Insurance required for ATVs outside your property

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - If you plan on taking your ATV out this summer, AAA is reminding you to make sure you have insurance, though it's something they say is nothing new.

"The big thing people may not understand is anytime you leave your property, you're going to need to have liability insurance on your ATV," says AAA's Dave Kirst. He says that means having a minimum of $25,000 dollars of bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 for damage to other people's property, the same minimums the state has on auto insurance.

Kirst says the rule went into place in the late 80s. "This is not something that's new, but a lot of people don't know about this," notes Kirst. "The one thing is every ATV needs to be registered, whether it is for use on your property or not, with DMV. However, you do need to make sure that you maintain that liability insurance anytime that you leave your property." If you don't have your insurance ID on you when police ask for it, Kirst warns you will get a ticket.

He says if you don't leave your property, still get ATV insurance. "Even if you're sticking to your own property, it is important to have that proper insurance on there, because your homeowner's policy may or may not cover the ATV, depending on how it's being used, and there may be special limits on that homeowner's policy for that," explains Kirst.

He says ATV policies are going to be relatively inexpensive. "We see most of them right around that $100 to $200 range. They can go up a bit higher than that on an annual basis, but really that's going to depend on how expensive that one would be to repair one of the things, like with anything, just like your car or motorcycle, you can add on that comprehensive and collision, that physical damage coverage for your ATV, and depending on how expensive your ATV is."