Before you jump on your cycle and head for the hills take a few moments to make sure your machine is ready. Check your tires for wear, damage and air pressure. Check your oil and don’t forget your radiator fluid if you have a water-cooled engine. It is wise to follow the lead of airplane pilots and follow a pre-ride checklist. Every time.

As tempting as it is to just throw on a light jacket and go you should take the time to put on appropriate motorcycle gear. I see so many motorcyclists riding in T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops that I have to wonder if they have ever seen severe road rash. Everybody knows that a full-face helmet, leather or Kevlar fabric jackets and pants, and boots designed for motorcyclists are the safest thing to wear. Most accidents happen close to home, so don’t get lazy because you are just going on a short ride.

Once you are on the road, you should follow a few common-sense rules. Keep in mind that most drivers do not see motorcyclists. I’m not sure why that is the case, since a motorcycle’s headlight is always illuminated. But you must assume that you are hard to see and act accordingly. Wear bright clothing with reflective fabrics to improve your visibility.

The most common motorcycle accidents I see involve oncoming cars making left turns in front of motorcyclists. You should be particularly cautious when you enter an intersection. Unsafe lane changes are also common, particularly on freeways. Try to avoid riding in any vehicle’s blind spot and keep an eye out for sudden vehicle movements.

Your two tires provide the only contact between your motorcycle and the road. Because of this you need to be alert to potholes, fluid spills, sand, gravel, highway sealant (tar snakes), railroad tracks and other road-surface hazards that can upset your motorcycle or reduce your traction.

Take a riding course to refresh your skills. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers basic and advanced courses that will make you a better and safer rider. The most accomplished riders I know make a habit of regularly attending rider courses and participating in track days. Just as pilots need a certain number of hours per month to keep their skills sharp, we motorcyclists need to ride enough to stay proficient. There is no substitute for hours in the saddle.

Health Insurance Company Executives Continue to Cancel Policies After Illness Strikes

Testifying before Congress yesterday, executives of UnitedHealth’s Golden Rule Insurance Company, Assurant Health and WellPoint, Inc., parent of Blue Cross of California confirmed that their companies would continue to engage in post-claim underwriting practices on individual health insurance policies.

This discredited policy of collecting premiums and waiting until an insured person incurs expensive medical bills to cancel the policy for alleged misrepresentations on the application causes unnecessary suffering to many people who have acted in good faith. Often the discrepancy, if any, is the result of an innocent mistake unrelated to the illness requiring medical treatment.

The ethical course of action for the insurance company would be to perform an investigation of insurability at the inception of the policy or within a reasonable period, say within 60 days after the application date. This would allow the company to review medical records and ensure that the applicant’s representations are accurate. This is a very small burden for the insurance company to bear.

Instead, some insurance companies have decided to delay their due diligence until calamity strikes and policy claims are made. It is not uncommon for an insurance company to rescind the policy after giving authorization for treatment. This places their insureds in the untenable position of owing large sums of money for medical care they thought was covered.

The fact that these insurance companies refuse to limit rescissions to those instances where there is evidence of intentional misrepresentation or fraudulent conduct by their insureds makes it clear that they place their own financial interests above the well-being of their customers.