motorcycle accident liability

[yam2seca]

i live in ny state and have a hypothetical question. i've been riding motorcycles for 5 years now (between 7000 and 10000 miles a year) and have had only one minor crash during the second week of riding.
my question involves riding a passenger on the back.i do have progressive insurance (a big name in motorcycle insurance) that includes passenger coverage (i believe its 25000 or 50000).
my question is basically this: if i ever had an accident with someone on the back (friend, relative, girfriend), and they got injured enough to exhaust the coverage available, would they be able to sue me for the rest, or would they sue my ins. company? also,and this may be the biggest part of the equation.. if the accident happened through no fault of my own (in other words, someone hits us, fails to yield, cuts us off, etc.), am i or my insurance company liable at all and does the passenger have any legal right to sue me or my insurance company? i'm an extremely safe rider (even more so with a passenger), so am asking the question in the context of the accident being the result of someone else's negligence.obviously if i caused the accident, a different set of rules would apply. another thing, if a deer or other animal ran out in front of us and caused the accident, can i be sued (or my ins. company) or does act-of-god apply here and makes that a null proposition? thanks for any and all answers.

 

[racer72]

Question 1, you would be responsible for any claims above your insurance limit. Question 2, the driver at fault would be reponsible party in this case. Your insurance would only become involved in the driver at fault had no insurance, then your uninsured motorist would kick in. If the accident was no fault of your own, you could not be held liable. Question 3, is the same answer as question 1 except you may not be responsible beyond your insurance limits. By being a willing passenger on your motorcycle, the passenger assumes some of the risks inherent to motorcycles.