As the snow melts and the sun begins to shine, motorcycle owners and riders get excited about getting their bikes back on the road and are ready to ride. What they may not be ready for is how much their motorcycle insurance can cost. Before you insure your motorcycle, use the following tips to help find cheap motorcycle insurance, and save on your existing policy:
The Driver:
- Keep Your Record Clean: Your driving record helps your insurance provider assess how much of a risk you represent to them - and riskier drivers pay higher premiums. Since motorcycles are already riskier than other vehicles, high risk drivers will pay exponentially higher premiums. Ride carefully and follow the rules of the road to benefit from lower premiums.
- Educate Yourself: New riders represent higher risk to insurance providers, as experience helps to reduce the probability of an accident. Though you can't buy experience, taking an accredited motorcycle riding training course will help you earn lower premiums as a new rider.
The Motorcycle:
- Do Your Research: Higher value motorcycles are more popular with thieves, and therefore cost more to insure, which results in higher premiums. Before you buy a motorcycle, consider the type of bike you want, the engine size, the brand of the bike, and talk to your insurance provider about how these factors can impact your premiums.
The Policy
- Shop around: All insurers are different, so request multiple motorcycle insurance quotes to make sure you can find the lowest coverage to suit your needs.
- Compare closely: Not all policies are the same, so compare each quote you receive side by side. Look at factors like the deductible, comprehensive coverage, third-party liability coverage and theft coverage to make sure that you aren't sacrificing coverage for savings.
- Your Deductible: If you can afford a higher one-time expense in the case that you need to make a claim, then choosing a higher deductible is a viable way to lower your premiums while maintaining full coverage.
- Collision coverage: Collision coverage is optional, and can amount to almost half of your insurance premiums. Insuring an older motorcycle with a low replacement cost and looking to save on your insurance premiums? Drop collision coverage to achieve the savings you're looking for, but be prepared that you won't be insured against damages to the bike in the event that you're at fault in an accident.
- Ask For Discounts: Ask about discounts for multi-vehicle and multi-line coverage, as well as for certain affiliations, including if you belong to a motorcycle club, are of a certain age, etc., to make sure you're receiving the best rates.
- Don't cancel your policy at the end of the summer: Insurance companies assume that you won't be riding your bike through the winter months in Canada - so your premiums won't be adjusted if you cancel in the off season. Furthermore, your motorcycle won't be covered if something happens while it's in storage, which could end up costing you even more. As a bonus, if the weather changes unexpectedly, you're insured if you decide to take your bike out for a late fall or early spring run!
These tips will help you save on your motorcycle insurance, but make sure that you get several biker insurance quotes to see which insurance provider can offer you the right coverage at the best rate. Then you can really enjoy roaring down the blacktop with a few extra dollars in your pocket!
