Motorcycle Insurance Articles
Why Motorcycle Insurance Quotes Are Often Less Expensive Than Car Insurance Quotes
2010-04-23
Motorcycle insurance rates can be hard to decipher. For many consumers, they're far more expensive than a typical car insurance rate, while for other drivers, they're less expensive--and more and more drivers seem to be joining this latter group. In order to understand why, it's necessary to understand the various factors that motorcycle insurance companies use to decide rates, and how these factors relate to riders who also own cars. Follow the below tips and plan for a safer tomorrow.
Riders that get lower rates for their motorcycles as opposed to their cars, trucks, and SUVs are usually quite experienced. As motorcycles can be fairly dangerous compared to other vehicles, experience on the road is very important from an insurance perspective. The more years that a rider has under his or her belt, the lower motorcycle insurance quotes will be. This also carries over to motorcycle training courses; any rider who takes one of these courses or passes a non-required state test will get a significant insurance discount that can often make motorcycle insurance costs less than a standard car insurance policy. The bike that you ride also affects rates--older bikes with good safety ratings will of course cost less than new, expensive bikes that are big on speed and statistically likely to be involved in a moving accident.
The types of insurance coverage that you buy will also affect your motorcycle insurance rates, and this may cause the biggest discrepancy between motorcycle insurance and car insurance. Many motorcycle riders buy their vehicles rather than using a loan, and may not purchase non-required insurance coverage such as medical coverage. This can be a huge mistake, as a serious motorcycle accident will almost always carry serious medical bills (which your health insurance company will often find a way out of paying). Motorcycle riders sometimes avoid comprehensive coverage, too, which protects a bike from theft and damages in an accident. While ignoring this coverage will certainly lead to a lower rate, you won't have a very worthwhile motorcycle insurance policy if you don't pay for coverage that you could very realistically need.
Try comparing motorcycle insurance quotes to each other, rather than trying to compare them to car quotes. It's always possible to get a low rate on motorcycle insurance through comparison shopping and other methods without skimping on coverage. If anything, you'll probably need more coverage for your bike than you do for your other vehicles, so talk to your insurance agent. When extra coverage is added in, your motorcycle insurance policy may cost a bit more (perhaps even more than your car insurance policy), but it's well worth the extra money to stay protected.