Guide To Buying Better Motorcycle Insurance
Have you ever been in a car accident? If you have think about the accident and
substitute your motorcycle for your car and rethink the outcome. The reason you
need better motorcycle insurance is that the deck is stacked against you, when
you are riding your bike there are no seat belts, no air bag, 800 pounds verses
4000 pounds. You get the picture.
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Step One:
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Liability: Also known as BI (Bodily Injury) Your BI pays for someone
else's injuries if the accident is your fault. Pennsylvania requires $15000/30000 BI
this means $15,000 for each persons claim and $30,000 for all persons injured.
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We recommend at least $100,000/300,000 BI, or as much as you can afford.
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Step Two:
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Property Damage: Also known as PD (property damage) pays for damage to
someone else's property caused by your motorcycle. Pennsylvania requires
$5,000.
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What to buy: at least $25,000, or more if you can afford it.
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Step Three:
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Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist also known as (UM/UIM) the most
important coverages for a motorcycle rider and passenger. this is the only coverage
you purchase and can collect from. Most motorcycle coverage protect someone
else or someone's property, or your bike for damage. This is the coverage you collect
from if you are injured by, a person who has no insurance or a person who does not
carry enough bodily iniury (BI) to cover your claim. This coverage can pay your medical
bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and even future damages.
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What to buy: as much as you can afford. Riding without this coverage is about
as dumb as riding without a helmet, in a bathing suit, with no shoes.
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Note: This coverage is not required by law but it should be, you can only buy
um/uim up to your own BI limit purchased. In other words if you buy $15,000 BI
you can only purchase $15,000 UM/UIM, if you buy $100,000/300,000 BI then you can buy
$100,000/300,000 UM/UIM for yourself and your passenger.
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Step Four:
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Comprehensive also known as (Comp) covers other than collision losses
such as fire, theft, flood, vandalism. Deductibles of $50.00 to $1000.00 apply.
The higher the deductible the lower the premium. Hint: On smaller bikes the
difference between deductibles is not as great as on larger more expensive models.
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Step Five:
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Collision covers your bike for damages sustained in an accident
deductibles of $50 to $1000 can apply depending on the type and size of bike,
sport bikes are usually required to carry $500.00 deductible or higher. Hint:
Take a higher deductible on Comp & Collision and spend
your savings on UM/UIM coverage.
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Step Six:
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Towing or Road Service. This coverage is cheap usually less than $5.00
per year. Is this really worth going with out?
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Step Seven:
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Medical Expense also known as (Med. Pay). Very few motorcycle riders
buy this insurance. My guess is that they have great hospital coverage from
their employer or purchased their own coverage and feel that this is a
duplication of coverage. If you do not have hospital insurance buy as
much of this coverage as you can afford.
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Hint: If you do not have hospital
insurance and are injured in an accident that is your fault this is the only
coverage you will collect on for your medical expenses. If you carry your own
medical and have a deductible or co-pay plan you need this coverage to fill in
the gaps. Limits of $500.00 to $10,000.00 are available, a small deductible may
apply varies by company.
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Step Eight:
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Get more than one quote. Prices vary greatly between companies
differences of several hundred dollars are possible even with the same bike and
same rider. Hint: The company that gave you a great quote on your cars may not
want to insure you bike, they may give you a quote that is twice as much as
you'll pay at another company that specializes in motorcycle insurance.
