How I insure my cycle - Mike Felder Insurance

1647 Willow Pass Rd, Suite 347, Concord, CA 94520
Phone Toll free in California 800-7-CYCLES
California's Largest Motorcycle Insurance Agency

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MIKE FELDER'S INSURANCE COLUMN
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I KNOW YOU SELL THE STUFF, BUT WHAT KIND OF INSURANCE DO YOU HAVE? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I get ask one question ore than anything else. People want to know how I insure my cycle. Well, being an insurance doesn't mean I get an "employee discount." I pretty much have to step up to the bat along with everyone else. Perhaps seeing my outlook on my own insurance can help shed some light to all. I have always looked at the preservation of my financial empire as my main concern. Through nothing other than good fortune, I bought a house at the right time. Before I knew it, the valued increased rather nicely. In the financial word, they call it equity. If I were to be sued, they call it assets. My earnings are nothing spectacular. When you take into account the 20 or 30 Saturdays I work each month, along with the three hundred evenings, and a half dozen Sundays, I earn the same wages any other person does. But, there's that equity in the house. I also own a business. I call it a glorified minimum wage job that requires anything but minimum time demands. On paper, I could look good. Home...business...a paid for vehicle or two..and a toy or two. To make sure no one can get it....I keep liability limits as high as I can get. If I were to have the worst accident possible and bowl over 10 or 15 members of my HOG group, my liability limits could handle the action. More importantly, I could keep the equity in the home. Á ÁBeing self employed is one of those nice, but sometimes not nice jobs. If I am not there, there is no one else to run the place for me. I do not have built in vacation time, or sick days, or free days, or disability. In other words, if I am not there, my pay check is not there either. My largest fear riding is being hit by someone who has little or no insurance. I have medical through Kaiser, so I can get fixed...no problem. If the person who hits me has a ton of insurance, GREAT!! He gets to pay for my loss of wages. But if the guy has no insurance...I am up the creek. So I have uninsured motorist with as high limits as I can purchase. That will allow me to turn to my own carrier to pay for my loss of wages. The idea of covering the bike (theft, fire, collision) becomes a secondary issue for me. My cycle is older, far from custom, and not the cream of the crop. My riding is never at wierd times or unusual areas. I joke with my wife that I let the kids get farther away from me that I let my bike. As Bill Cosby once said, "I can make new kids...look just like the old ones." How you approach your insurance has always been a point I have tried to relay to people. For those who view it as a necessary evil, fine. Get what you need to keep the law off your back. But for those who believe in what insurance is, analyze your approach. I take the biggest fear first and get it resolved. Then decide what other items or situation are fears and get them tackled. If you are not sure about what the different offer and how they can serve you...call your agent. Make him/her earn their keep. You paid money for your policy and that means somebody made a commission off you. Now make them earn it. Old line creeping up.....the smart shopper is the educated shopper!!

Information in this article is probably correct as of the date it was written. Please check with your insurance agent or call Mike at 800-729-2537 before you make any life changing decisions based on what you read here. Comments are always welcome.

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