Cheap Motorbike Insurance for New Riders

Cheap Motorbike Insurance for New Riders

If you’re going to ride a motorbike on shared streets, you will need motor bike insurance – not only since it’s required by law, but also because in case something happens you’ll need to be covered. It would be simple to just call around and get the lowest price, but then you’ll just get the minimum mandated by law. That may be what you need, but you should check out your options first. These are the chief areas of motorbike insurance to look for.

Insurance for Your Motor Bike

The biggest risk with motorcycles is possible injury to those onthe motorcycle. There’s no steel cage, air bags or seat belt. Just a helmet and clothing. A car accident that would be considered minor for cars can be deadly if there’s a motorcycle involved. Find out what is covered if you are injured and the other party’s insurance doesn’t pay your medical expenses. Is it enough for a potentially lengthy hospital stay and physical therapy? What if you miss work for an extended period of time while you recover?

The amount of liability insurance you should get is different from person to person. The answer probably depends on your own financial situation. How suable are you? If you have assets, such as bank accounts and real estate, an injured party is more likely to sue you for any amounts beyond what your insurance covers. Future income can be a target too, so if you’re on your way to a promising career, someone might sue you if your insurance doesn’t cover the damages.

Insurance for Your Motor Bike

You can buy a policy that will cover repair or replacement of your motorcycle if it’s damaged or destroyed. You need to look at traffic accidents and damage from other sources as well. Many motorcycle insurance policies only cover damage from traffic accidents. If you are at fault, or if the other party is uninsured, your liability insurance won’t cover damage to your property unless you have comprehensive and collision. Your bike could also sustain damage from something other than a traffic accident, like a flood, fire or vandalism. Find out under what conditions your motorcycle would be covered.

If your motorcycle is financed, the lender will probably insist that you carry coverage on it. If your bike is paid off, you may consider dropping coverage on it, especially if you could afford to replace it in the event of a catastrophe.

Liability insurance

If you cause damage to someone else’s person or property, you are liable. They could sue you for the cost of repair or replacement of their property or for medical bills. You could end up paying out of your future earnings if you don’t have the funds on hand. Liability insurance is the part that you are required to have by law. The state sets the minimum amounts. For example, in California, you must have $15,000 for death or injury of any one person, $30,000 for all injuries in an accident, and $5,000 property damage. That’s only adequate to cover a fender bender. It would barely begin to cover the costs of a major accident with injuries.

You also need to think about whether others riding your motorcycle would be covered. Does your policy cover your passenger? What if you loan out your bike and someone else is riding it? You also might want to check your regular health insurance. If you’re covered under that, it might make a difference in whether you choose to address the issue in your motor bike insurance policy.

When you’re shopping for motorcycle insurance, you should definitely get a few bids. Be sure to decide ahead of time which risks you want to insure against, and compare prices of policies that offer similar coverage.