Motorcycle Insurance

Motorcycle policies look like auto policies and price like something else entirely. Two things drive the difference: injuries are more severe, and bikes are far easier to steal.

The lines that matter most

Liability

Pays for injury and damage you cause to other people. Carry more than the state minimum — the minimum was set a long time ago and medical costs were not.

Collision and comprehensive

Collision repairs the bike after a crash. Comprehensive covers theft, fire, vandalism and storm damage. On a bike, comprehensive is doing more work than most riders expect: theft is the single most common total loss.

Uninsured motorist

The claim a rider is most likely to need and least likely to have. It answers when the driver who pulled out in front of you cannot pay.

Cover most riders forget

• Riding gear — helmet, jacket, boots and gloves are personal property, and many policies exclude or sub-limit them unless gear cover is added.
• Custom parts and accessories — exhausts, panniers, screens and paint above the standard allowance need to be declared with values.
• Trip interruption — accommodation and transport when a covered breakdown or crash strands you a long way from home.

Lay-up and mileage

If the bike is stored for part of the year, a lay-up endorsement reduces the premium for those months while keeping theft and fire cover in force. Do not simply cancel: a bike is more likely to be stolen in a garage over winter than ridden into anything.

Where the bike sleeps matters more than almost anything else on the quote. A locked garage, a ground anchor and an immobiliser move the price further than the rider’s age does.