Insurance Insanity

[zammer]

I've been riding 8 years with a street triple R, and been insured by State Farm the whole time. Full insurance (collision/comp/ $500 deductibles, liability + uninsured ~100k) for around $400 a year.

Got an 1199s, shopped around, everyone was quoting me super high prices - like 2000-3000 a year. State Farm said no worries - $700 a year, same coverages.

Got a 2017 Ninja 1000 ABS recently for more sport touring - insanity. like $4k+ quotes from everyone under the sun. I got half a dozen quotes from all the big guys today - Nationwide, Geico, Allstate, Dairyland etc... State Farm said $750 a year, which I thought was ridiculously high - but apparently not.

I have a spotless record (never a single ticket), mid thirties. I heard if you stay at a company too long without switching you can get labeled somehow and then stuck with high rates. Anyone had a similar experience? I can't believe this is normal to be looking at 4k per year quotes.

Geico is frequently mentioned on here but I've never got a quote from them under $1500 for those type of coverages.... that's with two cars, rental, multiple motos too.

 

[JesasaurusRex]

If you have multiple quotes and they're comparable in coverage then it just is what it is. Reduce the coverage if you're willing to risk it, and get new quotes, or buy a different bike. Probably not the answer you wanted but it's the answer you needed

 

[novaks47]

I've got a Ninja 1000, and my initial insurance rates were insane as well. On the N1K forums, everyone seems to get reamed on this bike, no idea why. I've gotten quotes for litre super sports for less. I don't get it, as they're not terribly expensive new, and they don't hold value at all once used. Only reason I can think for the high rates on them, is low sales coupled with high crash rates for this particular model. Also, some theorize that since it carries the "Ninja" name, coupled with 1 litre, means their systems think it's a sport bike. Who knows.

If you can afford it, up the deductibles, if that works for you. Take a close look at the breakdowns, and see what the "big" one is. I've found that there's always some part of the coverage that makes up at least half the amount. With Geico, if you're using their website you have to really try many options/combos to see what effects what, it's not always logical. Also, try calling them, sometimes you can get better rates that way. I have everything under Geico, and the more vehicles the better as far as cost. Having only one motorcycle cost me more than two, believe it or not.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I heard if you stay at a company too long without switching you can get labeled somehow and then stuck with high rates. Anyone had a similar experience? I can't believe this is normal to be looking at 4k per year quotes.

I've been with Allstate for motorcycles for 23 years and I get reasonable rates. I even totalled a bike 17 years ago. No claims since then.

 

[scootergmc]

Did you check progressive? For me, they've been the cheapest pretty much by far. But then again, and unless the bike is unobtanium, I pretty much self insure with motos, so it's liability and uninsured for the most part.

 

[dittoalex]

Insurance costs have been increasing. I've been switching bikes more often that I'd prefer and the value per dollar feels like 30 to 60% worse than 8 years ago. Esurance.

 

[danate]

Did you try Farmers? They seem to always charge less the more bikes I add. Currently paying $1200 a year for five bikes with 300k coverage.

 

[zammer]

I've been with Allstate for motorcycles for 23 years and I get reasonable rates. I even totalled a bike 17 years ago. No claims since then.

Got an Allstate quote - was around $5k per year for those coverages

Did you check progressive? For me, they've been the cheapest pretty much by far. But then again, and unless the bike is unobtanium, I pretty much self insure with motos, so it's liability and uninsured for the most part.

Progressive was $4k annually

Did you try Farmers? They seem to always charge less the more bikes I add. Currently paying $1200 a year for five bikes with 300k coverage.

I'm calling Erich Stieglier today to get a quote and see if he'll get me something reasonable.

Maybe I just need to get married... my truck is under my girlfriend's policy and I pay $100/year for full coverage (and claimed 3 thefts on it already ) but for some reason Geico still gives me really high rates if I try to put the motos under her policy.

 

[danate]

Been with Erich for 7 years. He's awesome. Hopefully he'll get you a better rate.

 

[fufo47]

California insurance

insurance here is just ridiculous...

I moved from Texas 3 years ago and was able to keep my Texas insurance policies up until 2 months ago... sucks because now I'm in the same boat as you are and not sure there are many options... it's just a tough pill to swallow... although I wonder if those pay per mile insurance would cover motorcycles... at the end of the day you'll ride less than 5k miles on a year...

 

[vaara]

I recently went through the same thing. All of the usual suspects were in the same $3000/yr. range for 2 experienced riders on a V-Strom 650 and a CB1000R - except one (Allstate), which quoted $2000. Farmers was actually the most expensive of them all.

The fact that we’re married seemed to make no difference.

 

[fraz]

I've been riding 8 years with a street triple R, and been insured by State Farm the whole time. Full insurance (collision/comp/ $500 deductibles, liability + uninsured ~100k) for around $400 a year.

Got an 1199s, shopped around, everyone was quoting me super high prices - like 2000-3000 a year. State Farm said no worries - $700 a year, same coverages.

Got a 2017 Ninja 1000 ABS recently for more sport touring - insanity. like $4k+ quotes from everyone under the sun. I got half a dozen quotes from all the big guys today - Nationwide, Geico, Allstate, Dairyland etc... State Farm said $750 a year, which I thought was ridiculously high - but apparently not.

I have a spotless record (never a single ticket), mid thirties. I heard if you stay at a company too long without switching you can get labeled somehow and then stuck with high rates. Anyone had a similar experience? I can't believe this is normal to be looking at 4k per year quotes.

Geico is frequently mentioned on here but I've never got a quote from them under $1500 for those type of coverages.... that's with two cars, rental, multiple motos too.

What are your limits of liability? If you have a default 15/30/5 then it would be surprising. If you increase those like a lot of folks do in the bay, rates climb and multiply considerably.

 

[East Bay Mike]

Did you check progressive? For me, they've been the cheapest pretty much by far. But then again, and unless the bike is unobtanium, I pretty much self insure with motos, so it's liability and uninsured for the most part.

Same here. My insurance agent usually went to Progressive.

I was able to get to about $2500/year on a liter sport bike. A Tuono is around $750 a year. Yea, Tuono it is.

 

[scootergmc]

Progressive was $4k annually

Yikes. I wonder if your zip code has a high theft occurrence spiking the rates.

Are you financed? If not, do you have enough cash to self insure? We're only talking about a Ninja 1000. It's not like they hold their value.

 

[bpw]

I've been with Allstate for motorcycles for 23 years and I get reasonable rates. I even totalled a bike 17 years ago. No claims since then.

Similar for me with State Farm, I shop around every few years and never find anything much cheaper.

 

[Gary856]

Did you check progressive? For me, they've been the cheapest pretty much by far. But then again, and unless the bike is unobtanium, I pretty much self insure with motos, so it's liability and uninsured for the most part.

By "self insure" do you mean waiving comprehensive and collision, and pay insurance company for the liability portion? That's only "partial" self insure, right?

"Full" self insure requires depositing money with DMV to cover minimum liability; looks like it's $35,000 in California, and I think that's only minimum liability, not good for people with a lot of assets (like owning a home here). I'd assume the $35k deposit is per vehicle; it's a lot of money to be locked away and not affordable for most people.

 

[scootergmc]

By "self insure" do you mean waiving

By self insure I mean liability only (and whatever little doo dads you want added on-roadside assistance, etc.). The cost of crashing and theft is on you.

 

[bpw]

By self insure I mean liability only (and whatever little doo dads you want added on-roadside assistance, etc.). The cost of crashing and theft is on you.

Some companies let you get comprehensive without collision, often surprisingly cheap. I kinda like having insurance for things not my fault and I'll deal with any damage I create.

Nice having the theft coverage.

 

[Gary856]

By self insure I mean liability only (and whatever little doo dads you want added on-roadside assistance, etc.). The cost of crashing and theft is on you.

It's weird to call that self insure, since the comprehensive coverage (crashing/theft/fire) is optional, and only minimum liability is required by law. It's more clear to say "uncovered" on the optional comprehensive portion.

In my case with older bikes waiving the optional comprehensive coverage doesn't save much, so might as well have full coverage. It's the high liability (above the minimum requirement) that costs the most.

 

[dravnx]

The uninsure/underinsured motorist coverage is the killer.
I carry 100,000/300,000 and its over $400/year/bike. Geico won't sell me a higher policy otherwise I would bump it up.
300,000 is peanuts for a major injury accident.