Recommend me some bike insurance

Admittedly I've got a bit of a Daffy Duck like short fuse at the moment but I'm more than a tad annoyed with my bike insurer.

Basically, we've got the Kawasaki insured at the same place we insure our cars (a large mutual insurer with the initials "S.F.") and the car side of it has been rather smooth. I also like the feature they call "withdrawn from use" which they offer both for bikes and cars - basically the vehicle stays registered, but you're not allowed to drive it. Saves a lot of hassle with the DMV here and if the vehicle gets stolen or the garage burns down, it's still insured. In other words, perfect for seasonal use vehicles like the 'vette and the Kawasaki.

Only that they've managed to mess up the whole process for the bike. First, they messed up the withdrawn from use part - I finally got the confirmation after some prodding two months after the bike was actually withdrawn from use. Then I didn't get the renewal paperwork in time and I complained about that. After I complained, the agent assured me that everything was in order and the bike is actually showing on my online account as insured. Only that I never received any renewal paperwork or new insurance cards. Yes, I should have stayed on top of this, my bad. So the bike is supposedly insured for road use again, only that I have absolutely no paperwork to prove it. And of course the web site allows me to request new insurance cards, but it doesn't appear that I can print temporary cards. That would be, like, too useful.

So, it's nice bike weather outside, I was looking forward to commute on the bike tomorrow (or even go for a ride with the wife today) and it turns out that, well, I can't, because I am not going to risk getting pulled over.

So, rant over.

Who would GRM recommend if I am looking for motorcycle insurance and I don't mind paying a few bucks extra in exchange for good customer and good claims service? USAA is out (I'm obviously not eligible and I don't think my wife was in the Air Force long enough) and Amica (Clark Howard's recommendation for good service) doesn't appear to insure motorcycles.

I asked around when I got my bike, and Progressive was the cheapest by a large factor. Maybe a third of the price that my vehicle and home insurer (defender against Mayhem) quoted me. I pay something like $75 annually for full coverage and roadside assistance for my '85 Nighthawk 650. They may be more expensive for newer bikes or something, but I have been very happy with them, and it is super easy to get an account set up and print some cards ASAP.

Actually Progressive seems to be about $200/year more expensive than the current insurer for similar coverage. I can get the state minimum for the $75 you mentioned above but in order to maintain the higher coverage (state minimum is piddly out here) on my Hagerty insurance for the classic bikes the insurance for the main bike has to have the same coverage.

I have a cheap old bike. I consider insurance to be somewhat of a necessary evil in order to keep riding and I am not terribly concerned about how much it will pay out or cover. I have no idea what you're insuring, so it's very possible that your needs and my needs are wildly different.

How much does it save you to do the "withdrawn from use" thing anyway? I'm with an insurer whose initials are SF as well and my bike insurance is so cheap that it's not worth the phone call and missing the few nice winter riding days to do that. Then again, maybe the riding season is shorter for you. Central Ohio has some winter days where it sneaks up above 40 or so and it's nice to ride.

I'm guesstimating that I'm probably saving about 1/3rd to half of my yearly insurance so that'll be somewhere between 150-250 a year. Depends a little on how long the winter is. I'm beginning to get the impression that the bike insurance for this bike (Kawasaki ZRX1200R) might be a little expensive... That said, we have good coverage and fairly high cost for the uninsured motorist cover. IIRC that's at least a third of our cost and there's no way I'm keeping either at the state minimum.

The trouble with winter riding here is that you might get a nice month, but it's still one nice (and possibly cold) month out of 4-5, depending on how bad the winter is. Last winter I could ride in January, this winter it was clear but bitingly cold. Like single digits bitingly cold, so not exactly motorcycling weather.

I've used Dairyland for my motorcycle insurance for years, they're very inexpensive.

Yeah, single digits temp is NOT fun to ride in. It's weird how fast the transition is; 25 degrees or so can be pretty comfy if you're geared up well, but 20 degrees feels like no matter how much you wear you're chilled and shivering when you hit your destination. My wife and I decided to be bad-ass a couple winters ago and ride to work every day it wasn't snowing. Well, we made it about a month and it hit 15 degrees and we caged it to work the rest of the winter. Damn that stuff sucks the "bad ass" out of you so fast.

Regarding insurance, that is indeed a good chunk of change. I don't have a bill in front of me but I don't think it costs me that much for the entire year, and I also have pretty good coverage. Must be the bike and/or area. Good luck in your hunt, but at least around here it seems like SF is the cheapest as long as you have a good record and multiple policies with them.

It might well have something to do with the bike, plus of course they ask for the miles you intend to do. I'm so far removed from the 2k average miles a year it't not funny. If I commute on the bike, it's about 1k/month just for commuting...

Compared to Flo, SF is approximately 200/year cheaper. Playing with their online quoting system suggests that the uninsured motorists coverage alone (admittedly at 100/300, but bike accidents can get expensive really quickly) is over a third of the premium. Oddly enough I'm not willing to drop that...

At the end of the day this is more about customer service than anything else. I'll have a word with the agent this morning - even though it's not really their fault I guess they get stuck with cleaning it up and try and make the customer happy.

Did I mention that after four days of gorgeous biking weather the weather is supposed to turn crappy tomorrow?

In reply to dculberson:

I usually draw the line at about 25F. The ZRX doesn't have a full fairing or heated grips, plus at those temperatures the chances of ice in the mountains are too high for my liking. Keep in mind that the pass I have to go over is a good 2000' higher than our house and it can get really cold really quick up there.

Are you in a large enough area to look for an alternative agent? Insurance agent's attitude and work ethic go a long way toward satisfaction. I've got access to ten "S.F."agents within 12 miles of me.

I don't know why Progressive is so expensive for you. I have FULL coverage on my Goldwing and Mrs Minis Majesty scooter. We carry far above the minimum and pay around $300 for both. In fact, the premium went up when I cancelled the other scooter we had on the policy, when we sold it. Go figure- it was cheaper to insure all three than just the two!

stuart in mn wrote: I've used Dairyland for my motorcycle insurance for years, they're very inexpensive.

+1

Appleseed wrote: Are you in a large enough area to look for an alternative agent? Insurance agent's attitude and work ethic go a long way toward satisfaction. I've got access to ten "S.F."agents within 12 miles of me.

There are a couple of agents around here. TBH I have absolutely no beef with the quality of service I get from the agency - their service has always been very good. The missing documents and insurance cards weren't their fault, but someone at the head office messed up despite the best efforts of the agent.

Either way I have a new temporary card, the new paperwork should be on the way soon and the weather is turning E36 M3ty again.

minimac wrote: I don't know why Progressive is so expensive for you. I have FULL coverage on my Goldwing and Mrs Minis Majesty scooter. We carry far above the minimum and pay around $300 for both. In fact, the premium went up when I cancelled the other scooter we had on the policy, when we sold it. Go figure- it was cheaper to insure all three than just the two!

I think it's partially the area and partially the fact that S.F. probably made an allowance for my UK driver history and Progressive probably didn't. I also have a car accident on my DMV record...

Usually insuring multiple bikes should bring down the rates but most normal insurers around here will not touch my classic bikes as they have "non-us vehicle" type branded titles.

I wonder if there is a way to contact "corporate?" Tell them that you like the agent, and how the company has treated you with automobiles, but having to jump through hoops and the long wait is making you consider going to another company (even if you really don't mean it.)

I use the lizard. $110/yr for liability on two Harleys, total. I had a claim with the LS400, first claim ever, I think, after a deer hit me. It went very smooth.

I am considering moving the bikes to Hagarty, though. I think I can save some money and pick up road side insurance. Dr.Linda's Harley is now 25 years old and qualifies for Hagarty. I'll see what quote they can give me when it is renewal time. I'm also a little peeved at the lizard for dropping the Esprit after taking my money for five or six years, which forced me to go to Hagarty. Hagarty wants my business.

Flo hits me up for $186/year full coverage for an 02 triumph daytona 955.

I went to GEICO after my regular insurance guy admitted that his company really wasn't competitive for motorcycle insurance. I've never had to file a claim, but I can't quibble. I pay the gecko a little over $100. per year.

Dr. Hess wrote: I use the lizard. $110/yr for liability on two Harleys, total. I had a claim with the LS400, first claim ever, I think, after a deer hit me. It went very smooth. I am considering moving the bikes to Hagarty, though. I think I can save some money and pick up road side insurance. Dr.Linda's Harley is now 25 years old and qualifies for Hagarty. I'll see what quote they can give me when it is renewal time. I'm also a little peeved at the lizard for dropping the Esprit after taking my money for five or six years, which forced me to go to Hagarty. Hagarty wants my business.

At least when I insured the bikes I brought in from the UK with Hagerty, they wanted to see that I had a "daily use" bike. But insuring the other bikes with them went really smoothly.

I had the previous bike with the lizard but moved everything to our current insurance for the discounts. Might be worth giving them a call come insurance renewal time.

Any decision yet Tim? I need to start insurance shopping this weekend.

So far it looks like I'm still best off with S.F. from a price perspective. Everybody else seems to be more expensive, probably due to the multi-policy discount we get with them.

Service wise, well, we'll see. If the paperwork gets fixed within a reasonable amount of time that's fine (I guess) otherwise I'll have to shop around again.