Insuring motorcycles. We do a lot of motorcycle insurance. I actually have a motorcycle myself, so I’m very familiar with the coverages. We’re going to go over a couple of topics that affect motorcycle insurance, the rates, and the coverages.
What’s going to affect your rate on motorcycle insurance? The biggest thing is going to be the type of bike you buy. Is it a cruising type bike, is it a sport bike, is it a three-wheel motorcycle? Those are going to make a big difference in the rate you pay?
How much is that value of that bike? If it’s stolen or totaled up in an accident, what’s the value of that bike and how much it’s going to cost the insurance company is going to be a big part of it.
Your driving record, of course, is going to play a huge factor in that, as well as your age. So those are going to be a couple of things that affect the rate of your insurance.
Different coverages you need to be aware of are liability coverages. That’s going to protect you in case you injure somebody or cause an accident where other people are injured or property is damaged. You want to make sure you’re carrying a lot of liability coverage with a motorcycle. We recommend usually a half million dollars of coverage.
We also recommend that you carry uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage. It’s very important on a cycle, because somebody can hit you, there’s not much damage their to their vehicle and they can leave the scene of an accident. It’s very common in motorcycle accidents, the injuries can be severe, and you want to make sure you have coverage under your policy. Again, uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage is going to do that for you. We recommend carrying at least a half a million dollars in coverage because the injuries can be so severe.
And then there’s the physical damage coverage for the bike. If the bike is totaled out in an accident, stolen, damaged somehow, you want to make sure you can replace that bike. You want to carry collision and comprehensive on that bike; it’s also known as physical damage coverage. And then you usually a deductible, either $250 or $500 or $1,000 deductible, depending on that the rates are. The higher deductible you take, the lower your rate is going to be.
If you have extra equipment add-ons on your bike, like saddle bags, windshields, after-market equipment, make sure you tell your insurance agency about that. They can add on coverage for that. There’s usually a slight additional charge. Some companies actually include a certain amount of added on equipment automatically. Make sure you discuss that with your agent.
And also some companies offer discounts for rider safety. If you’ve taken a rider safety class or you plan on taking it, make sure you talk to your agent about that. You get a certificate of completion from that course, a lot of companies will offer you a discount on that.
So make sure you have the right coverages, talk to your agent about what’s going on with your motorcycle, and be aware that there are many different coverages. Get a good agent. We recommend an independent agent that can search around, shop several companies, and make sure you’re getting the best deal.
