Motorcycle Insurance
For those who ride motorcycles, there’s nothing better than hitting the open highway on your bike. Motorcycles are required to have insurance just like automobiles. Whether driving a road bike or a dirt bike, insurance is required by law in all states of the union while zipping along roads and, in most locales, even when hitting the public trails. Motorcyclists need to obtain insurance coverage to be in line with the state minimums for liability insurance. This is the coverage that pays up to the limits of the policy for injuries or damages to other people and their property by the policyholder but does not pay one red cent if the motorcyclist is injured or his or her bike is ripped off or if it becomes damaged in an accident where the cyclist is determined to be at fault. Proper insurance to compensate for injuries to the rider is can be purchased for a little more money, and full coverage insurance and uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance can also be obtained, which provides the maximum in insurance protection.
The good new is that the expense of insuring a motorcycle is generally much less than a similar auto policy. There are some exceptions, if one owns a top-of-the-line sport bike or an extravagant cruiser such as a high-end Victory, Harley-Davidson or Indian motorcycle, then the expense of covering the motorcycle is dearer. This is due to the fact that sport bikes have high-powered engines and many costly parts and trim that are expensive to repair. There is also the overall fact that insurance tends to be more expensive for people under age 30 and for those with bad driving records. Overall, motorcycles usually cause much less damage to other vehicles or property and this is certainly true when they are ridden by well-trained, skilled, and more experienced riders. This lessened risk of higher accident costs translates to insurance policies that are very affordable with full coverage for most riders, usually available for anywhere from $100 per year to over $300 for full coverage. Coverage can be had for even less for policies with only liability coverage.
In most professionals’ opinions, a full-coverage policy is always the best choice along with additional uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured/underinsured coverage gives protection against hit-and-run drivers and those who have inadequate state minimum liability insurance; these levels of coverage can be easily surpassed when motorcyclists suffer serious injuries in an accident, leaving the motorcyclist to his or her own devices in such unfortunate cases. Those who are off-road riders will also benefit greatly from recreational vehicles insurance, which is designed for All Terrain Vehicles, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles.