Motorcycle Insurance Articles
How The Right Type Of Tires Can Prevent Motorcycle Insurance Hikes
2010-08-26
The kind of tires that you have on your motorcycle can protect you from potential insurance hikes. Motorcycle insurance rates are based on the potential safety of the motorcycle. If you have tires that are considered safer, your insurance rates will remain low. If you use high performance tires or any form of racing tires, you may experience an increase in the amount of money you have to pay for your motorcycle insurance. Most insurance companies prefer that motorcycles use common street performance tires that have a relatively wide base and deeper treads so that they can grip the road better.
Motorcycle insurance hikes are meant to protect the insurance company from the cost of paying for damages that could be caused in a motorcycle accident. The tires that you use on your motorcycle are the most important safety feature on your bike. They have a direct impact on how safe you are in any traffic condition. If your motorcycle is equipped with safe tires that provide a stable base and give you plenty of traction, your motorcycle insurance rates will probably stay at or near the same rate as long as you own your bike.
Motorcycle insurance companies tend to raise insurance rates if a motorcycle is equipped with any accessories that are not strictly standard. High performance or racing tires are accessories that commonly cause insurance hikes because they can lead to more risky behavior while driving the motorcycle. Most insurance companies assume that the reason a motorcycle owner would equip a bike with high performance tires is because he or she plans to drive the bike at faster rates of speed. Driving faster can lead directly to the possibility of more accidents, which means that the insurance company would have to pay more claims. To offset that potential cost, the insurance company raises prices for people who use high performance equipment on their bikes.
The way you treat your tires can also make a difference in the cost of your motorcycle insurance. If you regularly rotate the tires and replace them when they become worn, your insurance rates may actually go down over the long run. Insurance companies appreciate motorcycle owners who perform the proper maintenance necessary to keep a motorcycle safe while it is on the road. They express their appreciation by making responsible motorcycle owners exempt from insurance hikes and other penalties that less responsible owners may have to deal with. Even if you have high performance tires, keeping them in excellent condition can help keep your motorcycle insurance rates somewhat lower than if you did not perform regular maintenance at all.