Motorcycle insurance is an important part of the package that makes a ride safe for you. Unlike a helmet that protects your head in an accident, motorcycle insurance keeps your wallet safe from the high cost of repair and liability.
The contract of insurance is designed to protect your financial wealth, and before you say “what financial wealth,” think for a second-if you were in an accident and had a few broken bones from someone hitting you, would you want to pay out of pocket for someone else’s mistake, “no”. So that is what the person will sue for, and trust me, you would too if you where in his/her situation too.
So how do you choose a policy that is right for you, other writers here were hitting a few points, but there is more to it than picking coverages. The right kind of company makes a difference, and unfortunately the better ones for the job are also a little more expensive than liability only companies. By chance you will have a car to share the load of your insurance, and an insurance company will see your motorcycle as a pleasure vehicle that can be applied for multi car insurance reductions. I cannot name the better companies(loyalty to mine), I am just going to say that the big name insurance companies that are apart of our known business verbiage in insurance should be considered.
So many factors play into what you need for insurance that I am just going to stick to the obvious few that really matter when your thinking of buying one and insurance.
Age
18-25 are just not liked, insurance companies do not like young people and motorcycles. Its obvious why, you put a 1000cc motor on a 300 pound chassis and you have a rocket with a person who likes speed and has limited experience. Insurance companies like the 26-50 range the best, even for new riders because with their experience in driving cars does relate to riding habits to. If you are not a ticket racking individual in a car, then it will be likely that you will be responsible on a motorcycle too. Makes sense right!
Types of bike
The types of bike that exists to the industry is really two, and you should know them. Cruiser/Touring and Sport; in that order insurance treat cruisers with better rates than sport bikes. The short reason is that cruisers simply do not get into as many accidents as sport bikes do.
Insurance Liability and PIP(Medical Payments)
Liability in every state is fairly similar to all the other states you have liability and physical damage coverages, what causes issues on premiums is if your state is a No-fault state.
If you do have the PIP coverage then you know how expensive it is. No-Fault states require that you have Personal Injury Protection which is fancy way to call medical insurance for the inside of your vehicle. If you get into an accident regardless of fault you have this coverage to pay for the immediate needs of medical services. You can see why this coverage is expensive for a motorcycle because the coverage pays every time if you get hurt and up to the amount that is insured for. Many people are tempted to take this coverage off in states that allow it to happen, but I am going to tell you that you shouldn’t unless you know for a FACT that your health insurance is going to cover you in an accident. In most cases even great health insurers are not going to be satisfactory on this level.
Liability is easy to choose, you have to imagine that if a person is hit by you on your motorcycle what could that person sue you for. Now the first thought that came into your head was, “if I hit someone with my bike s/he will probably be in a car, and I will be on the loosing end of that match.” Well this is true, the car will probably take a large portion what damage you can do to a person inside it. What about the guy walking down the street at the wrong time, the kid running out of nowhere, and the ever popular freak accident that can occur. Liability is there to protect your assets, and basically all you have to do is think, if I was to be sued, what can the person claim.
The other coverages are important, but not as much as Liability and PIP(or Medical Payments in states that are not PIP). Most of the time they are very low depending on the motorcycle and other factors, then again, everything relates to what is the losses of that motorcycle class and the rate structure of your insurance company.
Call before you buy a bike PLEASE, and if you shop around be sure to be fair to yourself and choose a policy that is better suited the “if” possibility your were to cause damage to yourself and someone else.
Thank you.