Motorcycle Insurance Advice

Most of what applies to car insurance also applies to motorcycle insurance. So if you do own a car, then you probably already have quite a good understanding of what you will need to do to insure your bike.

You may even be able to get insured using your existing auto insurance company, who might then offer you a special or reduced rate for taking out extra coverage with them.

A motorbike however, is obviously not the same as a car, and as a result, there are a few differences which are worth taking a note of as they will affect how you go about insuring your vehicle.

The main points of difference are listed below.

Liability Limits

It is recommended that you purchase the same motorcycle liability insurance limits for injuries and property damage as you buy for your other insurance policies, such as your car insurance or home insurance, as this will give you balanced coverage and protection against all the major risks that you are exposed to.

Whilst this may seem counter intuitive because one would think that they should insure themselves the most against the greatest risk to their finances, in reality you never know what risk you are going to suffer a loss from in the future.

For example, if you load up your insurance policy on your bike, but leave very little for your home, then if something were to happen to your home such as it was damaged due to fire, then you will end up suffering a much greater uninsured loss because your insurance policies were not balanced.

In fact, this is quite a common mistake that many people make when taking out motorbike insurance, as due to the high risk nature of the vehicle, they perceive that as being the most risky in terms of them suffering a financial loss.

Whilst this may be the case, having an unbalanced insurance portfolio leaves you very vulnerable to other types of losses, some of which, such as your home, could prove to be very costly and which you would struggle to recover from.

As a result, most insurance advisers recommend that you have a balanced portfolio by having more or less equal coverages in all your insurance policies to ensure that all areas of your life are properly protected.

Keep Your Passenger Insured

Buy the same liability limits for passengers riding with you on your motorcycle as you do for yourself. This is important if you regularly transport passengers on your vehicle, because as the owner of that vehicle, you are legally responsible for their safety while you are travelling on the road.

If you are ever involved in an accident which results in the injury of your passenger, they could very well take you to court and sue you for medical expenses.

If you do not have insurance for the additional passenger, you will then have to pay these expenses by yourself as your standard single rider policy will not insure you against such losses.

Keep Your Motorcycle Insurance Current

Make sure that you know when your motorcycle insurance is active and when it expires. You do not want to take the risk of driving your motorcycle without insurance.

In addition, if you feel that you are exposed to other risks on the road which your current insurance policy does not provide you with coverage against, such as if you now regularly ride with a passenger, then you would be wise to take out an extended coverage plan to insure yourself against those risks.

Checking over your policy every once in a while is also not a bad idea, as it will make you more aware of exactly what you are insured against and what uninsured risks you face.

Being familiar with your insurance policy will also help you to avoid any unwelcome surprises in the event that you need to make a claim, such as finding out that you are not insured for something which you thought you were.

Avoid Extra Medical Coverage

Your standard health insurance policy should provide you with all the cover you need, so there is no point in taking out extra medical coverage on your motorcycle policy.

This type of coverage is usually something that insurance agents or salespeople try to sell you to make extra commission, but the reality is that if you do have an existing health insurance policy then taking out additional insurance will likely only overlap with what you already have thereby giving you no extra benefit.

Just to be certain however, make sure that you review your existing health policy so that you know exactly what sort of coverage it is providing you with. Should you feel that you need to take out extended coverage, upgrading your existing policy is likely to be far cheaper than purchasing a completely separate one.

Another reason why you want to stay away from motorcycle medical coverage, is that unlike a standard health insurance policy, it only provides you with coverage related to your bike. This means that if you suffer an accident or injury away from your bike, having motorbike medical coverage is not going to benefit you at all.

A far better option is to stick with your existing health coverage plan which provides you with universal coverage no matter where you are.

Protecting Yourself Against Uninsured Motorists

It is worth taking out uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in equal limits to give you complete protection if you can afford to do so. The same applies if you own a car.

What this protects you against is having an accident with and damaging another vehicle or injuring another person who does not have vehicle insurance or does not have enough of it to fully compensate you with.

Although this is illegal in most countries throughout the world, there are still many uninsured motorists on the road. Some of these motorists have purposefully chosen not to insure their vehicle, whilst other drivers are driving uninsured simply because they have let their insurance expire and have not yet renewed it. This later scenario tends to be quite common, so it is a reasonably serious risk.

However, overall, the risk of being involved in a road accident with an uninsured motorist is still relatively small, as there are far more insured than uninsured drivers on the road. But with that said, this can vary depending on where you live, as certain states, such as Texas, have a relatively high proportion of uninsured motorists.

Your main priority should be to adequately insure your vehicle first, balance your coverage levels between all your insurance policies and then to upgrade specific policies as you see fit and can afford to do so.

Insuring Yourself Against Specific Risks

Any customizations you have made to your motorcycle should be listed on your motorcycle insurance application form, as you may have to pay an extra premium to get certain customizations covered by your policy.

Doing so will keep your coverage current, and even though this will result in a greater expense to maintain that policy, it will also mean that in the event that you need to make a claim, that your motorbike will be fully insured for its actual current market value rather than its historic value when you first insured it.

High Value Motorbikes

If your motorcycle is classed as a high value vehicle, then you are advised to take out collision and comprehensive insurance coverage.

This type of coverage is generally not needed for less expensive bikes, as a standard motorcycle insurance policy should provide adequate coverage for its value.

However, when it comes to more expensive bikes, they should be treated more like a car because of the expense that can be involved in repairing damage or replacing any parts.

Collision and comprehensive coverage will provide you with protection against a wide range of risks such as damage to other vehicles and also damage to your own vehicle through adverse weather, fire or if your vehicle is stolen.

This is probably the best type of insurance that you can get for the money because it protects you against so many risks. There will be however, risks that you will not be insured against, so it is worth enquiring about what these are just in case you want to extend that policy for additional protection.

Videos

The following videos provide some additional information on taking out motorcycle insurance.

Risk Reduction Through Road Safety

Everyone who rides your motorcycle should be wearing a helmet. Following this rule will not only increase safety, but could vastly reduce the cost of future claims should you ever be involved in a traffic accident.

It is also advisable to not carry additional passengers on your bike or to minimize the amount of time you spend carrying passengers, especially if those passengers are not insured to ride on your motorcycle.

Passenger injuries are the most common source of lawsuits filed against motorcycle owners, so by not carrying any passengers you can greatly eliminate this potential threat and safeguard yourself against paying higher insurance premiums.