"Insurance Fiasco"  or..

[pure_ego]

Hello gentle reader, I am venting, so read, ignore, comment or don't. whatever.

I went riding with some friends this weekend and we got to talking about insuring our bikes... 1 friend had just bought a new 2002 model and his insurance was quite a bit cheaper than mine... which confused me (no offense to the friend whom I know will read this at some point LOL ) I am 26, have a perfect driving record.. while he is 3 yrs older, and has several tickets. I'm married, he is single. mine should be close, if not cheaper than his one would think right? I'm paying $1300, and he is paying about $500 for full coverage on the hayabusa.

I asked where his insurance was and it was State Farm... although he did specify that he switched his vehicle insurance over to them also...

There thats the background.. now.. here is the conversation I had with the state farm rep I called today... not exact.. but you will get an idea of why I am pissed.

Hello?
I want to check some motorcycle insurance
ok, no problem, Name? age? driving record? SSN?.. and are you married?
EGO, 26, PERFECT, SSN, and Yes.
Does your wife ride this bike?
No, she isn't licensed for motorcycles...
She has to be included on your motorcycle policy.
Uhhhh.. she isn't licensed on a motorcycle, she can't legally ride it, why do I have to insure her?
It's state farm policy...
Well, ok.. that doesn't make sense, but whatever.
You said she has no motorcycle license?
Right, she's never had a motorcycle license..
We have to charge you high risk insurance then.
WHY?
Your wife could ride the bike and kill someone.
uhhhhh?

etc. etc. I asked to explain why, The gist of it was I had to pay full coverage on her riding the bike that she can't legally ride, but she's a high risk because she's not licensed to ride it so it costs more..

At this point I pretty much lost patience and assumed this agent just didn't know what was going on or something, so I ended the conversation and called a different state farm agent.... and the same freaking thing happened... but then I decided to atleast see what they quoted even if she was listed on it.... They said they wouldn't insure it without my auto's being listed on the same policy.. so I offered to insure one of my vans (we use to haul musical equipment occasionally) for liability only (in VA you MUST carry liability) she said she couldn't do that unless I put all my vehicles on the same policy.. and even then I would have to be approved by some bullshit state farm acceptance group or some such nonesense.

Obviously I ended that conversation also, and be damned if I didn't have about the same problem with another state farm agent. I've since given up on state farm and checking a few other places.. suggestions? I'm with progressive right now if it matters.

 

[hayabusa_z]

Wow... is that something new that they are doing? When I got my busa last year its was like vin, cc, and make/model.. We keep our family address the same to insure all our vehicales, mom, dad, and me.. they never asked if mom or dad(73) would be riding the bike. If you were in IL, I would set you up with my agent from state farm.

 

[mikeyusf]

no no no no no, you are doing it wrong. Dont deal with idiots over the phone. Find your local State Farm office and go in personally. State Farms offices are independantly run franchises, and these people will do ANYTHING to get your business. These idiots over the phone dont know 'ish


see your local rep

Mike

 

[jwcfbd]

That is ridicules. I have had State Farm for 16 years now and never really had any problems with them. I do know that you have to have a car insured with them before they'll touch a bike. As far as haveing to insure your wife that is just stupid but I did hear about a guy that had an old Vette. His son turned 16 and the Vette insurance went through the roof. He told them that the kid would NEVER drive it but they didn't care. He lives under the same roof there for he has to be covered on it. At that point he told them to cancel the policy.

Insurance is such a scam.

 

[200hp]

####. I am 30 married 3 cars and a busa. Full coverage on my busa and Tahoe. I pay $1100 a year for everything.

P.S. I have State Farm and love it.

Try Farmers, or Dairyland. They are also cheep for bikes

Matt

 

[STUNNAH]

Have you tried Geico...My partner on a zx12 said is policy went down to 300 a year...

 

[TNJ]

Pure ego
The guy your talking about is married and his wife has had insurance with state farm for several yrs. She doesn't have a motorcycle license and I'm not aware if anything was said about that anyway when he got his. I'll let ya know later.
I'll email ya his agents name if you want to talk with them.

 

[VBGOD]

####...

 

[Big Wall]

I went throught the same thing with local State Farm agents when I got my busa. I ended up going with Foremost. I didn't get all that great of a rate from them though. My wife had gotten a couple of traffic tickets in the preceding 3 years and most insurance companies wouldn't insure me because of that. My wife also doesn't have a motorcycle liscense, or even want to try riding a bike for that matter. I wonder what they will want to do to my rates when my son turns 16? INSURANCE COMPANIES SUCK!!!

 

[curtis T]

When I got my 2002 last year State Farm wanted $1100 full cover

, my second call to Acuity insurance $477 a year full cover.
Can't tell you why? but I can tell you I'll probly never call State Farm again!

 

[bacharles]

Well, I didn't do a whole lot of shopping around for insurance when I bought my Busa. I went with Progressive and I pay $1084/yr with a perfect driving record and single. The policy is set to be reduced by $400 dollars after the first year if no claims are made. Only 3 more months to go.

Also, did you guys know that some insurance companies won't insure you or give you a higher rate because of poor credit?

Yes, they do do this! I have a friend who tried to get renters insurance from State Farm and they declined him because of a poor credit history. They won't come right out and say it, but it's been known that people have made false claims to make money.

Well, if that don't beat all. In my opinion that is very discriminatory when you look at the statistics that shows that most claims are by people who are fairly wealthy. Trust me, I have done my research on this one. To receive my Masters degree in Marketing, I must do a lot of research like this because usually the profession is in consulting and Marketing Research.



Brian

 

[discreet007]

Well here is my .02. Don't move to Mass, you will get screwed. I pay $6000/ year insurance for full coverage for my Mustang GT 01', my wife's 96' Cabrio, 02' Busa. Reason being that we have a few tickets each. There is no competition in Mass. All insurance companys charge the same price, it is State mandated. It goes on a point system. When you move here you start at a "Step 15". It goes down 1 pt. for a year with no surchargable offenses and goes up 2 pt's for violations and 3-4 for accidents. A step 9 is as low as you can go and the insurance isn't that bad at that level. It would probably be more like $2500 a year for all the vehicles.

 

[Postal]

Ego: I live up here Northern VA (high insurance cost area), have been with State Farm for about 18 years, 43 years of age, no tickets, married, all my vehicles with SF, including the Busa, $480.00 a year full coverage for the Busa. Sorry!

 

[amsctalx]

Without going into how I know, the basis of the State Farm spousal policy (in Michigan) is customer fraud. State Farm (and a number of other companies) will not exclude spouses from motor vehicle policies, because they have data that shows that the spouse will operate the vehicle anyway.

It may seem to be "different because its a bike", but the company doesn't see it that way - and with good reason. How many bikes have been dropped (and claims filed) by spouses learning how to ride? Amongst my aquaintences I know of four in the last six years.

"Insurance companies suck"...well, so does fraud and stupidity. I occasionally attend isurance company disposal sales, and you wouldn't believe the number of sport bikes that appear to have gone down on, or at least been on, the track. Safety wire holes, scuffed plastic on both sides with perfect exhaust pipes and other visual clues are common on bikes at these sales.

Here is a good one: several years ago I watched someone "loop" a bike during a wheelie. He loaded the bike into a pickup truck, speed up to around ten mph and pushed the bike off the truck. He filed a claim with his insurance company on the basis the bike came out of the back of his truck while moving it.

Insurance companies are for-profit businesses that are closely regulated in most states. In Michigan, all companies must have rate schedules approved by the Insurance Bureau. They have to supply data to support any rate system and classification. Michigan allows companies to "target loss" - index high loss vehicles and drivers instead of spreading the loss against a broad demographic population. In other words, high-risk groups pay more than low risk.

The cost of bike body parts doesn't help, either. Especially stickers - why can't we get tank stickers for many bikes? Rates would be lower if insurance companies could bump and paint small dents in fuel tanks rather than relace the whole damn thing at $600.00...

This is why I pay cash for bikes, and only obtain liability insurance for them. With some careful shopping and some help from my friends, I can fix most low-sides for about $500 including painting. Theft is obviously an issue, but I think it works out in the end.

Mike

 

[cache]

I ended up going with Foremost.

same here... 2 speeding tickets on record, now have sr-22 (dont ask) and pay 1300/yr on da busa.... pay to play is what I say!

 

[pure_ego]

.. ok..  I'll just try and reply and comment to them as I think of them while typing.

The credit thing.. is no issue, I have excellent credit (700 beacon)..  The driving record is no issue.. I have a perfect record for 5+ years. ..  The fraud thing is possible I suppose.. but I still can't get anybody to explain why I'm paying as much for insurance as somebody on SR22... no offense Cache.. but I'm paying more than you and I don't have a speeding ticket,,, let alone the other stuff ya got.

As far as actually going to the agents office and checking...  I have better uses for my time than driving all over the county checking insurance... if they aren't smart enough to understand it over the phone, they don't need my business.

TNJ.. oops.. sorry didn't know that.. haha.  That really confuses me more though... cuz now the only difference is the tickets, and being 3 yrs younger.

The main thing here is I waited along time to buy a big street bike because I was being penalized for my age. ($5000 quotes when I was 20-21) .. Now age isn't a factor.. they just found something new to penalize me for.

urghh!

I've got calls into several places.. the first one called me back yesterday afternoon.. told me I didn't even want to hear the quote.. then qouted me higher for liability than I'm paying for full coverage.   It's a complete ripoff!

 

[bacharles]

The main thing here is I waited along time to buy a big street bike because I was being penalized for my age. ($5000 quotes when I was 20-21) .. Now age isn't a factor.. they just found something new to penalize me for.

Hey Ego-Maniac,


MAYBE YOU DID SOMETHING WRONG IN YOUR FORMER LIFE...




Brian

 

[Sliver]

Alot of you guys seem to be paying quite alot for insurance. I'm 22, and married and I only pay about 300 every six months for the busa. I've got state farm but I also have two other vehicles insured with them and homeowners insurance with them.

 

[mikeyusf]

the more I hear about this insurance bullshit, the more I want to self-insure. I think you only need about 50K in the bank here in florida to self insure, I'm going to look into that poop. I'll put them under my company name and self insure. I'll let everyone know how it works out

Mike

 

[havoc]

i have no complaints with State Farm, i pay 340 a yearr for the busa, when my bike fell over, all i was ask is where do you want to have it fix.