New motorcycle riders, or first time motorcycle owners are the most susceptible to receiving a quote for motorcycle insurance that costs as much or more than their motorcycle. Many new motorcycle riders have bought a motorcycle only to turn around and sell it once they get their insurance quote. Let’s look at a few ways to get that insurance premium lowered a little bit.
Understanding how the insurance company comes up with the quote for your motorcycle insurance will enable you to make changes to the areas that will lower the cost. Insurance premiums are based on a calculated risk factor. This is where essentially, no matter how good a rider you may be, you get penalized for the “foolishness” of all the other motorcycle riders.
Where you live, and where you will be mostly riding your motorcycle will affect your risk level. This is because the increased traffic in a city poses a more substantial risk to the motorcycle rider than the streets and highways in a town or the country. Where your motorcycle will be stored when it is not in use also may be a contributing factor with some insurance companies.
One of the major areas that will affect your insurance premium is the age, style and size of your motorcycle. Others are the riders age, experience and occupation. While you can’t do anything about your age, or experience level, other than the previously mentioned training course, you can control the factors of the age and size of your motorcycle. Many new riders benefit from buying an older motorcycle with a smaller engine for the first couple years, and then when you have a little more verifiable experience upgrading to the bike you want.
The actual amount of miles you will put on your motorcycle in a season will affect your insurance premium as well. If you’re going to be riding on a regular basis through out the season, you will no doubt accumulate more miles. Also, the more you are riding your motorcycle, the more the risk will increase.
One factor that you have to negotiate with is the amount of deductible required to make an insurance claim. Many people find it beneficial to increase their deductible and therefore lower their insurance premium. This is also beneficial in the fact that you only pay the deductible when you make a claim on your insurance. Typically,if a repair will cost you less than $300 to $500 you’re better to pay for it yourself than put it through your insurance anyway.
The style of your motorcycle will have an effect on cost of insurance as well. Also, modifications, especially performance enhancing ones, will affect the rate of insurance. This is because sports bikes are considered to be more susceptible to accidents than their cruiser style counterparts.
About the author: Ken Henry can help you find the solutions to your insurance questions. Get motorcycle insurance advice and quotes from 5 top companies, plus get an exciting tip sheet on auto and homeowners insurance