Motorcycle Insurance Articles
Motorcycle Insurance Discounts That May Actually Cost More
2010-12-15
Finding a great motorcycle insurance quote takes some work, and many riders turn to motorcycle insurance discounts to get a better price on their policies. This is a great strategy - bike insurance providers often offer a number of different ways to discount the cost of a standard policy without lowering the amount of coverage that a rider owns and without raising the policy holder's deductibles. Motorcycle insurance discounts are a vital tool, but it's always important to read the fine print when signing up for special insurance deals. Some insurance discounts may actually cost bike owners more money in the long run than they'll save.
An example of such a discount is a customer loyalty discount. These are used by motorcycle insurance providers to try to stop their policy holders from switching to another insurance company. The basic idea behind a loyalty discount is that when the insured has held a policy for a certain amount of time, he or she will get an automatic discount as a reward. However, this isn't always a great deal for the biker; switching policies occasionally can be the only way to keep rates down, and by offering insurance discounts for loyalty, insurance providers are effectively dissuading bikers from researching their policies. Overall, this can result in long term costs. Motorcycle insurance loyalty discounts are banned in some states, as many believe that they're an unfair form of competition.
Most other discounts don't actively discourage shopping around, but even so, bikers often assume that they're getting the best possible rate on their policies if they're receiving a large number of discounts. This isn't always the case; however, in some instances motorcycle insurance providers offer small discounts to distract their policy holders from the relatively large savings that they could receive from switching to another provider. Bikers are often unaware of this until they need to switch their policies for some reason.
Of course, motorcycle insurance quotes are still lowered significantly by the addition of insurance discounts, and all bikers can benefit by asking about an insurer's discount programs. The important thing to remember is that discounts aren't a guarantee of a good price. Bikers should be prepared to look online for motorcycle insurance rates every few months in order to understand how their insurers' competitors are pricing policies similar to their own. Looking at insurance quotes is the best way to learn about discounts, after all, and the best way to make sure that you're not applying for a discount program that will actually cost you more money than it saves in the long run.