What Is Motorcycle Insurance?
Motorcycle insurance refers to coverage for motored two wheelers against loss, theft, damages to the vehicle or injuries to or death of the rider or any third party in an incident involving the vehicle. Drawn on the similar lines as car insurance, the motorcycle insurance can be taken by any motorcycle owner, be it a sports bike, tourist bike, scooter, standard bike or a custom bike. Read on to know about some generic features of motorcycle insurance offered by most insurance providers and some other issues you need to consider while purchasing a coverage policy for your bike.
Generic features of a motorcycle insurance policy include:
- Medical coverage: This is for the rider or any third parties involved in an accident. This might be a mandatory coverage required for any bike owner or rider. The rules and regulations would differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It is therefore recommended that you determine the mandatory motorcycle insurance requirements from your local DMV office before you purchase any policy.
- Life coverage: This is similar to the medical coverage feature. Again life coverage could be a mandatory requirement in certain jurisdictions; especially for covering death of any third parties involved in an accident. As these are mandatory issues, it is strongly recommended that you check these legal requirements beforehand.
- Repair coverage: Under this feature, you would be covered for costs involved in repair of damages caused by an accident or incident in which your motorcycle was involved. This is not a mandatory requirement in most jurisdictions and you can customize your insurance policy on the amount of pay off you wish to have to pay for any repairs for damages to your vehicle.
- Theft of motorcycle: As evident, this feature covers you for a lump sum pay off incase your bike gets stolen. This feature is usually coveted by bike owners who have invested in extra custom work to upgrade, modify or beautify their bikes. As these modifications and up gradations cost over and above the factory or the making cost of the vehicles, bike owners prefer to cover this extra investment through their motorcycle insurance policy.
Apart from these regular features, insurance providers may offer special coverage like waivers on first accidents irrespective of whose fault it is, coverage on added equipment or accessories you have added on your bike and towing or labor costs involved if your bike breaks down or is involved in an accident. Some insurance providers offer a special feature of paying off any loan or lease that is running on your motorcycle at the time it was totaled or stolen. Incase you are a rally enthusiast; you can also purchase an insurance cover for rally extension, racing, dexterity trails, speed tests or hill climbing extensions.
There are some issues on which most insurance providers will not provide you any coverage on. Usage, whether normal or extreme may cause some normal wear or tear to the vehicle. This is not covered by any insurance provider. Other electrical or mechanical breakdown or compulsory deductibles are also not usually included in insurance policies.