What do collision and comprehensive motorcycle insurance cover?
According to Statista, the rate of car theft in the USA is at least 268 per 100,000 population. And according to the car insurance comparison, California, Washington and Colorado rank highest with the highest number of car theft cases.
South Carolina, Nevada, and Texas rank highest as far as motorcycle theft is concerned. In 2019, there were more than 14 thefts for every 1,000 registered motorcycles in Carolina and more than 11 thefts per 1,000 registered motorcycles in Nevada.
From other reliable sources, it is estimated that more than 17,250 automobile crashes are registered in the USA on daily basis. From data retrieved from injury facts, the average cost of all automobile crashes in the year 2021 was more than $11,210,000.
In the year 2019, there were more than 84,000 motorbike accidents in the US, and the number of motorcycle crashes reduced to 83,000 in the year 2020. This is a reason people buy auto insurance to guard against crash-related costs and other losses like theft and vandalism.
Showing proof of financial responsibility before driving or riding is the responsibility of everybody according to traffic laws. There are many ways a driver or motorcyclist can show this proof for example by buying auto or motorcycle insurance coverage.
Some insurance coverages are mandatory, but any others are optional and the driver is free to buy or drop them depending on his/her auto insurance needs. Here in the USA, almost 98% of all states require drivers or motorcyclists to carry liability insurance coverage.
Depending on whether you own the motorcycle or you leased or financed your motorbike, you will also be required to buy collision and comprehensive insurance coverages. Now the question is, What do collision and comprehensive motorcycle insurance cover? Do you need full car or motorbike insurance coverage or not?
This article is fairly lengthy. You are free to go through the contents of this article and look at sections of your interest. Alright, let’s go!
Page Contents
Motorbike insurance
Car accidents happen every day and occur unexpectedly. A collision between a motorbike and any vehicle is so devastating on the side of the motorcyclist because of the sheer size of the vehicle compared to the motorbike.
Types of motorcycle insurance
To guard against such losses and injuries, it is highly recommended to buy motorcycle insurance coverage for your motorbike. The following are basic motorcycle insurance coverages you should consider.
1. Motorcycle liability insurance coverage. Motorcyclists also negligently cause auto accidents. If you are responsible for a traffic accident, motorcycle liability insurance will help you pay for injuries caused and property damages.
2. Motorcycle collision insurance coverage. Motorcycle liability insurance only covers the other party to whom you caused injuries or property damages. It does not compensate you if you are the at-fault rider/driver. You will need motorcycle collision coverage to cover your losses.
3. Motorcycle comprehensive insurance coverage. Many other non-collision events could happen to your motorcycle. For instance, your motorbike could be stolen, vandalized, hit by deer, hit by a tree, or damaged by hailstorms. Such events are covered by motorcycle comprehensive coverage.
4. Underinsured/uninsured motorcycle insurance. According to current data, there are more than 737,100 hit-and-run accidents in the USA every year. Also according to other reports, at least more than 10-14% of drivers are uninsured in the USA.
If you had a collision in a hit-and-run accident or with someone with no or inadequate insurance coverage, your uninsured/underinsured motorcycle insurance coverage will compensate you for your losses.
5. Personal injury protection insurance (PIP) coverage. Some states subscribe to no-fault systems. In such states, each motorcyclist or driver is compensated by their own insurance coverage. All drivers or motorcyclists are required to claim through their own PIP.
How much does motorcycle insurance cost?
Many factors will determine how much motorcycle insurance premiums you will pay. High insurance rates are charged to young drivers and those people who are riding expensive motorbikes, like sports bikes.
Your motorcycle insurance price will also depend on your age, model, make, tunk capacity, gender, and so many others. Prices also vary from one insurance company to another.
According to value penguin, the average cost of motorcycle insurance coverage in the USA is around $721 per year. NextAdvisor has a different version of data, depending on who wants to believe it.
According to reports from NextAdvisor, the average cost of motorcycle insurance coverage in the USA is around $519 per year, while the average cost of car insurance is $1,674 per year.
How much is comprehensive motorcycle insurance?
Comprehensive motorcycle insurance forms part of full motorcycle insurance coverage. Though it is not very clear, my insurance broker says, he expected the average cost of comprehensive motorcycle insurance to be around $50-$100 a year.
On the same note, according to progressive, the average cost of liability-only motorcycle insurance coverage is somewhere between $163 and $364. According to the same source, you should be able to get insurance coverage for your motorcycle for as low as $79.
Motorcycle insurance coverage recommendations
Of course, our insurance needs differ depending on our financial needs and other factors. If you are living in the USA, the only required motorcycle insurance coverage is a liability motorcycle insurance policy.
If you own an expensive motorbike with so many customizations, then you need beyond motorcycle liability insurance coverage. Probably you will need to buy full coverage motorcycle insurance which includes comprehensive, collision, and uninsured/underinsured policies.
If you are financing or you leased your motorcycle, you will not be allowed to ride away from the lot unless you have full motorcycle insurance coverage.
Does motorcycle insurance cover medical
The answer is yes, motorcycle insurance cover medical. If you caused an accident in which people are injured, your motorcycle bodily injury liability coverage will provide them with medical cover. If you are injured yet at fault for the accident, your medical pay or PIP should cover your medical expenses.
What does comprehensive motorcycle insurance cover?
I already hinted at this in previous paragraphs. In automobile insurance, there are collision-related insurable events and others that are not directly collision related.
Comprehensive motorcycle insurance covers non-collision insurable risks like fire, floods, theft, and vandalism. It also offers you financial protection arising from issues like if you hit a tree, a collision with a deer/animal, and a tree falling on your car.
Is motorcycle collision insurance worth it?
Motorcycle collision insurance is optional unless you are financing or leasing your motorbike. If you are riding a new or expensive motorcycle, you definitely need to protect it, hence it will be worth it.
Is comprehensive motorcycle insurance worth it?
In most cases, riders who need collision motorcycle insurance coverage also need to buy comprehensive motorcycle insurance coverage though the policy itself is optional.
Some areas are known for lots of vandalism and severe bad weather conditions. If you also live in an area where there is a likelihood of hitting an animal like a deer, high theft rates, or bad weather conditions, definitely comprehensive motorcycle insurance is worth it.
Why is full-coverage motorcycle insurance more expensive?
Just like car insurance, full motorcycle insurance coverage is very expensive! This is because each coverage policy is sold alone. The advantage of this is that you will have full or maximum protection as long as you chose good policy limits.
For instance, a rider who needs full motorcycle coverage will need to buy separately all the policies like liability, collision, comprehensive, and uninsured/underinsured coverages.
Which company has the cheapest full-coverage motorcycle insurance?
Moneygeek carried out a study aimed at finding which insurance company offers the cheapest full-coverage motorcycle insurance and below I explain the findings.
According to moneygeek, progressive offers the cheapest motorcycle insurance coverage at $267 per year, Dairyland comes into the second position with an average cost of $267 per year. From the same source, Harley-Davidson offers the 3rd cheapest full coverage at $302
Of course, prices change and depend on many individual factors. For instance, some insurance companies favor senior drivers, while others could be friendly with riders with poor riding records.
I highly encourage you to pick quotes from at least 3 different insurance companies and compare prices. Being loyal to one company does not automatically mean cheaper prices. Just like getting cheaper car insurance rates, you should always explore motorcycle insurance prices before renewing your policy.
Does motorcycle insurance cover passengers
Well, it depends on the motorcycle insurance coverage policy you bought. Some policies cover passengers while others do not. Other insurance companies will want you to buy passenger coverage as an add-on.
If in doubt, read through your policy again or consult your insurance broker or company. what I am sure of is that your liability motorcycle coverage and med pay should cover passengers. Go on and confirm this by contacting your company.
Summary.
What do collision and comprehensive motorcycle insurance cover? Every driver or motorcyclist needs both comprehensive and collision insurance coverage. Collision coverage covers collision-related losses while comprehensive motorcycle insurance covers non-collision losses.
