It's time to get some insurance on the bike and hit the pavement. However, here are a few things to think about when it comes to insuring a motorcycle in Ontario.
First and foremost, why are bikes more expensive to insure? After all, they don't get used anywhere near as much as cars, and are often parked in bad weather.
Yet, according to Stephanie Lewis, vice-president of marketing at the Insurance Hotline in Toronto, an on-line insurance comparison service that quotes motorcycle and car insurance rates, a typical large-displacement motorcycle costs about the same to insure as a family sedan or minivan: $1,495 and $1,472, respectively.
"With motorcycles," Lewis explains, "the injuries are more extensive in an accident situation, and often last longer. For example, some riders, after having an accident, are on some sort of disability for the rest of their lives, and that gets very expensive."
And then there's theft. Bikes are easily stolen. Three or four stout lads can heave even a large motorcycle into the back of a truck in a trice, regardless of whether it's locked or not.
Conventional wisdom has it that if a thief really wants your ride, he's going to get it one way or another, and, all things considered, even if you catch some punks in the act of stealing your bike, the best thing to do is stay out of the way.
Thus, the higher deductible charge, according to Lewis. "Up to a certain value, the deductible on most large bikes is between $1,000 and $1,500, and then after that, it's a percentage of the bike's value.
"So, a $20,000 motorcycle, for example, may have a deductible of $2,000 or $3,000. That's much higher than most cars." By way of comparison, a typical deductible charge in Vancouver is between $300 to $500.
What about a safe riding discount? In British Columbia, the longer you've been riding accident-free, the greater your discount. In Ontario, however, they only go back three years.
In other words, you can be a 25-year rider, with no claims or accidents, but the insurance company is only interested in how you've behaved over the past three years. For accident-prone hooligan riders, this may be a good thing, but in a nutshell, it means that experienced, cautious riders are lumped in with the morons.
"These days, we're just swamped with calls from motorcyclists," says Lewis, "and I think it's outrageous to put older cruiser riders in the same category as young sport bike riders. Most cruiser and Harley riders we've dealt with have fewer accidents, and are much more responsible."
On the other hand, motorcyclists aren't as heavily penalized as motorists when it comes to traffic violations.
As just about every car driver in the GTA knows, one stop-sign violation or speeding ticket can affect your insurance premium for years. Bikers, however, are allowed up to four tickets before the you-know-what hits the fan.
And even then, the holdover isn't as long; most motorcyclists will be back to their regular rate after three years, while car drivers may suffer for up to six.
For example, if you get two speeding tickets while driving your car, your rate can go from, oh, $1,885 to a high of $5,730, according to Lee Romanov, president of Insurance Hotline.
On a bike, however, two tickets equals nothing -- your rate will remain the same.
And if you have an accident in your car, according to Romanov, an annual insurance premium of $2,680 will skyrocket to $7,852, whereas a bike will climb from $1,495 to $2,177.
And here's something else to ponder. These days, there are some companies who will not even carry motorcyclists. Period.
"What has happened is that some riders get a full year's worth of coverage and then cancel the policy in the fall when the weather changes and they want to store the bike.
"That means the agent has to return some of the commission he got when the bike was first insured. They don't like that because it represents a loss of income and more paperwork, and the next time around, they may simply refuse to insure you."
The answer here, according to Lewis, is to just insure the bike year-round.
One idea to help mitigate the cost of insurance is to take advantage of so-called "secret" insurance rates that combine automobile, home, and motorcycle insurance in one package with the same company.
"The best way to pay less for motorcycle insurance is to find which insurance company offers the lowest insurance rate for the car you drive, as the spread between rates are hundreds and thousands of dollars apart," says Romanov.
"Finding a $700 car insurance savings goes a long way to paying for the rider's motorcycle insurance. Then combine all your policies under one company."
"I think certain kinds of bikes should have higher rates than others," adds Lewis. "It's just not fair to put everyone in together, when there is such a cross-section of riders out there.
"The insurance underwriters are all living in high glass towers in downtown Toronto, and don't know what the reality of riding a motorcycle is -- they're completely out of touch."
