Scooters, also known as mopeds, are becoming an increasing mode of transportation. They are economical for people living in densely populated communities, university and college students. In some parts of the world, like in Asian communities, scooters are used more than cars. Scooters consume little fuel, if any, take up literally very little space, and are inexpensive to insure. And insuring your scooter is what this article is about.
Scooters Are Motor Vehicles
Although scooters and mopeds are perhaps the smaller of the two wheeled vehicles, with the exception of the bicycle, they are still considered to be motor vehicles because they operate from some form of power train, be it gas or electric motors. Because they are powered by a motor many communities want them insured when they are traveling about on their public roads.
What Coverage Is Needed?
The most basic coverage, for any vehicle, is third party insurance. If your scooter hits someone and causes injury to that person your third party insurance will pay the medical bills for that person. If you run into something and damage it, your third party insurance will pay for the damage your scooter did.
Fully comprehensive insurance is another type of vehicle coverage. This coverage not only pays for everything that the third party insurance pays for damage done to you and/or your scooter. If you ride a scooter in a highly populated area it may be a good idea to have this type of coverage for your protection should another vehicle not see you and hit you. This coverage can also pay if your scooter is stolen, for example. Or if for some reason your scooter catches on fire the insurance company will pay for the damage done and, in some instances, pay for the purchase of another scooter.
In between these two levels of coverage is third party, fire and theft insurance. This is fairly self-explanatory in what it covers.
Third party,, third party, fire and theft and comprehensive coverage are basic and separate vehicle policies. Now let’s look at what you might need to purchase these policies.
Driving Record
South African law requires the operator of a scooter or moped to be licensed to operate it, and they have minimum age requirements. You need to be eighteen for a full driver’s license and seventeen to get a learners permit.
Mileage
The insurance company may need to know how much your scooter will be on the road. The way they get an idea of this is to ask you how much you plan on driving around on your scooter. The amount you tell them can affect how much you pay.
Security
If you are considering buying a comprehensive policy the insurance company will nearly insist that you purchase an approved locking device to keep your scooter secured whenever you are not riding it. The insurance company can actually make this request before insuring you if they want to. Their thinking is that if your scooter is appropriately secured there is less chance of it being stolen. If you scooter is stolen and was not properly secured you will have a very difficult time getting the insurance to pay for it.
Shopping For Scooter Insurance Coverage
There are many automobile and motorcycle insurance companies to choose from in South Africa today, but not all will insure scooters or mopeds. Honestly speaking, it is not very lucrative for them to do so. The money they make from such coverage is minimal at best. But there are some insurance companies out there that would like to provide insurance coverage for your scooter.
After finding a few insurance companies that do insure scooters and mopeds call each one and get a quote from them. You should find that coverage for a scooter is relatively inexpensive and affordable.
