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What Does Motorcycle Insurance Cover?
Motorcycle insurance covers you and your bike in an accident on the road or when it’s damaged in other ways. In this article, we at the MarketWatch Guides team explain what motorcycle insurance covers, what it doesn’t cover, the difference between minimum-liability and full-coverage policies and how to find right coverage for both your lifestyle and budget. We’ve researched the best motorcycle insurance companies and the coverages they offer.
Key Takeaways
- Motorcycle insurance can protect you, your bike and your finances if you buy the right coverages.
- A minimum-liability policy includes coverage for bodily injury and property damage (to other parties) at the minimum levels required to ride legally in your state.
- Full coverage includes the minimum-liability coverages plus comprehensive and collision.
More Motorcycle Insurance Articles
Learn more about our methodology and editorial guidelines.
How Does Motorcycle Insurance Coverage Work?
Motorcycle insurance is required by law in most states and can cover everything from hospital and medical bills to the theft or total loss of your bike. What your policy will ultimately cover, however, depends entirely on what you purchase and the limits you select. Most insurers will offer both minimum-liability and full-coverage policies along with plenty of additional coverages that you can opt into for maximum protection.
Minimum-Liability Motorcycle Insurance
If you only purchase the minimum amount of insurance required by your state, your policy usually only includes liability coverages, which protect other people if you injure them or damage their property in an accident.
A minimum-liability policy won’t cover you if you’re injured or your bike if it’s damaged or stolen. It only covers damage or injury as they relate to others. So even if you have enough insurance to be legal, you’re not necessarily fully protected.
How Liability Insurance Is Listed
When getting a motorcycle quote online or from an insurance agent, you’ll usually see liability coverages displayed as three numbers, like 25/50/25. The first number is bodily injury per person, the second is bodily injury per accident and the third is property damage per accident.
So, if you have these numbers on your policy and cause an accident with your bike, your insurer would pay up to $25,000 in medical bills if one person is injured. If multiple people are injured, your insurance would cover up to $50,000 for combined medical expenses. It would also pay up to $25,000 to repair any damages or replace anything related to the afflicted party’s property.
Full-Coverage Motorcycle Insurance
Full-coverage motorcycle insurance simply refers to a policy that includes the required liability coverages plus comprehensive insurance and collision coverage. These coverages protect your bike if it’s stolen, vandalized or otherwise damaged in a covered incident. If you’re leasing or financing your bike, your lender will probably require you to have a full-coverage policy to make sure its investment is properly protected.
Comprehensive and collision coverages both have a deductible that you’ll have to pay before your insurer steps in to cover the balance. You can usually choose to set your deductible at anywhere from $100 to $1,000. The higher you set it, the lower your monthly premium is.
What Does Motorcycle Insurance Cover?
Because of medical bills, bike repair costs and sometimes even lawsuits, motorcycle accidents can be staggeringly expensive and motorcycle insurance is specifically designed to help cover those expenses so you’re not left with thousands of dollars of debt. Depending on the types of coverage you choose for your policy, motorcycle insurance can cover the following:
Injury to someone else Most states require bodily injury liability insurance, which protects your finances if you injure someone else in a covered accident. Some states also require guest passenger liability coverage to cover anyone on your bike who may be injured in an accident. Damage to someone else’s property Also required in most states, property damage liability insurance offers financial protection if you damage someone else’s property as the result of a covered accident. Your bike Collision insurance pays for your bike’s repairs if it’s damaged in an accident, while comprehensive insurance protects your bike if it’s stolen or damaged as a result of environmental things like vandalism, hail, fire, floods, or particular acts of nature. Insurance may also cover a bike that’s been knocked over or damaged while parked. Injury to you Medical payments coverage (MedPay) and personal injury protection (PIP) help cover your medical bills if you’re injured in a covered accident. Damage or injury caused by an uninsured driver Underinsured/uninsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverages will kick in if you’re in an accident with someone who isn’t properly insured. If they’re at fault for the accident and don’t have insurance or enough insurance, these coverages help pay for the loss. This insurance can also pay for hit-and-run situations. Additional Motorcycle Insurance Coverages
When putting together your motorcycle insurance policy, you’ll start with the minimum levels required in your state and build from there. Once you’ve done that, the rest of the policy is up to you to decide and customize based on your lifestyle and finances.
For example, if you regularly take long roadtrips, you might want to add trip interruption coverage. Or if you have a highly customized bike with lots of upgrades, then custom parts and equipment coverage is probably a worthwhile investment.
With that, here are some additional types of insurance add-ons that can help with other scenarios, like:
- Towing or roadside assistance: This helps pay for help if you’re stranded on the side of the road. Many insurers also offer trip interruption coverage, which can help pay for food and lodging as well if you break down far from home.
- Your safety gear and personal belongings: Many insurers will also offer optional protection to cover your riding gear (like helmets, gloves, jackets and boots) as well as any other personal belongings that were damaged as the result of a covered loss.
- Your travel trailer: If you use a trailer to transport your motorcycle, travel trailer coverage helps protect that trailer, even when it’s not being used for transport.
- Custom parts, equipment or upgrades on your bike: If your bike has customizations or modifications, you can include custom parts and equipment coverage to help repair or replace those after a covered accident.
- Loss of income following an accident: If you’re injured as the result of a covered accident and can’t work, enhanced injury protection can help cover loss of income and could also include a death benefit for your beneficiaries in the event of a fatal accident.
Other Circumstances
There are other specific instances that are covered when you insure your motorcycle, scooter or moped, such as:
- Renting a bike: Your regular motorcycle insurance policies will usually cover you when you rent a bike.
- Being on another motorcycle: When you’re on someone else’s motorcycle, as long as you’re a permissive rider by the owner, you’ll be covered by their insurance. If you’re frequently riding the bike, you’ll need to be added to the policy.
What Doesn’t Motorcycle Insurance Cover?
There are a few things that a standard motorcycle insurance policy won’t cover. These include:
Competitive Use and Track Days
If you race your bike competitively or participate in track days or other timed events, most insurers will exclude you from coverage due to the increased risk inherently involved with these activities. Similarly, if it’s determined you were street racing at the time of the accident, it’s likely your insurer will deny the claim.
Commercial Use
Most standard motorcycle insurance policies won’t cover you if the bike is being used for commercial reasons — as a courier service, for example. If you use your bike regularly for work purposes, your best bet is to get a commercial policy to make sure you’re adequately protected.
Regular Wear and Tear
This shouldn’t be too surprising, but motorcycle insurance doesn’t cover anything that’s considered regular wear and tear — it only pays for damage that occurred as the result of a covered motorcycle accident or incident.
Picking Motorcycle Insurance That’s Right for You
When insuring your motorcycle, you understandably want to make sure you have a policy that will be there when you need it. Here are a few expert tips for picking motorcycle insurance that’s right for you.
Your Policy Reflects Your Bike’s Value
Outside of legal or lender requirements, you want to make sure that your motorcycle insurance protects whatever you have invested in your bike — whether that be $10,000 or $60,000. Likewise, if your bike’s been customized or modified, you also want to make sure that your policy will cover the extra cost of getting it back to the shape it was in before an accident.
Your Policy Reflects How You Use the Bike
If you use your motorcycle to commute to work every day, you’ll want to invest in comprehensive and collision coverages, regardless of whether or not you lease or finance. That’s because if you’re on the road a lot, you’re more likely to get in an accident and it’s also more likely that something could happen to the bike, like theft or vandalism.
On the other hand, if you have a bike that you store safely most of the time and only ride for special occasions, then you might not need to include comprehensive and collision. But again, think about this carefully before deciding.
If you own the bike and are comfortable assuming the financial burden of paying for repairs out of pocket, then you might be able to purchase less insurance. Just remember insurance is intended to cover the things you never expect to happen.
Your Policy Provides Peace of Mind
Some people are comfortable assuming a certain amount of financial responsibility for things gone wrong, while others want to be assured that they’re protected no matter what happens. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, just make sure your motorcycle insurance balances your preference for premium and protection.
For example, if it’s important to know you’re covered for just about anything and you don’t mind paying a little more monthly, then boost your coverage and limits accordingly.
Your Policy Complements and Balances Your Finances
At its simplest, motorcycle insurance is intended to protect your finances. But that doesn’t mean it should break the bank. It’s important to carefully weigh how much you can afford to pay monthly on motorcycle insurance costs against how much you could afford to pay in the event of an accident and set your deductibles to that amount.
The higher you set your deductibles, the lower your monthly premium will be. But if it would be difficult to come up with $1,000 deductible at any given time, then it might make sense to pay a little more monthly for a lower deductible.
What Does Motorcycle Insurance Cover: The Bottom Line
Motorcycle insurance covers a lot, but only if you’ve bought the right amount. If you choose to skimp on motorcycle insurance and only purchase the minimum amount legally required, there’s a good chance you won’t have the protection you need.
When choosing motorcycle insurance, make sure it protects both you and your investment. Of course, the ultimate goal is to never need to use your insurance. But just as important of a goal should be making sure that if you do need to use it that your policy covers your needs.
Motorcycle Insurance Coverage: FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about motorcycle insurance coverage:
Is it worth it getting full coverage on a motorcycle?
It’s worth it to get full coverage on a motorcycle. Full coverage includes the minimum liability coverages you need to ride legally in your state plus comprehensive and collision, which protect your bike should something happen. So unless you can afford to repair or even replace your bike entirely out of your own pocket, then full coverage is most likely worth it.
How does insurance work on a motorcycle?
Just like car insurance, motorcycle insurance protects you financially in case something happens to your bike. Motorcycle insurance can also help to cover hospital and medical expenses if you or someone else is injured.
What does a motorcycle insurance policy cover?
A motorcycle insurance policy covers you if you’re injured and your bike if it’s damaged or stolen. It also covers injury or damage you might cause to others or their property. Additionally, it may cover things like your safety gear, carried contents, custom parts or even your travel trailer.
Our Methodology
Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best motorcycle insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of motorcycle insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.
Here are the factors our ratings take into account:
- Cost: Motorcycle insurance quotes obtained through secret shopping and discount opportunities were both taken into consideration.
- Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
- Reputation: Our research team considered market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
- Availability: Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements scored highest in this category.
- Customer Experience: This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the NAIC and customer satisfaction ratings. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each motorcycle insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.
*Data accurate at time of publication.
How To Choose The Right Add-Ons For Your Bike Insurance?
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