Named Operator policies - 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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MIKE FELDER'S INSURANCE COLUMN CITYBIKE "NAMED OPERATOR" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mike, While reading over my policy, I noticed it kept referring to a provision called "Named Operator." What is a Named Operator Provision?" Insurance policies are basically contracts between two, or more, parties. In English, that means you and someone else, mainly the insurance company, have entered into an agreement that will provide you a service for a specified price, rate, fee, whatever. In that contract, several points can be "customized" to bring a rate to a certain point. One such point can be a "Named Operator Provision". A Named Operator policy provides coverage under the policy for the person, or persons, listed on the policy. The policy is the same as any other policy except for one VERY MAJOR POINT! It only provides coverage for the vehicle while being operated by the person, or persons, named on the policy. In other words, if you have a habit of loaning your cycle to others, you do not have coverage while the cycle is in the hands of anyone not listed (or named) on the policy. Named Operator policies came into being as a safe guard for the insurance company. The most radical examples being the difference on rates for sport cycles. While a more mature, licensed, experienced rider may have a premium of only $400 a year, his young son may be upwards of $2000 a year on the same cycle. At one time, it was amazing how many grandmothers were insuring aggressive sport machines but seem to always be loaning them to their grandchildren. The insurance companies quickly learned the premium being charged was for people who were not actually the primary user of the vehicle. In order to prevent this, some companies came up with the Named Operator Provision. If grandma is in fact the only one riding the ZX, fine, the rate will reflect that. But if she loans it to little Johnny and he gets into an accident, the cycle will not be repaired under the policy. I personally do not think there is anything wrong with a Named Operator Provision. If you are buying insurance for yourself, the policy should be rated for you. If having the Named Operator Provision saves you a few bucks, great! However, if you are trying to put a policy in your name when in fact there is someone else riding the cycle but can't obtain reasonable insurance for himself for whatever reason, this type of policy will "sniff" that out and you may be without insurance in a claim situation. If there is a "significant other" in your life, or your spouse also rides, check with your agent about the cost, if any, to have them added to your policy. In many cases, the case will not change greatly if they are around the same age and experience. The only drastic changes come as the years between the parties widen and the experience widens. My wife would be added to a Named Operator policy for me at no cost. It may be the same for you. For years I have been warning about learning about your policies before a claim. I have known people who have found out about this clause after a an accident. It wasn't fun for anyone. You do not want to experience that firsthand. Remember....the smart buyer is the educated buyer!!

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.