The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) revealed that 60% of deaths on the road in the span of 20 years involved motorcyclists.
On average, 20% of 500,000 accidents involved motorcycle accidents annually.
Motorcycle insurance is as essential to your protection on the road as the rest of your safety gear. In this article, we will explain more about motorcycle insurance.
Why do you need motorcycle insurance?
To reduce the financial burden
Motorcycle insurance provides similar coverage as car insurance. It protects you in the event of a third party’s death, bodily injury, and property damage.
Your motorcycle insurance also covers loss or damage to your vehicle due to fire or theft, depending on your policy type.
Motorcycle insurance coverage will protect you financially should anything happen to your motorcycle. The insurer will cover the loss or damage subject to the policy coverage.
To renew road tax
Other than that, motorcycle owners also require valid insurance to renew their road tax. You will not be able to activate your road tax without active insurance, thus, risking yourself with fines from the police.
Who is eligible to ride your motorcycle?
Please note that you should only allow authorised riders to ride your motorcycle. Authorised riders are those covered by your insurance should anything happen, depending on your policy plan.
There are two types of motorcycle insurance: ‘Single Rider’ and ‘All Riders’.
‘Single Rider’ coverage
This type of coverage only protects one rider named in the policy. Usually, it protects the motorcycle owner. The insurance will not cover any accidents while the motorcycle is used by someone other than the insured named rider.
As a result, you cannot make an insurance claim. In addition, the insurance company will also not cover any third party’s claims.
Therefore, if you purchase a ‘Single Rider’ coverage, you are the only authorised rider of your motorcycle. If you allow another individual to ride it, you have to bear any loss or damage to your motorcycle should it run into an accident.
‘All Riders’ coverage
“All Riders” motorcycle policy allows the policyholder and any other persons authorised by the insured to ride the motorcycle.
There is a 50% additional premium to the ‘All Riders’ coverage, making it more expensive than the ‘Single Rider’ coverage.
‘All Riders’ coverage is available for third party, third party, fire and theft, and comprehensive insurance.
How much should you insure your motorcycle?
You should insure your motorcycle according to its current market value.
The insurer could penalise you if your motorcycle is insured lower than the market value.
Example:
If the market value of your motorcycle is RM10,000, but you only insured it for RM8,000, then you could be penalised for under-insurance.
Assuming that the assessed loss is RM4,000, instead of paying the full amount, you may have to bear a portion of the loss in proportion to the under-insurance as follows:
However, the penalty is only imposed if the market value of your motorcycle exceeds the sum insured by 10%.
No Claim Discount (NCD) for motorcycle
Motorcycle owners will receive an NCD from the insurance company if they do not make an insurance claim throughout the policy coverage.
However, the NCD rate for a motorcycle is different from the NCD for a private car. The NCD rates for a motorcycle are as follows:
Additional coverages for motorcycle insurance
You may purchase additional coverages to ensure your motorcycle receives adequate protection in your comprehensive plan.
- Special perils (natural disasters)
It covers damage or loss to the motorcycle due to natural disasters such as floods and landslides.
- Riots and civil commotions
This add-on coverage covers motorcycle damage due to riots, strikes, or civil commotions.
- Additional accessories
This additional coverage protects your additional accessories against thefts or damages. You can make an insurance claim in the event of damaged or stolen accessories.
- Legal liability
It covers the policyholder against liability of the passenger in the event of an accident.
- Personal accident
This coverage provides compensation in the event of injuries, disability, or death caused by an accident.
This additional coverage costs between RM10 to RM20 for a total coverage of RM5,000.
Given the high involvement of motorcycle riders in crashes, motorcyclists are advised to purchase this additional coverage.
Get adequate motorcycle insurance
As motorcycle riders are more prone to accidents, we advise you to purchase sufficient coverage like ‘All Riders’ coverage if you ride a motorcycle. You may also add other additional coverages to your policy for enhanced protection.
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