Insurance

This has probably been addressed on the site somewhere in the past, but if so I haven't found it.

What kind of insurance coverage do y'all prefer to carry? (Not what company is best; that discussion would become a mess in a hurry.)

I've been carrying the minimum required by law -- the lowest level of personal injury coverage, plus comprehensive. I'm considering a much better bike (V-Strom 1000) than I have now and am thinking about including collision coverage ... but that would quadruple what I'm paying ($400/year vs. $100/year).

Also, what about medical coverage?

All advice appreciated.

Squidward and I always carry full coverage and PIP (now), just like on our 4-wheeled vehicles

For me, depends on the value you place on your bike as to whether or not comp is needed. If you can afford to replace it, paying cash, why pay for comp? But no matter - I ALWAYS carry uninsured motorist coverage. You never know when someone with no insurance will run into you.

For my bike, I carry state minimums on liability and uninsured motorists.

I carry liability with high coverages (100K/300K/100K) on all my bikes. $198.00 a year for all 6.

I carry the whole works on my 05 ST1300.

The other 4 bikes have the minimum required.

When i bought a new 2005 sv650 i took out liability only, the bare minimum required by law. I knew i was taking a risk, it worked out for me, in 2 years of riding the bike didnt have a scratch on it.

I traded it in on a new 2007 Triumph Speed Triple, a much more pricey bike.

I have full coverage now, comp and collision with a low deductible, but i dont have uninsured motorists coverage, another risk i know,but its expensive enough already. After a couple of years of ownership i will drop this down to liability only.

It seems like as the value of a bike/car goes down, so should the insurance premiums, but of course it doesnt work that way.

Hood Ornament said:

$198.00 a year for all 6.

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For all 6???
What, do you own the company or something?

+1 Brotha! I was wondering about that myself.....I think he may have left a
"0" off or something.

I carry 100/300/200 on both my bikes and uninsured, $500 deduct and it runs me about $600/year. Mine is through ANPAC (American National Protection and Casualty) and the nice part is that the bikes are insured for a set $$$ amount. So, if the bike is stolen or totalled, I get what I have invested to replace it, including add-ons............not just blue book for the basic bike like most companies. Yeah, it costs a little more (about $40/year over Geico), but, the replacement cost coverage it worth it!

Plus, ANPAC gives very good discounts for a variety of things, i.e. good driving record, MSF training, safety courses, etc.

For me it has always been a "depends situation." The value of the bike is important, whether it is paid off or not factors into it, the cost of insuring the particular class of bike is also important. If a bike is paid off and and 2-3 years old I'll usually only carry liability. New bike, I usually get full coverage, my current ZX-14 has liability and theft only. I figure if I'm in an accident bad enough to total the bike I have more to worry about then money.

My bikes have always been recreational, so I view them as financial liabilities only in that sense.

nice ride, ac0001!!!! It was the insurance that kept me from getting a ZX14.
The first quote I got was over $2400/yr.......the lowest quote was $1850/yr.
I told them I didn't want a new bike...just insurance!

I haven't checked on the rates for the Bandit yet, I suspect they may be rather steep, as well. I'm still going to have one, even if I have to get just liability.

In the grand scheme of things bikes are cheap. I don't particularly see the value in spending the money to insure them other then liability. Insurance basically is a gamble. You're gambling that you will either have it stolen or crash it when you spend the money for full coverage insurance. I'm gambling on the opposite, that they won't get stolen, or I won't crash them. It's all about your comfort level.

I've got full coverage insurance on my truck because it's worth about $35K, so spending $1200 a year on insurance is a gamble I'm willing to take for the first couple years I own it, I'll probably drop it down to comprehensive after 3 years.

Full coverage insurance on my R1 which is worth about $10K is not worth the gamble of spending $1800 a year to insure.

On the Rebels we only had liability which ran us $76.00 a year for each one.

Jesse's new GS500F we also only have liability on and the price stayed at $76.00 a year.

Our bikes have been inexpensive, though. The Rebels were about 3K for a new one (and ours were a couple years old). The GS500F is worth about 5K so it's not really worth it to us to pay all the extra coverage.

i carry 100/300 with $1k deductible on collision. and uninsured and underinsured is the same. odds of you being hurt in a motorcycle accident are high and i want to be covered, if some idiot with no insurance tries to kill me , plus with so many saying they carrying minimums is another reason...

it is $660 a year through foremost (owned by farmers now).

Never mind, wrong thread....

78 GS1000 (suzuki)

Pay $32 a month - FULL COVERAGE . ( STATE FARM )

Comes out to - $384 a yr.

I have it on same pollicy as both of my other vehicles.







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Hood Ornament said:

I don't particularly see the value in spending the money to insure them other then liability. Insurance basically is a gamble. You're gambling that you will either have it stolen or crash it when you spend the money for full coverage insurance. I'm gambling on the opposite, that they won't get stolen, or I won't crash them. It's all about your comfort level.

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Insurance is'nt gambling. Insurance is Risk Management

Liability insurance is the law, but above and beyond that, without it, the owner assumes 100% of the risk.

Just like Life insurance, and AD&D. I max out on both.

If I go off to Motorrad heaven one day, its not the funeral expenses and what not that concern me and my family. Its my lost income for the next 30 years. Its my daughters loss of her father and the income that sustains her standard of living. Im not taking that risk, thus I have insurance.

On a bike... if I do something stupid, or just a plain ol accident happens and its my fault, I like the idea of an insurance company helping bear the burden of financial backing.

Liability bumped above the mandatory, uninsured and comprehensive in case they get stolen on all three bikes, they were all paid for in cash. That plus full coverage on my 4-runner runs me 130/month.

I've decided to get a dodge M37 after that trip to Arizona, I wonder what insurance will be like on that thing.

Really just depends on your usage. If you keep it garaged (locked) and only get out on the wknds that don't rain (rare) I would just carry liability unless your bike is extremely expensive. Tough to say being that everyone is different.

97Octane said:

Insurance is'nt gambling. Insurance is Risk Management

Liability insurance is the law, but above and beyond that, without it, the owner assumes 100% of the risk.

Just like Life insurance, and AD&D. I max out on both.

If I go off to Motorrad heaven one day, its not the funeral expenses and what not that concern me and my family. Its my lost income for the next 30 years. Its my daughters loss of her father and the income that sustains her standard of living. Im not taking that risk, thus I have insurance.

On a bike... if I do something stupid, or just a plain ol accident happens and its my fault, I like the idea of an insurance company helping bear the burden of financial backing.

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No, it's a gamble. The reason insurance companies are in business is to make money. The only way they can do this is to pay out less then they have come in. Granted, part of their earnings come from investing the premiums we pay but the significant amount is the difference between premiums and payouts. In other words, the chances are very high that they will not have to pay off, while you on the other hand are absolutely going to pay in.

I calculated how much I paid back when I bothered to carry full coverage on my bikes, and of course in all that time I never had a claim. Over a 5 year period for 5 bikes at full coverage, the money I spent would have bought me 2 brand new bikes. Now that's not even taking into account if I had invested that money and made a decent earning.

I pay less for a years coverage for 6 bikes, then a lot people pay for a month for one. So even if I had one stolen and totaled another one, I would have broken even. I like those odds.

I realize not everyones a gambler and the warm fuzzy feeling you get by being fully covered is worth something to many. Just not me. I'd rather invest the money and get a better return then give it to an insurance company and get nothing most likely.

Don't know what the point is bringing Life insurance and AD&D. Totally different subject. Just as Home owners insurance. Because of the value of a house, it only makes since to gambel, and of course if you're financing a house you HAVE to carry HO insurance anyway.

Hey, it's simple. It's called ROI.

I look at it as risk mitigation vs cost. So, I just bought another motorcycle from a member her. For 1 year, I am looking at $1200/yr for full coverage. Well, that is 1200/7000 or 17% annually.

Well, I have never downed a bike at speed.

I keep it parked in a garage.

I don't ride in the rain.

I would have $500 or $1000 for a deductible. So, add that and the percentage goes to 20%. Then factor in the replacement cost of the motorcycle, as it depreciates.

So, factor in this equation... I pay 132/yr for liability and uninsured motorist. I take the remaining 1068 and invest it. Even if I get zero return, after 3 years I am near break even, 4 years I am ahead.

Insurance.. a product you must pay for.
A product, that if you use it, they increase your payment.
If you don't use it, it is money down the drain.
If the amount is small enough, you are going to not make a claim anyway...

For me, 7000 vs 1200 annually... It's an easy decision. If something happens, my wife will not be happy, but oh well.

getsum said:

78 GS1000 (suzuki)

Pay $32 a month - FULL COVERAGE . ( STATE FARM )

Comes out to - $384 a yr.

I have it on same pollicy as both of my other vehicles.









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That may be a little high. I have state farm for my vehicles and they are high on motorcycles. I pay way less than 300 for full coverage on my 05 Wee Strom through progressive. They seems to be one of the cheaper ones.

The quotes I've gotten from my State Farm agent are outrageous -- about the same price for a month that I'm paying Progressive for a year's worth of the same coverage.

You'd think they'd make some allowances. I've been with State Farm on my car insurance since I got my driver's license in 1966. But no ...

when someone says they have full coverage unless they list their limits it is hard to say whether that is high or not. my uninsured and underinsured can sometimes be the most expensive part of a policy, if those are state minimums though it sounds a little high. i was amazed that identical coverage for my bike through farmers was almost 50% less through farmers then progressive, so now i have completely removed my vehicles from them. they kept jacking up my car and they wanted to much for the new bike so it was time for us to part ways...

Full Coverage. No medical, since I have good health insurance.

I've got the following:

Bodily Injury & Property Damage Liability - 100/300/50
Medical Payments - 1K
Comprehensive w/ $100 deductible

No Uninsured Motorist as it runs and additional $400 per year. I've got good enough health insurance & will use the $1K medical payments to cover my deductible.