Insurance for the Bike in Winter

by Her Motorcycle
(Simi Valley, CA)

Some of us base when we will and will not ride our motorcycles by the date on our insurance policy. As soon as we realize that the date of the policy is coming up, we get out and ride as much as possible. And then the calendar changes and we end up putting our bike in storage for the winter. Sure, we aren’t riding right now, but we still need to protect it, right? There are several ways that we can do that, and what you choose to do is a decision that you should make after talking to your own insurance agent who may be able to get you better coverage for a better price. And of course, not all types of insurance are valid in all areas.

For some people, the motorcycle can be covered on the homeowner’s policy under the contents of the garage during the season when it cannot be ridden. For other policy types, this may not be enough coverage. Even if your bike is an old girl, one that you are shocked starts each and every single time, you want to protect it- and that means that you might have to buy a separate policy for it at different times of the year.

The first thing you should do, of course, is to call your insurance agent and get an idea of what you need to do to make sure that your bike is protected whether you can ride it or not. You can often choose the dates of a policy for when you are riding- for instance, you can run the policy from March to September or to play it safer in some climates, you can go from May to October instead so that you know you will actually be able to ride for the dates that are covered.

On the dates that the motorcycle is not covered by this policy, you can cover it with a different type of insurance, however, if you do get a wild and warm day and ride, it will not be covered by insurance at all. It is all a matter of the designation. On some days, your motorcycle is viewed as a vehicle and on other days it will be viewed as personal property instead. Look, that bike doesn’t care what tag you hang on it for insurance purposes, but you certainly should. Sure, you have never wrecked before but there is always that first time, right? And, there are other things that can happen, things that have nothing to do with you or your ability to ride a motorcycle. What happens if the neighbors giant but ailing elm finally gives up the ghost and crashes, dramatically to the ground after making a giant and crushing pit stop in the roof of your garage? If you covered your motorcycle only on the days that you are able to ride and that last date was a few weeks ago, your bike is sadly, not only not covered but smashed and screwed.