Personal Insurance Blog

Although motorcycles are insured on a Personal Auto policy, there are key differences between insuring a car and a motorcycle.  Costs are usually lower on motorcycles; one reason is that these are not normally vehicles driven year-round. Another difference from a car is that you may drive a motorcycle on a permit without another licensed operator.  The main factors involved in getting to motorcycle premiums are: years licensed/permitted; participation in a motorcycle driver training course; the value of the motorcycle; engine size (cc’s); driver experience (step); the town it’s garaged in; and the coverage you choose.

What's the Key Difference?

A key issue with motorcycle coverage is the exclusion of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits for operators and passengers.  This coverage will not pay for injuries incurred while riding a motorcycle but it will pay for anyone struck by the motorcycle; PIP also pays for injuries incurred by the motorcycle owner if struck as a pedestrian by a vehicle that does not have MA compulsory insurance.  To buy back coverage for you (the operator) and your guests, medical payments (Part 6) is the way.  The minimum amount that can be purchased is $500 and the maximum allowed is $50,000; the $50,000 amount limit may not be available from all carriers. 

Another Auto VS Motorcycle Difference

Under normal circumstances, most health carriers exclude coverage for the first $2,000 for injuries incurred as the result of an auto or motorcycle accident. The Medical Payments above can pay the first $2000, then the medical provider pays according to the individual health plan. Any balance can be paid with this Medical Payments coverage up to the amount chosen on the policy (if $5000 in coverage purchased, you would have a balance of $3000 that could be paid for things like deductibles, co-payments and those kinds of gaps.

As you can see, the difference between coverage for injuries when riding an auto as compared to a motorcycle can be significant; not something to discover this after the fact.   Please consult the experts at Gordon Insurance at www.agordon.com, as injuries resulting from a motorcycle accident can be costly.

Learn more about motorcycle insurance coverage here.