MOTORCYCLE INSURANCE?

I do not recommend having state minimums because what if you cause a life threatening or death accident? And if you do not have enough coverage, those individuals can come after your personally for any remaining balance. That could cause a huge financial impact. At least go with 50/100/25. Having higher limits on the bodily injury part will get you a better level of protection.

The next thing you need to look at is the underinsured and uninsured. These two are optional but I highly recommend having them on your motorcycle policy. Those number typically match the bodily injury numbers you have on the liability portion of your policy. If you were involved in an accident that was not your fault and the other driver did not have any insurance or enough insurance, you can have your policy kick in and pick up the slack as the secondary policy.

People ask me if they need to have collision or comprehensive coverage on their policy’s. There are several factors to look at when making that decision. These two coverages are to protect you from having to deal with added expensive if your bike was damage in any capacity. The collision is pretty self-explanatory. If you were in an ‘At Fault” accident and your bike was damaged, your only out of pocket expense is your deductible. Which that amount is up to you, you can go as little as $100 up to $2000 depending on the carrier. Some may not want to carry collision because their bike is not worth enough and the insurance company may just total it out.

BUUUUTTT! I do HIGHLY recommend carrying comprehensive. This can also be referred to as “other than collision”. You can carry the same deductible as your collision or carry a different deductible amount. This covers everything from fire, wind, water, theft, vandalism and even if you hit an animal while you are riding. This is a very valuable thing to have on your policy.

The next coverage options is one that many don’t fully comprehend. That is Medical. Medical coverage is very important to a motorcycle rider. If there was an accident your fault or not, that medical coverage can be the difference of having that financial strain or a huge piece of mind.

What is Medical coverage? This coverage is designed to offer financial assistant for any immediate medical expenses such as urgent care, emergency room, ambulance etc. THIS COVERAGE IS FOR YOU! This will also cover your passenger. Medical coverage is more than just medical. It can cover the cost of prescription drugs, funeral cost, dental care, home health care, deductibles etc.

For motorcyclist, this coverage, in my opinion is very important to have. You can have as little as $1000 and depending on the carrier, that determines the maximum you can carry. Example: Progressive will go as high as $25,000. But, Geico only goes as high as $10,000 and with that, you have a hefty price tag.

Sometimes motorcycle riders don’t fully comprehend the important of this coverage. You are fully exposed when you are riding. You are not surrounded by steal, carbon fiber and plastic with ten different airbags deploying all around you. You get into an accident and you and you passenger can get severely injured. This coverage can help offset a lot of those medical expenses.

Other optional coverage includes roadside assistance and roadside assistance with trip interruption. IE: Ran out of gas. Mechanical breakdown, a need a tow. The trip interruption is offer as an option. Let’s say, you were on a trip on your bike and you break down, your insurance will cover your overnight stay if that is necessary.

There are also ways to save on your motorcycle insurance. Insurance carrier offer discounts if you have a belong to an organization such as H.O.G.. If you have completed a motorcycle safety course. Riding experience plays a factor as well as having a motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license.

One last thing that is asked, “What if I’m a seasonal rider?” I want to store my bike during the winter months and I don’t want to pay for full coverage during that time.

Here’s a couple of options. Sure, you can cancel your policy all together and have zero level of protections to your bike. But what if you owe money on your bike??? There is no financial institution that will allow you to cancel your policy while you are still making payment. They want you make sure that their investment is protected. Cancelling it is not a viable option at that point. A possible solution whether you owe money on your ride or not, is drop all your coverage except comprehensive. If you own money, you’ll need to get the green light from your lienholder. The reason I would recommend doing this to save you money is twofold. Remember when I said that comprehensive covers fire, wind, vandalism and theft? What happens if one of those occurrences takes place while you are storing it? The other factor to consider is your premium. If you cancel your policy and go without motorcycle insurance, could cause a large rate increase because you had a lapse in coverage.

Regarding insurance, the only thing that is required by state law is to carry state minimum of Liability. All the other insurance offerings that I’ve discussed are options. If you have any questions or would like more information regarding your motorcycle insurance, please contact me, Cynthia (Bauer) Blanton at Bauer Insurance Agency at 636-812-2001 or my cell at 314-276-