Can motorcyclists get pre-settlement funding?
Yes. Motorcycle accident plaintiffs with an attorney can get a non-recourse cash advance against their settlement. These crashes often cause serious injuries and long recoveries, which is exactly when funding helps most. You only repay if you win, and there is no credit check.
Key facts
- Riders typically suffer more severe injuries than car occupants.
- Some jurors carry bias against motorcyclists, which lengthens cases.
- Helmet-use rules vary by state and can affect damages.
- UM/UIM coverage often applies when the other driver is underinsured.
- Non-recourse: nothing owed if the case doesn't recover.
Two problems cars don't have
First, the injuries. There's no crumple zone around a motorcycle. Road rash that needs skin grafts, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries. These take a long time to heal, which means a long time out of work.
Second, the bias. Some adjusters and some jurors assume the rider was reckless, even when the evidence says a car turned left across their path. Your attorney has to overcome that assumption, and overcoming it takes time and evidence. Funding buys you the patience to let them do it right.
What makes a rider's case fund-able
A police report putting fault on the other driver is the foundation. Independent witnesses help a lot, because they counter the bias. Dashcam or traffic-camera footage is even better. On top of that, underwriting wants to see documented serious injury and a defendant with meaningful coverage, including your own underinsured motorist policy if the other driver came up short.
About the helmet question
People ask whether not wearing a helmet sinks their case. It depends on your state. In some places, non-use can reduce damages tied to head injuries. It rarely disqualifies a case on its own, and it has no bearing on injuries to the rest of your body. Underwriting factors your state's rule into the case value rather than treating it as a dealbreaker.
Common uses
Rent during a recovery that stretches for months. Medical and rehab costs the insurer hasn't paid yet. A replacement vehicle if the bike was totaled and you need to get to physical therapy. See our full motorcycle funding guide for more.
Frequently asked questions
Usually not. In some states it can reduce the value of head-injury damages, which affects the size of the advance, but it doesn't bar funding and doesn't touch injuries elsewhere on your body.
Some people assume riders are reckless. Your attorney counters that with witnesses, footage, and reconstruction. Funding gives you time to build that case instead of settling early to make ends meet.
Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage usually applies. Those claims are funded routinely.
Serious-injury cases commonly run 18 months or more, especially when fault is contested. Plan any funding around that realistic timeline.