Owning a motorcycle is just like owning a car—you’re going to need insurance for it. Of course, it makes sense to look for affordable motorcycle insurance with the right amount of coverage for damages and liability.
Coverage
So what does a motorcycle insurance policy typically cover? Here are some of the standard coverage options:
- Bodily injury liability. If you’re held liable for the injuries of another person while you were riding your motorcycle, the policy will pay for damages.
- Med Pay. This is short for medical payments, and it covers for your medical expenses if you get into an accident. It covers your passenger as well. In this case, it doesn’t matter whose fault it was for the accident.
- Property damage. If you’re at fault for an accident that damages someone else’s property, the policy pays for the damages for which you’re liable.
- Uninsured motorist bodily injury. It is possible that you will be injured while riding your motorcycle, but the other driver who caused the accident is uninsured or underinsured. If that’s the case, the policy still pays for your medical expenses.
- Uninsured motorist property damage. This other driver who was at fault and uninsured may have damaged your motorcycle instead, so they’re unable to pay for the repairs. Your policy will either pay for the repairs, or pay for the replacement.
- Comprehensive. This offers protection if your motorcycle is damaged for reasons other than a road mishap. This can include theft, vandalism, or even if you hit an animal on the road.
- Collision. This kind of coverage pays for your motorcycle if it gets damaged, regardless of whose fault the accident was.
Additional Options
The nice thing about insurance policies is that you can customize the coverage to fit your needs and preferences. Here are some types of coverage that you may want to add to your standard policy:
- Coverage for custom parts and accessories. While this may be part of the comprehensive and collision coverage, normally the coverage is limited to a smaller amount of just $3,000 or so. That may not be sufficient for some motorcycle owners who love to add numerous customized parts and accessories to their rides. So if you have plenty of expensive custom accessories on your motorcycle, you can opt to increase the coverage to a much larger amount, such as $30,000.
- Coverage for an interrupted trip. A cross-country road trip on a motorcycle can be an adventure, but not if you get into a collision when you’re far away from your home. If this happens, this type of coverage pays for your lodgings, transportation costs, and even food while you wait for the matter to be resolved. These policies tend to define “far away” as at least 100 miles from your place.
- Roadside assistance. If you break down while on the road, this coverage pays for the towing and the labor to get your motorbike to a repair garage.
- Transport trailer coverage. It’s especially common for some older riders to transport their motorcycles in a trailer. If the trailer does get damaged while transporting your motorcycle, then it can be covered. This is usually for an amount of up to $7,500.
Tips on Reducing Your Premiums
Each carrier has a different way of offering discounts, so you should inquire. However, these tips can help:
- Keep a clean driving record.
- Complete a motorcycle training course recommended by your insurance company.
- Join a motorcycle organization recognized by your insurance company.
- If you’re an older an extremely experienced motorcycle driver, ask if there are discounts for yourself.
- Get another insurance policy from the same carrier. This can be for another vehicle, or you can get a homeowners insurance policy.
