Top 5 US States for Motorcycle Insurance (and some other stuff too)

September 01, 2017 8 min read

Top 5 US States for Motorcycle Insurance (and some other stuff too)

Top 5 US States for Motorcycle Insurance


We’re talking motorcycle insurance coverage. Not like motorcycle insurance like, our clothes, though we think those are good things too. A different type of insurance, the financial kind. Motorcycle gear like Tobacco jeans and riding shirts ensure that your leg skin won’t become one with the road, assure you after a crash that you’re not missing any key appendages. That’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking the financial motorcycle insurance that insure you for bodily harm, insure your motorcycle for repairs and all that cool stuff. You know where we going with it, we just wanted everyone else reading this to be on the same page.


Believe it or not, the United States are not so united when it comes to cost and coverage of their motorcycles. The national average cost of motorcycle insurance annually is $519, it ranges anywhere from $283 to $896! Which reminds me, I need to renew my motorcycle insurance.  So today we’ll count down the top five best states in this great nation of ours. Okay, obviously every state is the best state if you’re from there. And every state you ride in is the best state to be insured in, because you shouldn’t ride without insurance. But our top five best list is a list of the best states for motorcycle insurance rates based on price. So they’re only the best because they’re the cheapest.


First off, let’s just acknowledge that we are in no way the best motorcycle insurance comparison site. We just used some classic motorcycle insurance comparison techniques, like Google and sites that showed up on Google, to find motorcycle insurance rates and all that good stuff. Honestly, your best bet for finding motorcycle insurance quotes in Florida would be searching “Motorcycle insurance in Florida” into your favorite search tool. “Motorcycle insurance Michigan” would be good for Michigan, and so on. Maybe that’s self-explanatory, maybe you’re past the days of calling your parents for advice and are familiar with how search engines work. But you’re here, and that’s awesome, so we’ll try to help anyway.


Actually, real quick before I get into where you’re getting the best deals, let’s talk bad deals. That $896 is higher than my car insurance here in Los Angeles (I drive an old car, but still) so what state is taking their motorcycle community to the cleaners?

It’s Louisiana.

Louisiana motorcycle insurance is 73% over the national average. Can you believe that? And the next closest is Texas $749 (44% over the average). Louisiana riders, I’m sorry. You guys are getting fleeced out there. According to Google and the site it led me to (https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/16/50-states-ranked-for-highest-motorcycle-ownership.aspx), Louisiana has 67 people per bike and Texas has 58 people per bike so maybe the higher that ratio, the higher the price. Except Mississippi has an incredible 106 people per bike and it’s not in the top five most expensive, so what do I know? I don’t know why I even mentioned it. Also, not a lot of bikes in D.C. which, considering the rent prices out there you’d think they’d want to save money on gas and save time in traffic, but I digress.

So, Texas and Louisiana, convince more people to ride and maybe your insurance will go down. Or not, kind of a small sample size and not much I can do to get more conclusive.

So anyway, what say we stop dicking around and see which lucky bastards are getting a deal on their motorcycle insurance rates.


#5 - Wyoming ($354 annually)


CHiPs Officer Jon Baker himself -- well, the guy who played him -- was raised in Rawlins, Wyoming, so it stands to reason that the Equality State would respect motorcycles. Also called the Cowboy State, right? Sitting astride a bike just makes sense. With all the national parks (including the first one ever), national monuments (also including the first ever), high plains, mountains, and almost no people around. You have plenty to see and a big, expansive place to see it all without worrying about millions of people crowding your wheels. Why not hop on a bike and get going? You have the fifth highest motorcycle ownership in the country so it won’t be hard to find a friend with a bike, Yellowstone or Grand Teton on two wheels would be incredible. And with your motorcycle insurance costs being so low, you can afford some extra bison attack insurance as well. Actually, screw the bison and go to the Red Desert. That place would be rad on two wheels. Ugh, now I want to go.


#4 - New Hampshire ($352 annually)


Live free on a motorcycle or die. Man, that can come off pretty morbid. You may be the first presidential primary and first colony to declare independence from England, but you’re only fourth in cost effective motorcycle insurance. Still, $352 is way better than the average so a bike trip to Matt Pond PA concert or a granite quarry or a Matt Pond PA concert in a granite quarry is going to be far cheaper for you than it’d be for about 92% of the country. And you’re second in motorcycle ownership (one bike for every 17 people) so that’s a great amount of savings for a state full of riders. Now that I think about it, motorcycles makes sense. Pierce was the youngest president to take office. He was 48, in his prime years for riding, his motorcades should’ve been all motorcycles. First Lady Jane on the back, hair flowing in the wind. Regal. Presently though, I don’t know how well you can schlepp skis on a motorcycle, but you have cheap enough insurance to give it a shot. I’ll have to do some research on snow tires and chains for my favorite bikes next.


#3 - Oklahoma ($341 annually)


Oooooklahoma where the motorcycle riders barely pay anything for insurance! Well, that was a catastrophic failure of an attempt at revitalizing a classic tune to incorporate the topic at hand. I’m not sure why you get such a deal on your motorcycle insurance, I’m really not. You’re fairly close to the average in motorcycle ownership (17th), you’re average on state population (28th). You are slightly below average on motorcycle traffic fatalities, you’re not Vermont levels or anything, but maybe that’s it.

Whatever it is, your motorcycle insurance rates are low enough you would absolutely dominate another land rush in speed, versatility, gas prices, and vehicle insurance savings. Plus, you sooners are creative. You make your own lakes and you made up voicemail (which is great for those of us dealing with exes that like to drink heavily and never lock their phones). And you straight up invented the shopping cart, so I expect some sooner ingenuity could come up with a motorcycle-specific cart-like contraption to get all those groceries home and make motorcycles that much more enticing for potential riders. Wait, wait. The sidecar. Since Pretty Ricky doesn’t come to the store with me, produce can use his seat. Actually, since I’m on the subject of invention and Oklahoma, screw you guys for the parking meter by the way. Los Angeles co-oped that b.s. Hard and fast and they will not let it go. Most of the time people are parking too close to each other to slide my bike in between and cheat the system and that can ruin your day.


#2 - Iowa ($323 annually)


The Hawkeye State, the state that gives the nation scotcheroo (sincerely, from our hearts, thank you). Being third in the nation in motorcycle ownership paid off in full. Motorcycle insurance companies recognize that Buddy Holly’s death hit you you pretty hard out there, harder than most, so they give you a break on motorcycle insurance (while goldfinch insurance on the other hand, skyrocketed. Thanks, Rob Lowe). Maybe motorcycle insurers are just heavily invested in the other type of hogs and they’re thanking you all for making that pay off so well.

Seriously though, how fast do you ride your bike to and from the state fair? I’d get there pretty fast, but on the way back I’d have to put the cruise control on “just fast enough to not tip” so I could work through all that food. I want to make acrack aboutcornthat wouldamaize you, but I’m sure yourears have heard all the good ones. (I hate myself.)

You guys are third in the nation in motorcycle ownership, you have one bike eighteen people, so it’s good you get a break on moto insurance. And with that many riders around, we should all come together and remake American Gothic but with a motorcycle instead of a pitchfork. Anyway, ride on and ride fast, help all those wind turbines with a few extra gusts from your bike. And when the hell are you gonna get all that ethanol into a bike? Those hippies in the Pacific Northwest are one environmentally friendly motorcycle away from becoming motorheads. We could bring the green-powered bikes and they could bring a green dessert and we’d all have the best motorcycle rallies on the planet.


#1 - North Dakota ($283 annually)


North Dakotans, you can ride your enchanted highway with ease knowing you pay well below the national average. In our motorcycle insurance comparison, you come out on top by $50 to be the biggest savers. And you save on oil too, probably, being the second highest US producers. Second to Texas, who you beat handily at motorcycle insurance rates I might add.

$283 is far lower than our low-end estimates. Maybe Los Angeles has just skewed our perception of cost, but you can’t even get a gym membership of less than three bills out here. And who needs a gym when you can ride wherever you want and go for a jog or something? Plus, the vibrations from the bike are probably giving you a core workout or something.

You have about 21 people-per-bike out there, probably due to people wanting to get the most out of the long straight-a-ways and who can blame you? That sounds like a blast. Or maybe everyone’s in a hurry to get to Bowdon or Garrison for some festival or another. If it were me, I’d be going to see the triceratops skull in Dickinson because the reported weight of it is astronomical compared to my expectations so it’s become somewhat of an internet mystery at this point and I just have so many questions. Is it just a bone that’s super dense? Is it just that big? Is it heavy because it’s now fossilized? What is it? I have to know!

Right, the motorcycle insurance thing. Whatever the reason is for you guys to have cheap motorcycle insurance coverage, embrace it and open those throttles up because motorcycle insurance companies in North Dakota charge their riders a hell of a lot less than any other state.

So anyway, there you have it. The cheapest average motorcycle insurance cost. If you’re looking for that, move to North Dakota and save yourself some coin. If you’re tired of paying reasonable prices and want to splurge on something more expensive, move to Louisiana. Apparently there they charge an arm and a leg before you even fall off.



All the information I used was provided so generously by the internet. If you don’t see your state listed, pop over Value Penguinfor their full write-up on all the numbers. The Motley Fool has the list of states by motorcycle ownership, and Tobacco Motorwear has motorcycle insurance for your legs and torso. No motorcycle insurance policy is complete without some kickass gear to help limit those road rashes and bumps and bruises.


Gear you Need

California Riding Shirt 3.0 Moss
Shop Now
Ironsides Indigo - Armored Jeans
Shop Now
Women's Boondocks
Shop Now
Bandito Riding Shirt
Shop Now
Men's Boondocks Moto Overalls
Shop Now

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.