North Carolina may soon require motocross facilities to carry liability insurance under a new bill filed in the state Senate on April 27, 2026.
Senate Bill 837, known as the Ride Safe, Insure Smart Act, was introduced by Senator Woodson Bradley and would prohibit anyone from owning or operating a public motocross facility without maintaining insurance coverage from an accepted insurer. The bill would add a new Article 52 to Chapter 66 of the North Carolina General Statutes, creating a standalone framework titled "Financial Responsibility for Certain Motocross Facilities."
Under the proposed legislation, a person – defined broadly to include individuals, associations, partnerships, limited liability companies, firms, corporations, and private organizations – cannot own or operate a motocross facility unless that person carries insurance coverage from an accepted insurer. The coverage floor is set at one million dollars per occurrence and two million dollars in the aggregate against liability for injury to persons or property arising out of the operation of the facility or use of such device. The bill defines a motocross facility as one with one or more courses and related support facilities featuring natural or man-made obstacles used to conduct races or skills competitions for riders of ATVs or off-road motorcycles.
What makes the bill particularly notable for insurers is a handful of specific policy structure requirements baked into the legislation. For one, the insurance contract cannot include per person sublimits to liability – a provision that prevents carriers from capping individual payouts within the broader policy. The bill also requires that any acceptable policy obligate the insurer to give the facility operator at least 30 days' written notice before any proposed cancellation, suspension, or nonrenewal. Operators, in turn, would be required to immediately notify the Commissioner of Insurance if they receive any such notice.
Only insurers or sureties authorized to transact business in North Carolina and deemed acceptable by the Commissioner would qualify to write these policies. The Commissioner would also gain the authority to request proof of insurance from facility operators and to prevent operation of the facility until the required coverage is demonstrated.
The bill does not apply across the board. Motocross facilities installed on private property that are not open to the public and for which no fee is charged would be exempt, as would facilities owned or operated by the state, a unit of local government, or any political subdivision thereof.
On the funding side, the legislation appropriates a nonrecurring sum of fifty thousand dollars from the General Fund to the Department of Insurance for an awareness campaign highlighting risks to young riders.
If the bill passes, the Commissioner's rulemaking authority under the proposed Section 66-514 kicks in immediately upon enactment, while the insurance mandate itself would not take effect until July 1, 2027, giving facility operators and insurers time to prepare. S.B. 837 is currently at the introduced stage and has not yet been referred to committee.
