Newbie Insurance Questions

Ocho

Ocho

Well-known member
Hey guys,

I'm looking to insure my new motorcycle and being the first time I insure a vehicle ever, I have some questions about what numbers I should look for.

Do I need more than 15,000/30,000 bodily injury? I'm thinking motorcycles don't do as much damage as a car in case of an accident. Should I look a little higher?

Property Damage: 5,000 seems low, but then again motorcycle != cars. Should I look for the maximum 100,000 just in case?

UM & Underinsured Motorist: Do I need more than 15,000/30,000 if my medical insurance has like a 3,000 out of pocket limit?

Should I get towing included insurance of look somewhere else just for that?

Thanks!
 
afm199

afm199

Well-known member
jorgemoya said:
Hey guys,

I'm looking to insure my new motorcycle and being the first time I insure a vehicle ever, I have some questions about what numbers I should look for.

Do I need more than 15,000/30,000 bodily injury? I'm thinking motorcycles don't do as much damage as a car in case of an accident. Should I look a little higher?

Property Damage: 5,000 seems low, but then again motorcycle != cars. Should I look for the maximum 100,000 just in case?

UM & Underinsured Motorist: Do I need more than 15,000/30,000 if my medical insurance has like a 3,000 out of pocket limit?

Should I get towing included insurance of look somewhere else just for that?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You can do $50k in damage in a minor incident today. Bodily injury? I think I carry $250k or whatever the max is.

In short insure for whatever you think you will get sued for. I carry very high limits.
 
O

ocoas

Well-known member
If you every get into an accident, high limits are your friend.
And don't think that a motorcycle can't do as much damage as a car.

As the old saying goes, tell me the kind of accident you will be involved in and I'll tell you how much insurance you need.
 
dravnx

dravnx

Well-known member
Carry the max insurance you can afford.
Carry the max UM/under insured motorist that your carrier will provide. The difference in price is usually pretty affordable.
If someone side swipes you and you loose a leg, $300,000 is nothing.
A few weeks in intensive care will wipe out $300,000.
You're on a motorcycle. Fender benders can be catastrophic life events.
 
U

UndercoverEwok

Member
Check out Progressive. They gave me the cheapest quote out of all the other insurance companies. Progressive quoted me at half the price of all the other ones. This is what I got:

Bodily injury and property damage: 100k/300k/50k

With new cars with more technology, I thought it would be better to have it set higher since everything cost more nowadays.

I did ask a lot of different agents if mine was too high or too low and they said that my coverage is set pretty high based on their experience. Most riders will get the minimum coverage, but I always like to pay a little extra for my peace of mind.
 
Marcoose

Marcoose

50-50
afm199 said:
You can do $50k in damage in a minor incident today. Bodily injury? I think I carry $250k or whatever the max is.

In short insure for whatever you think you will get sued for. I carry very high limits.
Click to expand...

All this. I max all limits.
 
J

Junkie

gone for now
dravnx said:
Carry the max insurance you can afford.
Carry the max UM/under insured motorist that your carrier will provide. The difference in price is usually pretty affordable.
If someone side swipes you and you loose a leg, $300,000 is nothing.
A few weeks in intensive care will wipe out $300,000.
You're on a motorcycle. Fender benders can be catastrophic life events.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't call un/underinsured "affordable".

It costs more than the rest of my insurance (liability/comp) does.
 
zixaq

zixaq

Well-known member
Next time you call for a quote (and do call, don't do the online ones), ask how much more the next step or two of coverage costs. You'll usually find that doubling or tripling your coverage only costs a small fraction of what you're already paying.

Liability, Uninsured Motorist and Comprehensive are generally pretty cheap for motos. Collision is stupidly expensive.
 
J

Junkie

gone for now
zixaq said:
Next time you call for a quote (and do call, don't do the online ones), ask how much more the next step or two of coverage costs. You'll usually find that doubling or tripling your coverage only costs a small fraction of what you're already paying.

Liability, Uninsured Motorist and Comprehensive are generally pretty cheap for motos. Collision is stupidly expensive.
Click to expand...
Again, I wouldn't call un/underinsured coverage for bikes "cheap". It costs more (for me) than liability and comprehensive together.
 
dravnx

dravnx

Well-known member
Junkie said:
I thought all levels of AMA included moto towing
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Ah, sh!t, I was thinking AAA. Never mind. I have both. AMA towing only covers the first 35 miles. I travel to too many out of the way places for it to have much of a benefit to me. That's why I have AAA premium.
 
Marcoose

Marcoose

50-50
Junkie said:
I wouldn't call un/underinsured "affordable".

It costs more than the rest of my insurance (liability/comp) does.
Click to expand...

It does on mine too, specifically, $122 for $500K/$1M of UIM, and $65 for $1M of liability. That's for 6 months, or $122/6 = $20/month for the maximum UIM offered by State Farm. Other people's financial struggles notwithstanding, $20/month is within the affordable category.

Motorcycling can be done economically. There are countless cheap motorbikes out there, both to buy and maintain. And tons of very good used gear, especially in the Bay Area. And places like the Moto Guild to keep maintenance costs down. If $20/month is too much for that extra peace of mind, then perhaps one ought to look for more affordable hobbies. IMHO, YMMV.
 
J

Junkie

gone for now
Marcoose said:
It does on mine too, specifically, $122 for $500K/$1M of UIM, and $65 for $1M of liability. That's for 6 months, or $122/6 = $20/month for the maximum UIM offered by State Farm. Other people's financial struggles notwithstanding, $20/month is within the affordable category.

Motorcycling can be done economically. There are countless cheap motorbikes out there, both to buy and maintain. And tons of very good used gear, especially in the Bay Area. And places like the Moto Guild to keep maintenance costs down. If $20/month is too much for that extra peace of mind, then perhaps one ought to look for more affordable hobbies. IMHO, YMMV.
Click to expand...
I wish my insurance was that cheap.

No tickets on my record, no at fault accidents, and I pay approximately $500/year for un/under at 100/300, vs $300ish for liability.
 
Marcoose

Marcoose

50-50
Junkie said:
I wish my insurance was that cheap.

No tickets on my record, no at fault accidents, and I pay approximately $500/year for un/under at 100/300, vs $300ish for liability.
Click to expand...

Hmm ... could it be our ages, and number, annual miles and age of our motorbikes? I only own one bike now, a '03 954, used only for weekend fun. And I'm now an AARP member! :laughing
 
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