Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Motorcycle Insurance: Antique Motorcycle Insurance For Your Old Motorcycle

A little more than one hundred years ago, the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle was born as America woke up to be the first country to start producing motorcycles exclusively for the military. With the beginning of the 1st world war motorcycles became the most popular vehicle for transportation in the military. It would be hard to even believe, but these rugged two wheelers served the purpose of an ambulance as well with the agility and quick footedness expected from a war vehicle! The war ended with its long list of heroics and casualties and the army generals were soon to reunite with their families. Accompanying them were their two wheeler companions who were to be kept in their owners' homes for the rest of their lives. The BMWs and Harley Davidsons soon became antique pieces.

By the very term, antique motorcycle insurance is essentially an insurance that provides a larger coverage against thefts and burglaries than for accidents and other road related instances. Antiques are collector items and therefore needs a great amount of security. Insurance companies providing for such a type of insurance has the theft component more in mind than anything else, though of course provision is made for accidents and road related mishaps. To an insurance company, a motorcycle which is of 25 years of age or older is considered antique and an insurance company would offer the agreed value to the owner of such vehicles rather than go in for the market pricing. This would be an immense benefit for the owner, in the event of a total loss of the vehicle either by theft or by fire, as he gets back the agreed value of the vehicle. The value is decided by an assessor based on the history of the vehicle.

Insurance companies offering antique motorcycle insurance will provide to cover for the basic liability which is required by the law. They can always work that to higher limits depending upon the ability of the owner to pay a higher premium.

Early motorcycles used to have ornamental side cars attached to them to take a small family along for rides out of the city. These side cars are still in possession of the owner and it would be better to talk to the insurance company to provide insurance cover for the side car as well. It would be wrong to assume that antique motorcycle insurance comes at a discount, because of the high theft risk and liability regulations, the insurance companies charge a high premium.

You may have a look at the internet to see the availability of antique motorcycle insurance in your area or the local motorcycle owners association may provide you with the information.

Motorcycle Insurance: Protecting Yourself With Motorcycle GAP Insurance

Imagine you just purchased a brand new Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycle two months ago, and it was stolen right before your eyes as you were eating in your favorite restaurant. Not to worry, you are fully protected by the full coverage motorcycle insurance policy your motorcycle lender required you to get. Right?

In most cases, not exactly, if you look into the details of the motorcycle insurance policy you purchased. The reason is that most full coverage motorcycle insurance policies will cover for total loss such as theft, accident or natural disaster, but these policies typically only cover the depreciated market value of the motorcycle not the outstanding value of your motorcycle loan.

Therefore, if you opted for a zero down payment motorcycle loan or perhaps a low payment credit card motorcycle loan, your Suzuki GSX-R1000 may have depreciated faster than you have paid down the value on your motorcycle loan. Since your motorcycle insurance policy will most likely only cover the depreciated market value of your Suzuki GSX-R1000, you are responsible for the difference in the value the insurance company pays you for your stolen or totaled motorcycle and what you actually owe on your motorcycle loan.

In the event a motorcycle is stolen or totaled, motorcycle buyers in the first two years of a motorcycle loan are the most susceptible to not being reimbursed enough from their motorcycle insurance policy to cover the value of their motorcycle loan. So what is a motorcycle buyer to do to protect against the outstanding value of their motorcycle loan?

The answer for some motorcycle buyers lies in a little known policy called gap insurance. Gap insurance is a total loss insurance policy that will pay the difference of the amount your motorcycle insurance company pay's you for a total loss on your motorcycle and the value of your motorcycle loan.

Here is a quick example. Let's say your Suzuki GSX-R1000 has a going depreciated market value of $7500, yet you owe $9,500 on your motorcycle loan for it. In the event of total loss such as theft or an accident, your motorcycle insurance policy will likely only pay you the used market value of $7500. However, you still owe your motorcycle lender $9500 so you have a gap of $2,000 ($9500-$7500=$2000). Gap insurance covers the $2000 gap that you still owe to the motorcycle lender since the motorcycle insurance company only paid you $7500 for your stolen or totaled Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Is gap insurance for everyone? Not exactly, it really depends on your financing arrangement. Here are some tips in deciding if gap insurance is right for you.

1. If you entered a zero down payment motorcycle loan especially for an extended term like 48-84 months gap insurance is probably a good idea for you. On the other hand, if you put a large down payment down with your motorcycle loan your probably better without
gap insurance
.

2. If you are getting a motorcycle loan on a motorcycle model that has a history of depreciating very fast, gap insurance is likely a good alternative for you. To determine this, compare the depreciation rate of your motorcycle with the pay down of the principal on your motorcycle loan. This will give you an indication if you would be upside down if your motorcycle was stolen or totaled.

3. Check all of the details of your full coverage motorcycle insurance policy to make sure that it does not cover the gap between the market value of your motorcycle and the value of your motorcycle loan. A very small percentage of motorcycle insurance policies cover the value of your motorcycle for the first year without considering depreciation. If you are lucky and your full coverage insurance policy covers 100% of the motorcycle without considering depreciation there is little need for gap insurance.

4. Are you purchasing a used motorcycle? If so there is probably not an option for you to purchase gap insurance because most gap insurance policies are only good on brand new motorcycles. As a result, used motorcycle buyers are advised to place down a decent size down payment and opt to pay of the loans in the shortest possible time.

5. What is the cost of the gap insurance policy? Does this cost justify the benefit?

Overall, depending on the financing situation gap insurance can provide some excellent financial security to motorcycle buyers purchasing their motorcycle with a motorcycle loan. However, each motorcycle buyer's situation is different and the above five factors can be helpful in determining if gap insurance is the right decision.

Motorcycle Insurance: How To Get A Quick Motorcycle Insurance Quote

There are many ways to go about getting a motorcycle insurance quote, but the quickest and easiest method is to jump online. The whole process of getting estimates for policies is fairly new online and people are jumping at the opportunity to get one from their very own home. Aside from not having to leave your home there are several benefits to getting a quote using the internet.

When going about getting motorcycle insurance, it is essential that you take the time to get quotes. There is a wide array of places to get insurance from and each has different prices and deals. Therefore, take the time to look around and see what you can find. The great thing about the internet is you can do this ever so quickly.

With the internet you have the ability to quickly jump through several sites and receive multiple quotes. Not only do you eliminate time spent driving from place to place, but you can also cut down on the wasted time spent talking with a salesman. You can read all of the information and cut to the chase receiving your quote as quickly as possible.

Speaking of salesman, shopping from your home on the internet eliminates any pressure you might have been under getting quotes in the store. It can sometimes be a bit awkward when receiving quotes because salesman put a tremendous amount of pressure on you to act now. When you are at your home there is no pressure and you have all the time you want to get as many quotes as possible.

Another benefit of shopping online for motorcycle insurance quotes is many insurance companies are actually brokers. What this means to you is they will do the shopping for you by sending your information around to the companies they deal with. This allows you to get even more quotes than before.

When getting an insurance quote you will need to know what your driving record is as you will be asked many questions on this. The more familiar you are with it the quicker the process will go. Things like how long you have been driving, how many speeding tickets you have, and how many accidents you have been in will be asked.

Convenience is what the internet is all about and getting a motorcycle insurance quote online saves you loads of time and trouble. You can save time shopping around for various quotes, eliminate having to talk to a salesman, and you can take your time through the comfort of your very own home. There is no better way to get a quote for motorcycle insurance than using the internet.

Motorcycle Insurance: How To Get the Best and Cheapest Motorcycle Insurance

Now that you have found the bike for you, it's time to get it insured. But, before you call just any insurance agent you will want to learn how the insurance company decides your rate.

By educating manually on how the insurance company will picture you, you can find the best insurance coverage for you and your bike while at the same time cutback money. First, to find the best and cheapest motorcycle insurance you must understand how the insurance company will rate you:

1. Your bicycle: If you have the newest and flashiest bikes, that will expense you, more than an elder, critical motorcycle.

2. Your Age: As with auto insurance, generally the elder you are the cheaper your toll will be. But, if you are new to working motorcycles you will perhaps be in a superior rate class awaiting you expansion some riding experience.

3. Your Address: Sometimes the high insurance toll you meet can be really affected by where you live. If you live and/or evenly effort in a high crime or high accident spot, your toll will prone be superior to superstar in a zip procedure with less crime and accidents.

4. Your driving history: All accidents calculate. Even if you are new to a motorcycle, the accidents you had in your automobile will calculate expansionist you. Thus, the cleaner your pouring history, the cheaper you're insurance will be.

5. Your Job: Where you are pouring to and parking your bike will affect your rate. If you have to keep your bike parked on a construction position, you insurance may be augmented due to the augmented endanger of injury to your bike.

Now that you know how the insurance company will picture and rate you, here are some tips on how to get a good sell:

1. Store, store, and store more: assurance can adapt commonly in the same district. Take a complete day to call as many companies as you can to get a rate figure. Store ping around for insurance can sometimes be the specific best way to cut your insurance expenses.

2. Securing your bicycle: What can you do to keep your bike more secure? If you can garage your bike, unease it, or secure it someway while it is parked, you may be able to secure manually some discount on your insurance.

3. Don't Over indemnify: consider, if something happens to your motorcycle, you will only meet the advertise value so over insuring will not help you get a superior charge for your bike.

4. Mileage: If you only cycle your bike once in a while during the summer for plea confident, you should be able to get a better rate if you can keep your mileage low.

5. Unusual Motorcycle guidance: pleasing unusual DMV or other motorcycle course can help lessening you rate. Just make confident you keep your certification papers close for the insurance company to picture.

There is no goal to overpay one insurance company when another one is ready to give you a better sell. If an accident would happen you will get the same value for your bike regardless of what company you pick. By pleasing the time to find out how the insurance company will picture you, your bike, and your riding practice, you can learn how to collect while still receiving a great procedure.

Motorcycle Insurance: Riding a Motorcycle That Does Not Have Motorcycle Insurance is Stupid

There is no other way to put it, if you are riding without good motorcycle insurance you are just plain stupid. Most motorcycle owners have insurance but there will always be some that think it is not necessary, it is to expensive, they don't need it because they drive safe and many more excuses. When you are the one making these excuses, please read this article and make sure you are smart not stupid.

Why is good motorcycle insurance so important?

There is a big difference between car and motorcycle insurance for example it is possible to just insure your motorcycle and not yourself not that this is smart thing to do but it is a possibility. You can also cover bike, rider and people that will be riding pillion on your bike. Something not all motorcycle owners do but should be is cover bodily injury and damage to property. When you are in a accident and cause damage or even injury the cost can be extremely high, motorcycle insurance will be necessary to pay for those costs.dent that causes harm to other people.

If you already own a motorcycle or if you are planning to buy one you really need to get motorcycle insurance and we know it is something some of you bike owners do not give much adequate attention to, there really is no doubt about how useful this can be. It is very simple to find a good insurance company that insures motorcycles and when you already have a insurance for your car you can check out the same insurance company because most will give you discount if you take a motorcycle insurance with their company as well.

What type of motorcycle insurance?

The type of motorcycle insurance policy will depend on:

- coverage
- price
- type of motorcycle
- neighborhood
- driving record
- age

Take as much coverage as you can afford but at least the legal minimum requirements

There is of course no limit in the amount of coverage you can take but you should at least have the legal minimum requirements, and you need to be sure that you know what they are. There are a lot of options you can choose from in the amount and the type of the coverage but it is still up to you what you decide to take for your own protection. You can also ask for additional services like roadside assistance, glass insurance, towing costs. This last service can be extremely convenient when you take long distance trips and are not so good in repairing your motorcycle.

Discount if you take a course.

You can take a riding course with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and some motorcycle insurance companies will give you ten percent discount on the insurance premium. The key messages of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation for bike owners are:
1. Get trained and licensed
2. Wear protective gear -- all the gear, all the time -- including a helmet manufactured to the standards set by the DOT
3. Ride unimpaired by alcohol or other drugs
4. Ride within your own skill limits
5. Be a lifelong learner by taking refresher rider courses

And last but not least the final tip to pay less premium if you really want to minimize the amount of premium a cruiser is cheaper to insure than a sports bike.

Motorcycle Insurance: Save Money on Motorcycle Insurance

Gas prices have come down since last summer's highs of $4 plus a gallon, but since they dropped, they've been steadily climbing. Somehow it doesn't seem as bad since gas isn't at the highest levels it's ever been. But it is certainly more expensive that you ever intended to pay when you bought a car and decided to use it as your primary means of transportation. So you've finally had enough, and you bought a motorcycle. Good for you! But now you've discovered another hurdle; the price of motorcycle insurance.

It costs more to insure a motorcycle than a car for a couple of reasons. First, motorcycles are difficult for other drivers to see because they're small and they can move quickly. This leads to more accidents. Although the other driver may be at fault too, if you are partially responsible for an accident, your insurance has to pay. They also pay if the other driver is uninsured or underinsured, provided that you purchase that coverage.

Motorcycle accidents are also more likely to involve significant bodily injury claims. Obviously this is a bigger concern than just an insurance problem, but it does drive the premiums up. You can help reduce this danger by driving carefully, or not driving your motorcycle when conditions are dangerous. Wind, rain, fog and other weather factors are more dangerous for motorcycles than for cars. Those are good days to drive a car or find another means of transportation.

Lastly, insurance companies base their rates on statistics. If the odds of a claim or the average dollar amount of a claim are high for the particular type of vehicle that you drive (or ride), your premiums will be higher. This helps them account for all kinds of things that they can't identify, from hot-dogging drivers to unsafe vehicles.

So how do you keep insurance premiums from cutting into your gas savings? First, be a low risk driver. Make sure you drive safely all the time. Whether you're in the right or not, do what it takes to avoid accidents. This will be reflected in your driving record. Second, shop around for insurance. Don't just call your old auto insurance company and add your bike. Contact at least three companies and do your own motorcycle insurance comparison. It's worth the time and effort. Since insurance of any kind is an ongoing expense that you probably don't price out every year, it can really pay to do your comparison shopping every once in a while. The same applies to VIP pet insurance.

Motorcycle Insurance: Four Crucial Types of Motorcycle Insurance

Just like cars and trucks, there are various types of motorcycle insurance that a rider can buy and each type of insurance covers different things. For the purposes of simplicity in this article we will only focus on the basic types, which are under insured and uninsured coverage, bodily injury, and collision coverage.

1. Under insured insurance coverage:

These first two are both pretty obvious. Under insured coverage is insurance coverage for your motorcycle and your person that covers you in case a person that hits you does not have enough insurance to cover all of the damages.

A good suggestion is to carry 100/300. This means that you will have up to $100,000 per person and up to $300,000 per accident.

2. Uninsured Coverage:

Just like it sounds, this type of insurance is used when the person that hits you I not covered by insurance at all. Life can quickly turn into a nightmare when you are hit by an uninsured individual and they are not solvent to collect anything from . This leaves all the bills for bike replacement, medical services and even therapeutic services for you to pay.

This is why we highly recommend that you purchase uninsured motorcycle coverage. Insurance providers have different types of exclusions for this type of coverage so we recommend you talk with each potential provider individually to see what they cover.

3. Bodily Injury Coverage:

Bodily injury insurance is a required type of insurance in most states. This is the insurance that pays for injuries to others when the accident is your fault. It covers both bodily damage and property damage. The higher your bodily injury insurance is the better.

This type of insurance is organized in a 15/30/10 manner. This means that $15,000 can be paid out per person with not more than $30,000 per accident; the final number is the amount of property damage that will be paid out. In this case it is $10,000.

4. Collision Coverage:

This type of coverage covers the expense to you to repair or replace your motorcycle in the even that it is either damaged in an accident or stolen. In the case of collision coverage it usually does not matter who is at fault.

Collision coverage comes with a deductible that needs to be paid by you, the policy owner, before the insurance provider will pay on the coverage. The higher your deductible, the lower your monthly payment for this insurance will be.

Conclusion:

With this knowledge, we recommend that you take your time when looking for an insurance provider. Always use a reputable company that has been around for a while and has good customer feedback. Pricing companies is simple, just call them up and keep a list of what the different companies charge for similar types of coverage.