Several personal and environmental factors determine motorcycle premiums. Do you have a motorcycle endorsement on your license? You’d be surprised by the number of people who don’t. Most states require motorcycle licenses for bikes 150cc or more. Check the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) website for a list of motorcycle training courses where you live (http://online2.msf-usa.org). Some courses are state sponsored while others are privately operated. Whether public or private, all instructors must be MSF certified. Successful completion of the course can result in an insurance discount.

You behavior on or off the bike can influence insurance rates. Moving violations such as speeding, even in your car, will hike rates. A DUI or felony conviction also will increase rates. Some municipalities offer a “traffic school” sponsored by local law enforcement that may improve your driving record. Your age also will be a factor for premiums.

The type of motorcycle you own will influence how much you’ll pay for insurance. In general, higher displacement engines (measured in cc) will cost the most to insure. High-performance motorcycles such as a 1000cc 100 hp bike will cost more than a 250 cc 30 hp motorcycle. Equipping your bike with a security system may reduce insurance costs. Storing your motorcycle in a locked garage also can decrease the premium amount.

Installing safety equipment such as modulating headlights, reflective tape, and high decibel horns may not directly impact your insurance rates, but it will improve your visibility to other drivers. Avoiding accidents, thus improving your driving record, will keep you on the road while minimizing insurance costs. And that means more money for gas!

Roadway Insurance would also like to announce that coming soon, April 15th, we should be able to write Maryland policies online without even speaking to an agent.

By law, MAIF is restricted to Maryland residents who have been refused coverage by two private insurers or had their current policy cancelled. One unique feature of MAIF is that policyholders who are accident-free for a period of three consecutive years are required to leave the system unless the policyholder attempts to obtain coverage from at least two private insurance carriers and is refused. Under these conditions, policyholders are permitted to re-apply to MAIF for coverage.

Maryland’s approach is somewhat different from that of most other states, which handle uninsurable motorists through the use of a designated pool of drivers who are then randomly assigned (at higher rates) to an insurance carrier doing business in that particular state. In this way, insurance companies in other states can still find themselves required to insure drivers they originally declined coverage for.

In general, MAIF is a self-financing entity which depends on its rate structure for revenue, much like any other insurance company. MAIF does possess the ability to cover any annual operating deficit through an assessment upon the policyholders of all other automobile insurance companies in Maryland, but this assessment has been used rarely and has never exceeded a sum of five dollars per policy assessed.

One significant difference between MAIF and ordinary auto insurance policies is that MAIF cannot be sold on an installment plan. Its policyholders must either pay in full upfront or else make use of a third-party policy premium finance company. More than 1500 private insurance agents are authorized to sell MAIF policies, making it widely available to all qualified Maryland residents no matter in what part of the state they reside.