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Fundamentals of a Motorcycle Insurance Policy

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

While you know that insuring your bike is important, the entire gamut of insurance policies, its benefits and varieties of coverage may seem a bit complicated at first. But it is actually quite simple if you know the basics well. There are essentially types of insurance policies:

1. Liability: This type of insurance policy is the cheapest and hardly does any good for you or your bike. It is really meant to take care of the other guy and his bike. In other words, it is the money which you pay to the guy for repairing his bike in case of an accident.
2. Collision: As the name is self-explanatory, this type of insurance policy can cover the repair costs of your bike, in case you meet with an accident.
3. Comprehensive: Again, the name is self-explanatory. It covers your bike from nearly any kind of mishap – including fire, theft, and vandalism and of course road accidents.

The most important point to remember when you buy an insurance policy is that every type of policy has its own limitations. For instance, a policy which is tagged with higher deductibles mean lower monthly premium but when you claim for damages, you spend more from your own pocket. The other important factor which you need to keep in mind is to check whether the policy entails the insurance company to pay you the price of the bike in case it is totaled or the company will pay the current depreciated value of the bike. This obviously makes a huge difference, especially when you have to shell out the money to buy your self a new bike or compromising with whatever you get in hand.

While there are numerous ways to reduce your premium amount, here are the following aspects which the insurance company will assess before it settles your claim:

• The size, capacity and brand of your bike.
• Your age
• Your past safety record on the road including history of previous accident claims, speeding tickets, etc.
• The purpose for which you use the bike – for joy rides or for work.
• The usage of the bike – what kind of mileage you cover in a year.
• Your place of residence.
• The fittings and accessories which you use on the bike. These things make an insurance company pay more, in case of claims.

Though these are the deciding factors with regard to the amount of premium you have to pay for your bike, there are many ways you can reduce the premium amount of your policy. For instance, pay off all your current debts on the bike at the earliest opportunity. When you take a loan from the bank, the lending institution needs some amount of insurance to cover the loan, but once you repay the loan to the full, the kind or type of insurance you buy for your bike subsequently is totally up to you, depending on how much risk you are willing to bear.

Another way to reduce your premium amount is to keep your road record clean. The more claims you file and the more number of traffic violation tickets you get, they will add up to your insurance premium amount and hike it.

Remember to tell your insurance agent that you always store away your bike during inclement weather. The less you put your bike on the road, lesser will be your insurance premium.

Lastly, maintain a good credit history. You may not know it, but more and more insurance companies are taking a closer look at the clients’ credit score to know more about the person’s reliability as well as sense of responsibility. Statistics prove that people with high credit rating submit fewer claims. This means profitability for the insurance companies.

Buying an insurance policy for your bike is in no way different from other insurance policies. You just have to make sure that you are getting what you truly require and that you understand what you are buying. A low premium need not necessarily mean a good policy.

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Are you Wearing the Right Helmet?

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

While the debate and controversy carries on whether it should be made legally obligatory for all bikers to wear safety helmets on the road, the truth continues to prove that safety helmets can actually keep bikers safe in the event of an accident. However, it must be noted that the right helmet, which fits him snugly, must be used if the biker wishes to remain safe riding his bike on the road.

Once you have taken the decision to wear a safety helmet while riding your bike, you would want to purchase one. But before you buy, you must know what to look for in a helmet, over and above the comfort and weight. Your primary concern is whether it can provide you with the safety which you require most.

The fist step in buying a safety helmet is choosing the style. Of course, there are a lot of trendy and sporty helmets available in the market, but then they all fall under three basic styles of motorcycle helmets. These basic styles are: full face, which provides maximum protection but weighs the most also; the three quarter face helmet weighs less but protects only half the face; the half face or the beanie helmet offers least protection and is not recommended by any expert in the field.

Your next lookout should be for the standard safety standards for helmets. Whichever helmet you buy must at least conform to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (DOT) (FMVSS) 218 standards. For enhanced safety, buy a helmet which carries stickers of both Snell as well as DOT. Remember, Snell requires helmets to meet stricter safety standards than DOT.

Your next priority is to look for fit and comfort. After all if the helmet does not make you feel comfortable, chances are that you will not even remember to wear it. Check how snug is the fit. Whichever model or make that you buy, ensure that the helmet can twist or lift with the wind while the liner keeps itself pressed gently against your cheeks and forehead. Of course, the helmet should not be so snug that it leaves marks on your face and head. You could easily make your helmet tighter by putting some Styrofoam fillers inside the helmet. You also have to make sure that your ears are not touched.

Finally consider the material with which your helmet is made. Is it fiberglass or Kevlar? The latter, though slightly more expensive, is considered to be tougher as well as lighter which makes the helmet more comfortable to wear as well as safer to use as it provides better protection to your face and head, in the unfortunate event of an accident.

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Varieties of Safety Helmets for Bike Riders

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Today, there is a large variety of motorcycle helmets available, starting from quarter shell to half shell types. Though choosing a particular helmet style is a matter of personal preference, here are some details of the three main styles of motorcycle helmets – each having its own advantages as well as disadvantages. Understanding each of these styles will surely help you take an informed decision:

As the name suggests, full-face motorcycle helmets cover the entire head as well as the face. It has a hard outer shell which covers the full area starting from the brows, over the cranium and extends to the base of the skull. The side portions also cover the cheekbones to extend over the jaw and chin. In front it has a visor which protects the eyes of the rider from wind, rain or dust.

Though this style of helmet is considered to be the safest since it covers major portion of the head, face and neck, it has a disadvantage, which is its heavy weight, which puts a strain on the neck, if the rider is riding against strong winds or for an extended period of time.

The full face helmet can be of two basic types: the racing helmet which look slim and sleek and the dirt bike helmets. The latter is extremely light – in fact, the lightest full face helmet available. Since there are no visors fitted to these, you must wear goggles.

Though the three quarter shell helmet is very similar to the full face helmet, the only difference is that it does not cover the entire face. On the contrary, these types of helmets start from the brows, then go over the cranium and end at the base of the skull. On the sides it merely covers the ears. To keep the helmet in place usually a chin strap is worn.

While the benefits of this type of helmet is very similar to the full face helmets, there are some additional advantages which include the communication ease of riders while wearing the helmet and the speed with which it can be taken off without disturbing vision.

Sometimes referred to as a beanie helmet, the half shell helmet is the least obtrusive of all the styles of helmets. It covers only the top half portion of the head, weighs light, does not block the ears and offers the least amount of wind resistance. Unfortunately this type of helmet also offers the least amount of protection to the rider.

In a move to ensure safety for motorcycle riders, most States have made it mandatory that safety helmets must meet the minimum quality standards as set by DOT (Department of Transportation). When you see a safety sticker on any helmet, you will know that it has DOT approval and acceptance.

There is another type of safety sticker for motorcycle helmets provided by SNELL a non-profit organization who has set a stricter voluntary standard in safety parameters of helmets. Thus helmets which carry two stickers, one from SNELL and the other from DOT are considered to be the safest of all helmets which ensure maximum safety for bike riders in this country.

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