If you are planning on buying a motorcycle, you know you will have to get motorcycle insurance to stay safe. You have probably noticed that motorcycle insurance is usually affordable.
If you have been shopping around for rates, you may be wondering why motorcycle insurance is so cheap. We did some research, and here is what we discovered!
Why Is Motorcycle Insurance So Cheap?
Motorcycle insurance is cheap since insurance companies know that it costs less to insure a motorcycle. Normally, motorcycles have less value than other vehicles and have cheaper costs for parts and repair. Also, motorcycles tend to cause less property damage and bodily harm when the motorcycle gets into an accident.
Do you want to find out more reasons why motorcycle insurance is so affordable? We compiled a list of reasons below, so read on!
1. Cheaper Motorcycles
Motorcycles are fairly affordable as a mode of transportation, which makes motorcycle insurance cheap.
For example, the average cost of minimum coverage for motorcycle insurance is $70 a year, while minimum coverage for car insurance is $148 per year.
Normally, this will be especially true if you have a “lower value” motorcycle since the insurance company will not have to insure your motorcycle for a lot of money.
Of course, this would not apply if you have a classic or rare motorcycle worth more than most cars.
2. Less Mileage
Typically, having lower mileage can help you get cheaper insurance, which means that if you are an infrequent rider, your motorcycle insurance would be a lot cheaper.
Further, this is because vehicles that do not drive often will have a lower risk of getting into an accident, hence the lower insurance premium.
Therefore, the insurance company will have no reason to charge you a higher rate since you will not be on the road frequently.
While it depends on the insurance company, most people believe that mileage of 6,000 miles or fewer is considered low.
3. Annual Payments
If you noticed that the motorcycle insurance looked cheap, it is likely because you are looking at annual payments instead of monthly installments.
Generally, this is because paying for your motorcycle insurance payment in full is more affordable.
Normally, this occurs since you will not have to pay for any finance arrangement fees or interest fees that usually accompany monthly payments.
For instance, paying for motorcycle insurance may not come with interest, but monthly payments could have an interest fee on top of the actual motorcycle insurance rate.
4. Less Bodily Injury
Most insurance companies believe that you will have less bodily injury if you were to be in an accident on a motorcycle.
For instance, if you get in a collision while riding a motorcycle, you may fall off your motorcycle.
On the other hand, people who are in a car can get stuck in the car and severely injured if the car suffers a collision.
Of course, serious accidents can still occur on a motorcycle, but the rates of great bodily injury are much lower.
5. Less Property Damage
As mentioned earlier, motorcycles are a lot smaller than other modes of transportation like cars.
As such, there will be less property on a motorcycle that would be damaged if the motorcycle got into an accident.
Additionally, motorcycles may cause less damage than bigger vehicles if the motorcycle collides with the property.
For example, if a motorcycle were to crash into a house, it is unlikely that it would greatly damage the house.
On the other hand, a car crashing into a house will likely cause a lot of damage that requires expensive repairs.
6. More Affordable Repairs
The repairs for a motorcycle tend to be fairly affordable compared to other kinds of vehicles.
With that, this is because the parts, equipment, and manual labor needed to repair a motorcycle are fairly cheap.
For instance, rebuilding a motorcycle engine may only cost roughly $3,000, whereas rebuilding a car engine costs at least $4,000.
As such, insurance companies do not have to charge large premiums for motorcycle insurance since the repairs are not expensive.
Of course, this will depend on the kind of motorcycle you have since each one will have different needs.
For instance, a rarer motorcycle will have more expensive, hard-to-find parts, making the insurance rates more expensive.
7. Cheaper Than Cars
Motorcycle insurance tends to be cheaper than car insurance since most insurance companies will assume that most motorcycles have less value than cars.
For instance, motorcycles are smaller than cars, so there would be fewer “parts” to insure a motorcycle compared to a car.
Also, most motorcycles tend to be cheaper than cars since new motorcycles usually go for $4,000-$6,000 while a new car averages at $47,000.
Therefore, motorcycle insurance is naturally cheaper than car insurance due to the price difference.
However, this is not always the case because some forms of motorcycle insurance can be more expensive than cars.
For instance, a Harley Davidson Cosmic Starship costs roughly $1.5 million, whereas a 2022 model of a Toyota Corolla goes for a little over $20,000.
Obviously, the Harley Davidson motorcycle’s insurance rate would be much higher than the Toyota Corolla since the Harley Davidson motorcycle is more valuable.
To know more, you can also read our posts on why motorcycles are better than cars, why your car sounds like a motorcycle, and whether motorcycles have airbags.
Conclusion
Typically, motorcycle insurance is cheap because it does not cost much to insure a motorcycle.
That said, motorcycles are usually cheaper than most other vehicles and have more affordable costs for repairs and parts.
Lastly, motorcycles tend to cause less bodily injury and property damage when the motorcycle is involved in an accident.