely between the named insured and household relatives, the injured person can choose binding arbitration or a lawsuit (Utah Code 31A-22-303(8)).
There is an exception to watch for. A policy can exclude a specifically named household driver if the requirements of Utah Code 31A-22-302.5 are met. If the rider was an excluded driver, coverage may have to come from somewhere else.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Utah requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on vehicle policies unless the named insured waives it in writing (Utah Code 31A-22-302(1)), and motorcycles are not exempt from that requirement. A passenger may be able to use it from two places:
- The motorcycle’s policy. “Covered persons” include any person occupying or using a motor vehicle referred to in the policy (Utah Code 31A-22-305(1)(d)), which includes a passenger on the insured bike.
- Your own household’s policy. Covered persons also include the named insured and relatives who live in the named insured’s household (Utah Code 31A-22-305(1)(a)-(c)).
One limit catches people off guard. Underinsured motorist coverage does not treat a vehicle as “underinsured” if it is covered under the liability coverage of the same policy that also contains the underinsured coverage (Utah Code 31A-22-305.3(1)(b)(ii)(A)). In plain terms, if your own rider was at fault, the bike’s underinsured coverage generally will not top up the bike’s own liability coverage. It is more useful when the other driver was at fault and carried too little insurance. See underinsured motorist claims in Utah.
Helmets
Utah requires anyone under 21 to wear a helmet to operate or ride a motorcycle on a highway (Utah Code 41-6a-1505(1)). That includes passengers. Whatever your age, the same statute says failing to wear a helmet does not constitute comparative negligence and may not be introduced as evidence in civil litigation on negligence, injuries or the mitigation of damages (Utah Code 41-6a-1505(6)). An adjuster who raises it is raising something the law has taken off the table.
Deadlines
Most Utah injury claims must be filed within four years (Utah Code 78B-2-307(4)). A claim involving a government vehicle requires a written notice of claim within one year (Utah Code 63G-7-402).
What a Passenger Should Do
- Get medical care, and tell the provider you were a passenger on a motorcycle.
- Get insurance information for the rider and every other driver involved.
- Ask the rider’s insurer whether the bike’s policy has medical payments, uninsured and underinsured coverage.
- Check your own car policy and your household’s for PIP and underinsured coverage.
- Keep your helmet, jacket and other gear. Damaged gear is evidence and part of your property claim.
- Be careful with recorded statements, including to the rider’s own insurer.
For more on how riders’ claims work, see motorcycle accident claims in Utah, and for passengers in cars, passenger injury claims in Utah.
Talk to a Utah Motorcycle Accident Attorney
A passenger claim can involve the rider’s insurer, the other driver’s insurer and your own, sometimes with a family relationship in the middle. We can sort out which policies apply and deal with the insurers directly.
Hurt in Utah? Call (801) 921-5134 or send us your case for a free consultation. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.