How Motorcycle Upgrades Can Impact Insurance Rates

Do you want to improve your motorcycle's performance, looks, or function? High-quality upgrades can help you achieve just that, transforming your ride to match your vision. However, it’s important to remember that certain modifications could affect your motorcycle insurance rates.

Wondering just how big of an impact you should expect? Let’s break down how this works and provide some tips on modifying your bike without skyrocketing your insurance costs.

Motorcycle Insurance Basics

Motorcycle insurance works a lot like car insurance. It helps cover costs if you have an accident, get your bike stolen, or damage someone’s property. The total amount of coverage you get depends on how you set up your policy.

You have many coverage options when getting motorcycle insurance, such as:

• Liability: It covers bodily injury and property damage you may cause to other people in an accident.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): PIP can help pay for your medical treatment for injuries sustained in an accident, regardless of who’s at fault. It may also cover lost wages and other expenses. This varies in different provinces. 
• Collision: Liability does not cover injuries to you or damages to your motorcycle. For that level of protection, you need collision insurance.
• Comprehensive: If vandalism, theft, or natural disasters damage your bike, comprehensive kicks in to help cover your losses.
• All perils: This is a combination of collision and comprehensive protection.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: This coverage type offers protection if you’re involved in an accident with someone who doesn’t have adequate insurance coverage.

As you add coverage levels, your monthly insurance premiums increase in kind. Many other factors can also increase your premiums, such as your age, riding experience, motorcycle type and upgrades.

How Upgrades Affect Motorcycle Insurance Premiums

When you make changes to your motorcycle, it can affect how much you pay for insurance. This might happen for many different reasons.

First, if you add things to your motorcycle that make it worth more, your insurance company might charge higher premiums. This is because it would cost more money to fix or replace your bike if something happens to it.

Second, if your bike has cool upgrades, thieves might want it more. This means there’s a bigger chance it could be stolen, and your insurance company might charge you more because of this risk.

Third, upgrades that make your bike faster or more powerful might make it more likely to be in an accident. Insurance companies consider this when setting your rate and might increase your premiums to offset the risk.

Finally, if you change how your bike works or modify it too far from stock, your insurance might not cover you like it usually would. This is because the changes could make riding your bike more dangerous.

Modifying Your Motorcycle Without Skyrocketing Insurance Costs

Do you want to modify your motorcycle but are worried about your insurance costs going up? There are a couple of things you can do.

To start, think carefully about the kinds of modifications you choose. If you pick changes that make your bike safer or more functional, your insurance provider might see this as a good thing. Some safety and theft prevention upgrades can even get you a discount on your monthly premiums depending on the province you live in. 

Next, call your insurance company to talk to them about any changes you want to make to your bike. Tell them what upgrades you want and ask if your policy covers those modifications. If you don’t, you might find out later that your insurance won’t pay for damages or theft related to these upgrades.

Need Motorcycle Insurance? Call Us For a Quote Today

If you’re looking for affordable motorcycle insurance, you can contact on Orbit insurance broker for a quote. We’re always happy to help you find the right insurance at a reasonable price so you can ride worry-free.