Motorcycle Shops Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, motorcycle shops insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

With the protection provided by general insurance and all the other types of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your motorcycle shops enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your motorcycle shops business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to explain what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where we can, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your motorcycle shops business?

What this means, for any motorcycle shops business owner, is that if some customer claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your motorcycle shops business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where laws can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like New Jersey, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the right of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have sort.

When you are running your motorcycle shops operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent in advance the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you alone.

What does motorcycle shops insurance protect you from?

For your motorcycle shops business, the most important kinds of insurance are intended to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

Also there are some official kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any motorcycle shops business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your motorcycle shops businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any motorcycle shops business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your motorcycle shops business protects you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your motorcycle shops business from the claims themselves and in addition to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it will even help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts require proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your motorcycle shops business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single claim and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your motorcycle shops insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your motorcycle shops business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your motorcycle shops business for them, you can quickly have to fight a law suit.

Even if the matter against you is decided in your favor, the cost of defense can be substantial, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Most small motorcycle shops business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of motorcycle shops insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your motorcycle shops operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held responsible for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for motorcycle shops

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you must have.

Best advice is to consult with experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your motorcycle shops business

Be careful! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

The proper way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is guaranteed if your van is involved in a collision.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, mandate this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your requested level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your motorcycle shops business needs specific and costly equipment, you will realize how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

As well, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your motorcycle shops business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your motorcycle shops business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any motorcycle shops business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the property, you may already have a substantial capital investment, in addition to a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your motorcycle shops business deals in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of motorcycle shops business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Because the level of cover depends mainly on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of motorcycle shops insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your motorcycle shops business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your motorcycle shops business

Is your motorcycle shops business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for motorcycle shops – are special policies where you can cover a specific period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having reduced premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you pay for the cover for a defined period – a nominated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of larger business activity, get the existing cover improved.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your motorcycle shops business

You have the option to combine most of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will protect you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized motorcycle shops businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will determine whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The normal business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual sales.

In addition, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your motorcycle shops business employees

In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your motorcycle shops business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise against any costs that arise if a worker experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws in this regard can leave you as the employer required to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you may not obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

Workers compensation rates are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must see the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every motorcycle shops insurance need is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your motorcycle shops businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your motorcycle shops operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small independent motorcycle shops businesses.

In larger states like California, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, but in smaller states like Utah, they can be about 20%-30% cheaper.

The location and size and type of your motorcycle shops business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

As well you can let the internet do the work for you by enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for motorcycle shops operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect motorcycle shops business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my motorcycle shops business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Certain other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small motorcycle shops business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The specific cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for motorcycle shops insurance.

How much will motorcycle shops business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, certain other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for motorcycle shops, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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