Motorcycle insurance ,What to look for

afterburn 549 · 03-19-2015, 01:10 PM

I Have been riding all my life , never had to file a claim. I got hit once -other guys fault. (still hurt a lot )
Other then broken parts and bones all is ok as it can be.
Having had different policies from different companies through the years, I am not sure who or what is a real good company.
My nephew ran off the road a couple years ago, he was with Flow (progressive)
They did anti up, but not what i would say in the most timely admiral manner .
What, who do you guys use?
The season here is around the corner , and currently with Allstate.
Its time to think about it.
What to carry on the policy?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Do a search on advrider.com. I had Progressive, never had a claim, reportable accident or moving violation while with them. After eight yrs. they jacked my rates $200. One phone call to Geico and I got better coverage for $250 less than the new Progressive rate. Bye bye, Flo. Definitely need uninsured motorist coverage. It'd be hard for you to do $300k worth of property damage on a bike.

afterburn 549 · 03-19-2015, 02:55 PM

Q - It'd be hard for you to do $300k worth of property damage on a bike.
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Good to think about !

Jeff Higgins · 03-19-2015, 04:35 PM

Having just been in a pretty good wreck (when my wife and I got creamed on the old Road King almost two years ago), here is what I learned:

Medical coverage: Very, very expensive on a motorcycle policy. Many agents will try to sell you this, but if you have medical coverage through work or some other means, you may not need it. Just make sure that "other means" covers riding a motorcycle. And make sure you have enough; baseline on most policies ain't even close these days.

Liability: While the other guy was at fault, our medical bills really got me thinking this one over. You can certainly hurt someone else severely enough with your bike to max out most standard coverages. Additional coverage is cheap. Get lots...

Collision: Like cars, most companies will undervalue a motorcycle. This gets even worse with Harleys, which are a bit unique in that we hang so much extra stuff on them to "customize" them and make them "ours". This stuff can easily approach the value of the rest of the bike. Bike-specific, and more narrowly, Harley-specific coverage can get you sitting down with the agent to make a list of, and place a value on, these extras. I sent my two boys to the wrecking yard to strip the bike, since the insurance company refused to acknowledge the value of that stuff, or that it was even on the bike.

Your riding gear: I missed this one in our case, but fortunately, the other guy is responsible. We lost over $2,000 in riding gear in our wreck, between two Arai full faced helmets, Harley FXRG jackets, pants, boots, and gloves on both of us (this is not the fringed, flamed, skulled b.s. "riding gear" they sell so much of, this is serious, all-weather, armored touring gear - it literally saved our hides). My coverage, as I learned after the fact, only allowed $200 for riding gear - combined.

In essence, just think of everything that could be hurt on you, the bike, or someone else. Verify coverage on all of it - don't assume anything.

LakeCleElum · 03-19-2015, 05:05 PM

I have Progressive only because it's on the only MC Ins. my agent handles. Price is competitive, BUT:

1) On my friends claim, they did everything they could to "touch-up" instead of replace.
2) Wanted to use Salvage yard parts.
3) On my renewal, there was a note that that my payment would be lower if I had a better credit score.....My credit is perfect, Score is high, but not the highest because I've never had a car loan ever, only one credit card and no mortgage since 1977......That ticked me off for sure.

Evans, Marv · 03-19-2015, 06:49 PM

I have "Drive Insurance" (Progressive?) through Ameriprise. The bike isn't insured because it's decently old (2003). My liability and uninsured motorist coverage is: $250K/$500K/$100K. Medical is covered by our med insurance. Never made a claim & haven't heard anything about the customer service. I increased one step up to that level of coverage originally because it was required by the umbrella policy I had before I changed to my current insurer. I haven't shopped around, but I think $130/yr. is OK.