If you own your motorcycle outright, you may make repairs on it yourself.
If you're handy with tools and know about motorcycle maintenance, body work and engine repair, it's likely you already performed minor repairs -- or even a full restoration -- on your motorcycle before it was damaged in an accident. When an insurance company provides coverage for repair work, it's certainly cheaper to do it yourself and pocket the claim check. Depending upon the ownership of the motorcycle, you may be allowed to perform the repair work yourself.
Motorcycles with Liens
If you're financing your motorcycle, the lender places a lien on your bike until you repay your loan. This lien primarily ensures that you don't sell the motorcycle without repaying the lender, but it also creates an obligation for insurance companies. Insurers must also guarantee to the lien holder that the motorcycle retains its value and receives proper repair work. Because of this, the insurance company may require you to have a garage or body shop perform the work to meet quality standards, and pay the garage directly to ensure this happens. However, you still have the legal right to choose the garage you wish to perform the work.
Paid Off Motorcycles
If you own your motorcycle outright, the insurance company's responsibility is only to see that you were made whole, minus your deductible, following the accident. Meaning, its financial responsibility is to ensure that your motorcycle returns to the same state it was before the accident. It becomes your responsibility to have that work performed. While many insurers frown on owners performing their own repairs, who performs the work doesn't matter -- whether it's you, a garage you chose or the insurer's recommended shop.
Advantages of Insurer-Recommended Repairs
Many insurance companies develop relationships with garages and body shops to perform work on motorcycles at a reduced rate in exchange for referrals. Because of this, you're likely to receive less than the full value to repair the motorcycle at another shop if you choose to do it yourself. Additionally, if the insurer-recommended shop doesn't perform the repair correctly, the insurer will stand behind the work and require it's fixed properly. You won't receive additional claims to fix a motorcycle you didn't correctly repair the first time.
Advantages of Self-Performed Repairs
In many cases, labor costs to repair a motorcycle may be as high as the price to replace its damaged parts, and you'll be able to pocket those additional costs for doing the work yourself. In addition, many policies dictate the type of parts that may be used in repair work when it's handled by a garage. If you perform the work yourself using a claims check to fund the repairs, you can choose the quality of parts you want placed back on the bike.
Tags: your motorcycle, perform work, repair work, insurance company, work yourself, Because this
