Why Motorcycle Insurance Offers the Best Protection for You and Your Ride
What if you were in serious danger every time you took your motorcycle for a spin?
Motorcycle insurance is important because the number of motorcycle accidents each year keeps increasing. In fact, for every 100,000 motorcycles registered in 2020, there were 992 injuries. These injuries sometimes come with bills that are even more expensive than your motorcycle!
The best way to protect yourself and your ride is with good insurance coverage. Keep reading to discover why you need this protection and how to find the best motorcycle insurance.
Liability Coverage Protects Against Bodily Damage You Cause
For most states, the minimum motorcycle insurance is liability coverage. As with your car insurance, this liability coverage is designed to cover the costs of damage that you cause in accidents where you are at fault.
As an example, let’s say that you get into an accident with another vehicle and are found to be at fault. Now, if the other driver or their passengers were injured, you’re going to be on the hook for their medical bills. Those medical bills are steep and often enough to land the average biker in serious debt!
With liability coverage, though, your insurance company will help you pay for those bills. That alone can save you thousands of dollars.
Liability Coverage Protects Against Property Damage You Cause
Liability coverage does more than cover the medical bills of people that you injure. It also pays to cover the property damage you may cause.
In vehicle accidents, the most common form of property damage is damage to the other person’s vehicle. Basically, if the other driver’s ride gets damaged and you are at fault for it, you have to pay for the damage. Property damage also includes other property (for example, if your bike skidded into a storefront and caused damage).
The liability coverage of your motorcycle insurance helps pay for this damage so you don’t have to pay it yourself. However, to protect yourself from out-of-pocket expenses, it’s important to have a liability coverage limit high enough to cover potential damage.
Collision Coverage Protects Your Bike from Damage
The vast majority of states require that motorcycle drivers have liability coverage at a minimum for their motorcycle insurance. However, if you really care about your bike, then you need to also invest in collision coverage.
Why collision coverage? As we noted before, liability coverage only pays out when you are liable for an accident to cover the damages you caused to others, including property damage and bodily injury.
This means that liability doesn’t pay out to cover your own damages when you are at fault. In other words, if your bike gets damaged in an accident you cause, then liability will not pay anything to repair or replace it.
Collision insurance is designed to pay for damages to your bike no matter who was at fault. By adding collision coverage to your policy, you can help protect your bike against any accidents that may happen on the road.
Comprehensive Coverage Protects Against Theft and Weather
In addition to liability and collision coverage, you can add comprehensive coverage to your motorcycle insurance. What makes comprehensive coverage interesting is that it is designed to protect your motorcycle when you aren’t riding it.
For example, motorcycles are easier to steal than cars, especially if a thief knows what they are doing. If your motorcycle is stolen, neither liability nor collision insurance will cover it because no accident was involved. Comprehensive insurance, however, will cover the theft of your bike.
Comprehensive coverage also covers damage and vandalism to your bike (which are sadly more likely to happen when you park in unfamiliar areas). As an added bonus, comprehensive coverage can also protect your bike against extreme damage, including damage from hail and even freak accidents like a tree landing on your motorcycle!
Guest Passenger Liability Helps Protect Your Passengers
Once you begin riding a motorcycle, it becomes very common for people to want you to take them for a ride. What if that ended up being the worst decision you ever made?
If you get into an accident and your passenger is injured, they would normally have to rely on their own insurance. If they don’t have good insurance, or maybe no insurance at all, then getting into a motorcycle accident may leave them with catastrophic medical debt.
If you want to take care of your passengers, you can add guest passenger liability to your coverage. If you are at fault for an accident, this insurance will help pay for the medical bills. If someone else is at fault, their own liability coverage will foot the bill. To keep your passengers safe, you also need to stay on top of your motorcycle maintenance.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Protects You against Reckless Drivers
The reason liability coverage is required by law in most states is simple. It ensures that when somebody causes an accident, they are able to pay for the damage they cause. Unfortunately, some underinsured drivers don’t have enough insurance to pay for the damage, and some reckless drivers have no insurance whatsoever.
When this happens, you might get stuck with the bill for someone else’s bad decisions. If you want to really protect yourself and your bike, you can add uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to your policy. As the name implies, this coverage helps protect you in the event another driver causes an accident and does not have enough insurance (or any insurance) to pay for it.
Get the Best Motorcycle Insurance Today
The average cost of motorcycle insurance depends on where you live and how much coverage you get. Fortunately, it’s easy to get the most affordable motorcycle insurance at the click of a button!
At InsureOne Insurance, we’re here to take care of all your motorcycle insurance needs. We are always ready for you to get a quote online. Alternatively, you can pick up the phone and give us a quick call at 800-836-2240. Finally, feel free to come into one of our convenient nearby offices for an in-person visit!