Are you and your motorcycle insured well enough to satisfy your state’s legal guidelines, as well as your own risk tolerance? You owe it to yourself and those who care about you to be sure you are up to date.
It may also be a good time to shop around. Rates can vary, and different insurance companies may offer superior service, coverage, discounts, or simply a lower premium.
When you ask for price quotes from different companies, it is important to provide the same information to each so you are comparing apples-to-apples.
To quote you an accurate rate, each company will typically ask the following:
- marital status,
- age,
- where you live,
- the year/make/model of your bike,
- your driver’s license number,
- Social Security numbers,
- and the coverages and limits you want.
Insurance companies calculate your premium based on what their underwriters estimate it will cost them to assume the financial responsibility for any potential claims.
Some key definitions:
1. Liability Insurance
Most states require you to at least have liability coverage.
Although variable by state, liability insurance consists of some or all of the following:
- Bodily Injury and Property Damage (BIPD): This covers your legal liability where a crash causes injury to another person or damage to another person’s property.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM): While considered a component of liability coverage, UM/UIM is optional in some states, and mandatory in most states. It covers you in the event another person causes an accident with you and is not insured, or his or her insurance doesn’t pay enough for your expenses, including medical payments and lost wages.
- UM/UIM coverage is intended to make up the difference between the at-fault person’s liability limits and the amount of your expenses.
- Medical payments: This component of liability insurance is optional in most states. It pays for necessary medical care you receive as the result of a motorcycle accident, regardless who is at fault.
In some states, this coverage only applies after other medical insurance is exhausted.
With liability insurance, there are certain minimums required, and you can elect to raise coverage, or set limits when you sign up for the policy.
“Limits” are the maximum amount your insurance company will pay under your BIPD coverage. For example, limits of 50/100/25 mean:
- Maximum to be paid per person for Bodily Injury is $50,000.
- Maximum to be paid per accident for Bodily Injury is $100,000.
- Maximum to be paid per accident for Property Damage is $25,000.
