Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / Labels:

Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Buyers Guide

Tips on how to get Cheap Motorcycle Insurance


Now that you know how the motorcycle insurance company will view and rate you, and what types of coverage are available, here are some tips on how to get a good deal:


1. Shop, Shop, and Shop More: Insurance can vary widely in the same region. Do not assume that your existing insurance company for your car, home, etc. will offer you the best deal. Take a whole day to call as many companies as you can to get a rate quote. Shopping around for insurance can sometimes be the single best way to cut your insurance costs. The more companies you call the better chance you will find a great deal on cheap motorcycle insurance. When you are comparing companies, reduce your best quote by 5 - 10% to see if it can be matched.


2. Securing Your Bike: What can you do to keep your bike more secure? If you can garage your bike, alarm it, or secure it somehow while it is parked, you may be able to secure yourself some discounts on your insurance.


3. Don't Over insure: Remember, if something happens to your motorcycle, you will only receive the market value so over insuring will not help you get a higher price for your bike.


4. Mileage: If you only ride your bike once in a while during the summer for pleasure, you should be able to get a better rate if you can keep your mileage low. Also, if you do not carry passengers, this can lower your rate as well.


5. Special Motorcycle Training: Taking special DMV or other motorcycle classes can help decrease you rate. Just make sure you keep your certification documents handy for the insurance company to view. Also, some associations have contracted discounts for their members. It cannot hurt to check this out as well.


6. Provide Honest Information: If you falsify information in obtaining a quote and coverage from the motorcycle insurance company, if the need arises to file a claim and the motorcycle insurance company determines you have provided false information, they will not process your claim and you can be pretty sure that they will drop your coverage.


NOTE: There is no reason to overpay one insurance company when another one is willing to give you a better deal. If an accident would occur you will get the same value for your bike regardless of what company you choose. By taking the time to find out how the insurance company will view you, your bike, and your riding habits, you can learn how to save while still getting a great policy.


Talk to the cyclist or salesperson who sold you the motorcycle, and also look through motorcycle magazines, motorcycle Web sites and the yellow pages. Dealerships don't always work with the best companies, and you might get talked into a policy you don't want.



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About the Author


Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Buyers Guide shows you how to find the cheapest motorcycle insurance and the best places for Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Quotes. For more indept information on how to get great motorcycle insurance deals visit the Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Buyers Guide

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Types of Motorcycle Insurance Coverage

Similar to automobiles, there are a few different types of motorcycle insurance coverage available. Some of the types of coverage are required by law, and some that you have to determine if you think you need. As stated before, insurance is statistics and odds. You may not think you need a certain type of coverage to save money. And you may never use that coverage. But if just one incident happens that you do not have protection by a certain type of coverage, it can cost you big time.

Bodily Injury/Property Damage Liability Insurance

Bodily injury liability is another type of motorcycle insurance coverage that you are required by law to carry in most states. Legal minimum in many states is as little as $10,000 per person, per accident. Your coverage pays for injury to others when the accident is your fault. Most insurance experts recommend that you purchase as much as three times the minimum in this day of litigation and lawsuits.


If you are legally liable for an accident, your insurance will pay for the following:


1. The cost to repair or replace damaged property


2. Medical bills incurred by injured parties (may include coverage for guest passengers)


3. Lost wages of injured parties


4. Other damages you are legally obligated to pay as a result of an accident.


If you are involved in a motorcycle accident and the other driver is at fault, then the other driver's property damage liability coverage pays for your motorcycle damage. Property damage liability insurance is required by law, but the legal minimum amount for this coverage in some states is only $5,000 per accident. So, if a driver with the $5,000 minimum totals out your $15,000 bike, his insurance company will pay you only $5,000. How will you get the other $10,000? If the other driver files for bankruptcy, you end up with nothing.


Explanation of Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability limits:


If you select 15/30/10 limits, your liability coverage will pay up to $15,000 per person and no more than $30,000 per accident for Bodily Injury and up to $10,000 per accident for Property Damage.


Guest Passenger Liability


This type of coverage provides protection for legal liability in the event that a guest passenger is injured on the insured motorcycle.



Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist


If you purchased underinsured property damage coverage, you may be able to collect the other $10,000 to fix your bike. This insurance is used to "fill the gap" between the actual amount of damages and what the other driver's insurance paid, but only if the other driver caused the accident and only if you purchased limits high enough to cover all of the remaining damage. In other words, if the legal minimum requirement in your state is $5,000 for property damage liability, and you drive a $15,000 bike, you should have at least $10,000 limits on you underinsured property damage.


Underinsured motorist coverage picks up where the other driver's insurance runs out. This type of insurance is very important. If you are injured in a motorcycle accident, break you leg, spend a week in the hospital and are off work for six months and experience a great deal of pain and suffering. You need coverage high enough to pay for your damages. The other driver only has a minimum policy of insurance (i.e.) $15,000. You will be left holding the bag. It is common that the injured persons medical expenses and wage losses are higher than the other persons insurance. Also nothing is left for pain and suffering or permanent disability.


Therefore, you need underinsured motorist coverage to pick up the difference. This type of coverage is strongly recommended because of its importance. It is suggested that you carry a minimum of 100/300 coverage (100 per person/300 per accident) this will also protect your passenger.


Uninsured motorist coverage is the most important insurance you can buy. In many metropolitan areas the other drivers are uninsured. These uninsured drivers can make up as high as 40% of the drivers on the road! As you know, the motorcycle driver is not at fault in most accidents. Therefore, you have a high probability of being hit and injured by a driver who has no insurance. The only way you can protect yourself is to purchase uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage pays for medical expenses, property damage, and pain and suffering (however, there are limitations in no-fault states). I strongly recommend that you purchase this insurance and do not drive without it. Many riders mistakenly believe uninsured motorist coverage pays only for medical bills, and that they do not need it because they carry health insurance. WRONG!-- it pays for medical expenses, as well as loss of earnings, and pain and suffering.


It is a good idea to talk to your agent, or talk to several agents, to determine the best coverage that will provide the most protection against loss. You need to remember that different insurance companies have different exclusions to their insurance policies. The most common for motorcycle policies is the passenger exclusion, which means that your insurance company will not pay for injuries to, your passenger under your bodily injury liability coverage if you were at fault. There are other types of exclusions that, unless you ask, you may never know about until it is too late. Therefore, the most important thing you can do is to fully understand you entire coverage.


In a nutshell: Underinsured coverage is coverage that protects you if the person who hit you does not have enough insurance to cover all of your damages.


Uninsured coverage is coverage that protects you if the person who hit you does not have any insurance at all. This type of coverage covers your medical bills and any lost income you would incur while you are out of action.


NOTE: This coverage can be argued to be the most important coverage for a motorcycle rider and passenger. This is the only type of coverage that you can purchase that protects you. Most motorcycle insurance protects someone else or someone's property, or your bike for damage. This is the coverage you collect from if you are injured by, a person who has no insurance or a person who does not carry enough bodily iniury (BI) to cover your claim. This coverage can pay your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and even future damages.


What to buy: as much as you can afford. Riding without this coverage is about as dumb as riding without a helmet, in a bathing suit, with no shoes.


Collision/Comprehensive Coverage


Comprehensive and Collision coverage covers the cost to repair or replace your motorcycle if it is stolen or damaged in an accident, regardless of who is at fault. You select a deductible for each coverage, and once the deductible is met, the insurance company pays for the remaining damage. The higher the deductible the lower the premium. Hint: On smaller bikes the difference between deductibles is not as great as on larger more expensive models.


Collision coverage will pay for damages to your bike, less your deductible. This coverage applies without regard to fault. Even if the damage is your fault the coverage will apply. You also can use this coverage when you have been hit by another person and they are at fault. Note: Coverage extends only to the factory parts of your bike. If you get fancy and add anything extra--like nifty chrome accessories - additional coverage will be required for compensation.


Comprehensive coverage will pay for theft, fire and vandalism. This coverage is subject to a deductible.


The time to find out about coverage and exclusions on any policies is before you buy it. Before you sign anything, ask your insurance agent if there are any exclusions or notice requirements in the policy. Always ask to have all exclusions and notice requirements explained to you before you buy any insurance.


Medical Payments


Medical Payments coverage pays the cost of necessary medical care you receive as a result of a motorcycle accident and can be used regardless of who is at fault. The coverage often is limited to medical treatment received within the first three years after an accident and is limited to a specific dollar amount. In some states, Medical Payments only applies after other medical insurance is exhausted.


Very few motorcycle riders buy this insurance. My guess is that they have great hospital coverage from their employer or purchased their own coverage and feel that this is a duplication of coverage. If you do not have hospital insurance buy as much of this coverage as you can afford.


Hint: If you do not have hospital insurance and are injured in an accident that is your fault this is the only coverage you will collect on for your medical expenses. If you carry your own medical and have a deductible or co-pay plan you need this coverage to fill in the gaps. Limits of $500.00 to $10,000.00 are available, a small deductible may apply varies by company.


Custom Parts and Equipment (CPE)


When Physical Damage Liability coverage is purchased, $1,000 of Custom Parts and Equipment (CPE) coverage is included. Additional CPE coverage can be purchased to cover equipment, up to $30,000 in value.


CPE covers equipment, devices, accessories, enhancements and changes, other than those that the manufacturer originally installs, that alter the appearance or performance of the motorcycle or ATV. This includes, but is not limited to:


Any electronic equipment, antennas and other devices used exclusively to send or receive audio, visual or data signals or play back recorded media, other than those that the manufacturer originally installs, that are permanently installed on the motorcycle using bolts or brackets, including slide-out brackets


Sidecars


Trailers designed to be pulled behind a motorcycle or ATV


Trike conversion kits


Custom paint, custom plating or custom exhaust


Mower blades, plow blades or winches


Safety riding apparel, including helmets. (Coverage is provided in the event of a Collision loss. Theft is not covered.)


Note: You should retain photos of the motorcycle and all receipts for custom parts.


Roadside Assistance


Roadside Assistance coverage provides towing to the nearest qualified repair facility and necessary labor at the place of disablement when your motorcycle is disabled due to any of the following:


Mechanical or electrical breakdown


Dead battery


Flat tire


Lockout


Insufficient supply of fuel, oil, water or other fluids


Entrapment in snow, mud, water or sand within 100 feet of the roadway


Roadside Assistance is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.



About the Author


Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Buyers Guide shows you how to find the cheapest motorcycle insurance and the best places for Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Quotes. For more indept information on how to get great motorcycle insurance deals visit the Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Buyers Guide

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Monday, August 24, 2009 / Labels:

Homeowners insurance: The mortgage connection

A home owners insurance is the cover for the house against natural calamities as well as liability. This covers the house and its contents but also other personal possessions which the house secures. The natural calamities include fires and winds. It covers thefts and vandalism as well. It is also called hazard insurance (http://www.mortgagefit.com/hazard-insurance.html)

It is not mandatory, like in the case of automobile insurance to have a homeowners insurance. But when one mortgages, the deed of trust or mortgage requires the collateral to be insured. This is because in the event of a default, the lender must not suffer. If in the time span the house gets damaged due to a wind or accident, the value on sale will decrease and thus the lender will not be able to get back the debt balance.

Why does the lender insist on a homeowners insurance?

Firstly, the lenders name or the mortgage company appears on the certificate of the insurance policy. The lender is categorized as a loss payee or a mortgagee. This ensures that the lender is entitled to the insurance amount if the borrower defaults.

Secondly, the insurance premiums are paid little by little along with the monthly obligations or it is deposited in with impound or escrow account. In both cases the lender can earn the interest which is earned out of this amount. Moreover an escrow requires an amount much more than a single premium to fund the account.

The manner of payment of the insurance premiums differs from lender to lender. Some require that the insurance premiums be paid off in the first year after closing; while others will spread the same throughout the loan term.


What you should keep in mind before taking a homeowners insurance?

You should shop for an insurance agent extensively .You must go in for an insurance company which will make an honest evaluation of your home value.


This insurance is not only for a liability security it is important to the borrower as well especially if you aim for a refinance or a remortgage. The collateral remains the same .Thus you can still avail of a loan amount equal to the earlier mortgage amount if not more (due to appreciation).


For a detailed study of mortgage and such other terms you can log onto:
http://www.mortgagefit.com


About the author:

Smith is financial analyst and is specialised in all mortgage related issues.

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Auto Insurance Fraud

The reason why automobile insurance has become distinctive in its nature, can be simply stated by the fact that a victim might start paying much higher premiums for acquiring a costly claim but he or his family might still need to pay with their lives someday.


Research: Ever since the introduction of automobiles into the modern world, Automobile Insurance fraud has turned out to be one the most organized crimes amongst a large variety of insurance scams of its kind. There are some common precautions that enable you to be aware, and protect your life from being butchered by a scammer. While taking precautions, you might also need to carry on a thorough research of the different
forms in which auto insurance scams appear in today's world. Different instances of auto insurance scams show, how drivers might stop their vehicles in front of your car, deliberately confusing you to commit a mistake.


Foul Plays: Some of them might even pose friendly to you and even pretend to be innocent to have caused a rear-end fault intending to save your life. Such scam drivers would often make good money out of vehicle damages as also procuring large sums faking medical injuries. Irrespective of an accident being staged or not, these scam drivers would carry their vehicles into a different location and inflict heavier damages to their vehicles. This is done with the sheer intention to pretend as if the damages had been inflicted during the course of the original accident.

Smiling Faces: Sometimes you might come across people who pose as scam helpers, thereby inviting you to drive into traffic and commit the mistake of getting crashed by them. You need to be too careful at that, as these scam helpers would never own up their crimes while filing a claim. When in times of need they might even drive you to find an automobile repairing shop, a lawyer or a doctor where in all of these people are involved in a scam. In the course of their plan, the auto repairing shop might charge much higher rates from you while their counterparts would surely formulate lies to collect more from your insurance.

Henceforth, in today's world it has become absolutely important to get equipped to face such crimes at any time and place. To avoid such circumstances, every time you are driving you need to remain cautious about certain things. You need to be absolutely alert as to whether a scam driver is following you or might be observing you driving down for quite some days just to track down the pattern of your driving and your habits. In such cases you just need to make sure that you leave plenty of space between your car and the car in front of you, in order to ensure an instant stop when needed.

Incase any untoward incident takes place, just make sure that you take down all the vital in formations relating to the other car involved in the accident, the event itself, and especially particulars related to all the individuals present in the other car. If its possible, maintain a throwaway camera at your car to record the damages caused to both the vehicles. That is why its all the more important to ensure that you have enough space to move out and let other vehicles pass. You would also need to make a note of an overview of such an event that suffices to express your feelings in a better way while you would narrate the event to your insurance service provider.

About the Author

Evan T. Smith is a contributing author to the online insurance community.

If you have a fraud story to share, or been a victim of insurance fraud yourself, then let others know about it here (http://www.ampminsure.org/grievancecell/index.html )

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Sunday, August 23, 2009 / Labels:

Choosing The Best Auto Insurance Company

Choosing the right auto insurance company is very important since they will be the one to help you settle any auto related mishaps in the future. Auto insurance companies follow a basic set of benefits which they provide their policyholders. They only differ in the premiums. There are auto insurance companies that offer exorbitant insurance premiums and there are also those that offer affordable premiums. But just how can you know that the auto insurance company you have chosen is a reliable company?

A reliable auto insurance company is one that has a good reputation of paying or settling claims in the fastest time possible and pays the correct amount of claims. To check on your chosen auto insurance company you may visit your state?s department of insurance web site. You may not be aware of this but every state has its own department of insurance. Nowadays, most of these departments have their own web sites which display consumer complaint ratios of all insurance companies that sell in their state. These ratios will tell you just how many complaints each of the listed car insurance received per one thousand claims filed.

The complaint ratio will provide you with a gauge on which car insurance to choose. Likewise, out of the list of your chosen car insurance you may be able to also get the company that offers the lowest premium quotes. But make sure that your chosen car insurance company has one of the least ratios of complaint. The car insurance that ranks on both lists should merit your strongest consideration.

The next step is to find out which body shops are recommended by your chosen car insurance. Take note of the locations of their accredited body shops. See if there is an accredited shop that is in your area. If they have one in your area so much the better but you still have to check on the auto body shop to see if it has all the necessary auto repair equipment and machines that can effectively answer any auto repair that you may be requiring in the future.

After checking on the auto body shop and you need to ask them about the insurance company that accredits them. They will either give you a positive feedback or a negative one. Lucky for you if it?s a positive remark since this will mean that you have finally found the auto insurance that you want. However it is not yet the end of your search since there are still other factors you have to look into.

Additional information on the auto insurance company that you are considering may be found on the J.D. Power and Associates website. This organization is known to collect data from individual policyholders nationwide and asks these same policyholders to rate their auto insurance company according to coverage options, price, claims handling, satisfaction with representatives, including the overall experience that they have with their respective auto insurance companies.

Another factor for you to look into before you finally settle and pay your very first premium is the financial strength rating of the auto insurance company that you are considering. You may take a look at the A.M. Best and the Standard & Poor?s ratings. These two companies are known for publishing financial strength ratings of all insurance companies. The financial strength of an auto insurance company will determine its capacity to pay or to settle claims. Auto insurance companies that reflect a very low financial strength ratio would mean they do not have the capabilities of settling claims and therefore should not be chosen.

About the Author: Daniel Richards has an interest in all things related to Cars. To access more articles on auto insurance or for additional information and resources visit this auto insurance related website.

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Getting the Best Deal on Auto Insurance

Shop around and do it yearly. Don't just keep paying the invoice over and over without comparison shopping. Below are a few suggestions to help you get the best deal available on your automobile insurance policy.

Insurance agents really have a lot of leeway. They can price match and they can offer many discounts. There are also many decisions you can make about your policy that will save you a bundle. For example, if you change your deductible on your collision from a $50 deductible to a $1000 deductible, you're inline for a huge premium savings. If you don't think you could come up with $1000 out of pocket, then change it to a $500 deductible; you'll still save a sizable amount on your annual premium payment.

You can also get more of a savings if you change your comprehensive deductible. Many people needlessly carry full coverage on their older vehicle. They originally purchased the vehicle new, paid for full coverage and to this day, continue to pay the same high rate. Their ten year old vehicle may be worth $1000 or less, yet they continue to pay $250-$450 every six months (total $500 to $900 dollars a year) to keep full coverage on their old vehicle.

However, if they have an accident and totaled their vehicle, the insurance company will only pay them the wholesale value of the vehicle. The amount they would receive could be $1000 or less. A vehicle that old just needs the insurance that protects the other person in case of an accident.

Another method to save more on your insurance is by combining your vehicles and other insurance together to get you additional savings. All insurance companies offer a multi-car discount (if yours doesn't, it's time to switch companies). Further, many will discount more if you have your homeowners or renters policy with them.

There are a few other discounts that you may not be taking advantage of. It seems obvious, but make sure you are getting the correct rate for your age. There are discounts for various ages than can save you lots of money. Check with your agent on this one. Also alarm systems on your vehicle are usually good for a discount. Additionally, anti-lock brakes and air bags can also help lower your premiums.

Don't just keep paying the invoice when it comes in. Your insurance bill should be an automatic trigger for you to make a few phone calls to see if you can save even more money on your auto insurance premiums.

About the Author

Brennan Howe is owner of www.freeinfosites.com. Where you can find information on a variety of topics including car buying tips.

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