New York City alone logs thousands of crashes a month. thatcarhitme.com's crash tracker counted 6,625 in April 2026 and 6,773 in January.12 When a motorcyclist is one of them, the way a settlement gets valued in New York is not the same as it is for someone in a car, and the difference starts with a single line in the state's Insurance Law.
Why no-fault treats riders differently
New York is a no-fault state, but motorcycles are carved out of the no-fault system. Insurance Law 5102(f) defines "motor vehicle" for no-fault purposes and then says it "shall not include ... a motorcycle."3 That exclusion has two large consequences for a settlement.
First, there is no Personal Injury Protection (PIP) for the rider. A person hurt in a car gets up to $50,000 in "basic economic loss," paid quickly and regardless of fault. Inside that $50,000 sits medical care with no separate time limit, lost earnings up to $2,000 a month for three years, and other necessary expenses up to $25 a day for a year.3 A motorcyclist gets none of that automatically. Medical bills usually run through the rider's health insurance, any optional medical-payments coverage bought on the bike policy, or the claim against the at-fault driver.
Second, the serious injury threshold does not apply. Car occupants are "covered persons" who can sue for pain and suffering only if they clear the "serious injury" bar in Insurance Law 5102(d).4 That definition is a list:
- death, dismemberment, or significant disfigurement
- a fracture
- loss of a fetus
- permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system
- permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member
- significant limitation of use of a body function or system
Because a motorcycle is not a "motor vehicle" under the no-fault law, a rider is not a covered person and does not have to clear that bar.34 A motorcyclist can sue for full damages, including pain and suffering, from the first dollar of loss. In a car case, a soft-tissue injury that never meets the threshold is worth little at the negotiating table. On a motorcycle, that gate is not there.
The 2026 comparative fault change, and why it may skip riders
Fault reduces what you collect. New York used pure comparative negligence for decades: a jury assigns a percentage of blame, and your award drops by your share, even if you were 90 percent at fault. In the 2026 state budget (L.2026, ch.58, Part EE), the Legislature added CPLR 1411(b), which now bars recovery entirely when the injured person's fault is greater than the defendant's.5 The Department of Financial Services laid out the change in Insurance Circular Letter No. 3 (2026) and applied it to actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026.6
Here is the detail that matters for riders. CPLR 1411(b) applies, by its own words, only to an "action to recover damages for personal injury subject to article fifty-one of the insurance law."5 Article 51 is the no-fault article, and motorcycle claims sit outside it. As written, the new 50 percent bar does not reach a motorcyclist's own injury claim, so the older pure comparative negligence rule in CPLR 1411(a) still appears to govern.5 For a rider found partly at fault, that is the difference between a reduced settlement and no recovery at all.
Helmets feed into the same analysis. New York requires every motorcycle operator and passenger to wear a helmet that meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218, with no age exception (VTL 381).7 A rider who was not wearing one should expect the other side to argue that the choice worsened the head injuries and should cut that part of the damages under comparative fault.
How much coverage is actually available
A settlement can only reach as high as the money behind it. New York's minimum liability limits are 25/50/10: $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage.8 Motorcycle injuries routinely pass $25,000 in medical bills alone, so an at-fault driver carrying only the minimum is often underinsured for the harm done.
That is where your own coverage does the heavy lifting. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage matching the 25/50 minimum is mandatory in New York and cannot be waived (Insurance Law 3420(f)(1)).9 Supplementary underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage, which pays after the at-fault driver's limits are exhausted, must be offered up to your own liability limit but can be declined or reduced in writing (Insurance Law 3420(f)(2)).9 A rider who bought healthy SUM limits often has a larger real recovery than the at-fault driver's policy would ever allow. The practical ceiling on many New York motorcycle settlements is the total of every policy in play, not the raw value of the injury.
Other defendants and the drunk-driving angle
If a drunk driver caused the crash, New York's Dram Shop Act opens a second target. Under General Obligations Law 11-101, a person injured by an intoxicated individual can sue whoever unlawfully sold or helped procure alcohol for that person, and can recover both actual and exemplary (punitive) damages.10 Adding a bar or restaurant as a defendant brings another insurance policy into the case and puts punitive damages on the table, which pushes the settlement value up.
If your motorcycle itself lost resale value, that is a separate property claim. New York's diminished value rules live on our New York diminished value page.
Deadlines that can wipe out a claim
Miss the deadline and the size of the case stops mattering. A personal injury lawsuit in New York must be filed within three years of the crash (CPLR 214(5)); a claim for damage to the bike carries the same three-year window (CPLR 214(4)).11 If a rider died, the wrongful death claim runs on a shorter clock, two years from the date of death (EPTL 5-4.1).12 And when a city, county, or other public body is a defendant, say a government vehicle or a dangerous road condition, you generally have to serve a notice of claim within 90 days before you can sue at all (General Municipal Law 50-e).13 To start pulling the paperwork together, you can request the police report through our New York crash reports page.
The $100,000 cap that will rarely touch you
The 2026 reform also added a $100,000 ceiling on non-economic (pain and suffering) damages in Insurance Law 5104(d). It is narrow. It applies only to an at-fault injured claimant who was driving uninsured, was convicted of driving while impaired at the time of the crash, or was committing or fleeing a felony.4 It does not apply to a death claim, and it does not apply to an ordinary innocent rider. Most motorcyclists will never encounter it, but it exists, and confirming it has no hold on your case is worth a few minutes.
What all of this means for your number
There is no fixed "average" motorcycle settlement in New York, and any site that quotes one is guessing. What sets the number here is the mix of these rules: no PIP to absorb the early bills, no threshold blocking a pain-and-suffering claim, pure comparative negligence that reduces rather than erases a partly-at-fault rider's recovery, and the real limit of the policies in play. A lawyer who handles New York motorcycle cases can find every applicable policy and value the claim against these specifics. You can start with our legal directory.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
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thatcarhitme.com, New York City Crash Report, April 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/new-york/new-york/april-2026-report
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thatcarhitme.com, New York City Crash Report, January 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/new-york/new-york/january-2026-report
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New York Insurance Law 5102 (basic economic loss under 5102(a); definition of "motor vehicle" excluding motorcycles under 5102(f)). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5102
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New York Insurance Law 5104 (serious injury threshold for covered persons under 5104(a); $100,000 non-economic damages cap under 5104(d)). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5104
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New York CPLR 1411 (pure comparative negligence under 1411(a); 50 percent recovery bar for Article 51 actions under 1411(b)). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/1411
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New York Department of Financial Services, Insurance Circular Letter No. 3 (2026), Motor Vehicle Insurance Reforms. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry-guidance/circular-letters/c32026-01
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New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 381 (motorcycle helmet requirement, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/381
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New York Department of Financial Services, minimum auto insurance requirements FAQ. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/faqs/consumer-auto/how-much-auto-insurance-must-i-carry
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New York Insurance Law 3420(f) (mandatory uninsured motorist coverage under 3420(f)(1); supplementary underinsured motorist coverage under 3420(f)(2)). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/3420
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New York General Obligations Law 11-101 (Dram Shop Act). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GOB/11-101
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New York CPLR 214 (three-year limits for personal injury under 214(5) and property damage under 214(4)). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/214
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New York EPTL 5-4.1 (two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/5-4.1
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New York General Municipal Law 50-e (90-day notice of claim against a public corporation). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GMU/50-E