Motorcycle Insurance
A separate policy for a separate license class, and a bike most riders have put more into than the title reflects.
Riders, and the ones carrying passengers most of all.
Every rider needs the liability portion. What varies is how much of the optional coverage is worth carrying, and that follows from the bike, the riding and what has been added to it.
- Riders who carry passengers, where a minimum policy may not extend to them.
- Anyone who has customized a bike, since the aftermarket work is not necessarily on the standard policy.
- Riders financing a bike, where damage to the machine itself has to be covered.
- Anyone whose bike is parked outside, at home or away from it, where theft is the realistic loss.
- Riders who tour, for whom a breakdown happens a long way from the garage.
A motorcycle policy is built like an auto policy, but the defaults are wrong for a bike.
Like auto insurance, a motorcycle policy is assembled from several components. Some are legally required and the rest are optional, and on a motorcycle several of the optional ones are the difference between a covered loss and a total one.
The parts that get overlooked are the ones specific to riding: who is covered besides you, what happens to the aftermarket work on the bike, and what happens when the bike is on the shoulder and you are not.
Where motorcycle claims get expensive.
The bike is rarely the largest number on the claim.
- The injury side outweighs the property side. A rider has no structure around them, so the medical and lost-wage portion of a claim can be far larger than the damage to any vehicle involved. That is what the liability limit is sized against, and also uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which compensates you for bodily injury and lost wages when the driver who hit you has no coverage or not enough of it.
The decisions that shape the policy.
Four choices carry most of the weight on a motorcycle policy.
- Do not treat the state minimum as the answer. The minimum limit exists so the bike can be registered. Given how large the injury portion of a motorcycle claim can be, the limit is worth setting against what you own rather than against the law.
- Extend coverage to other riders deliberately. If anyone else rides the bike or rides on it, confirm the policy reaches them. On a minimum policy it may not.
- Value the bike as it is, not as it shipped. List the custom parts and accessories. Without that, the payout on a total loss reflects a machine you do not own.
- Decide about collision and comprehensive on their own merits. Liability does nothing for your own bike. Collision covers the crash, including one you caused, and comprehensive covers theft, vandalism and fire. Once a bike is paid off nothing requires you to keep either.
- Add roadside assistance if you ride any distance. A flat tire or a mechanical failure leaves a bike immobile in a way a car usually is not. This is the coverage that gets it to a repair facility.
Motorcycle questions we hear most
Is my passenger covered?
Not necessarily. On a policy carrying only the minimum coverage, other riders may not be covered. Options exist to extend coverage to them, so if anyone rides with you or rides your bike, it should be set up that way in advance.
Are the custom parts on my bike covered?
Not automatically. Additions such as GPS units, accessories and a trailer are not necessarily included in a standard policy. Custom parts coverage is what brings them in, and without it a total loss is settled on the bike as it was originally built.
Is my bike covered if the crash was my fault?
That is what collision coverage is for. It may pay to repair or replace the bike after a crash even where you are found at fault. Liability, by contrast, only pays for the harm you cause other people.
What covers theft?
Comprehensive coverage, which also picks up vandalism and fire. Theft coverage can apply whether the bike is taken from home or from somewhere else, and in some policies it extends to personal belongings stolen along with it.
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Let's put the right policy in place.
Oxford Risk LLC is an independent agency. We represent you rather than a single carrier, which means we can place your coverage with the company whose appetite actually fits your risk. Tell us what you need to protect and an advisor will take it from there.
- Call (330) 315-3081
- Hours Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Offices Fairlawn, OH, Cranberry Township, PA, Columbus, OH, Livonia, MI