Insurance On Motorcycles

[yesterdayze]

Okay, 2 part question. Probably useful for more people then just me and my 'friend'.

Question 1.

I have a 'friend' who wouldn't normally leave the insurance on their bike during the winter when they were not riding it. When they called this year to cancel everything like normal they were told that they may be required to keep the bike insured if it had plates whether or not it was inspected, registered and not being ridden. My 'friend' had never heard this and asked the insurance rep about it. They said some states but not all would suspend your license for not keeping all vehicle insured whether or not you drove them. Said 'friend' looked it up on the vt dmv site but the answer was indefinete and looked more like 'yeah, they keep track' but you won't have a problem unless you drive an uninsured vehicle or have no insurance of any form.

Anyone care to enlighten me on this so I can let my 'friend' know? Any of you officers out there run into this at all?


Question 2.

Who is cheapest for motorcycle insurance in everyone's experience? I have always had Geico and they have been great but looking around anyways for cost reasons. Perfectly clean driving record (no tickets, no accidents, no warnings, no defective), msf course and not a new rider.

Just curious on all this. Want to let my 'friend' know and thought all this mught be useful to others here.

[The Snowman]

I don't know about VT, but in MA, they won't cancel a bike's insurance until you turn in the plate and bring them a plate receipt.

It wasn't always this way. I have a couple of plates from bikes I've had in the early 90's.

As for insurance, the best advice is to shop around. There are several factors which can effect insurance cost and everyone is different.

[sully749]

They said some states but not all would suspend your license for not keeping all vehicle insured whether or not you drove them.

Don't know about VT, but when I lived in NY I inadvertantly let the insurance lapse on my bikes once (lost track of the deadline to re-up, it ended up only being not covered for two days or so) . . . nonetheless, the insurance company let the NY DMV know, and the NY DMV gave me the option of (1) having my license suspended for some length of time (I think 30 days) or (2) paying a fine, with no lapse to the license (around $350). Was pissed, but paid the fine (otherwise, I wouldn't have been even able to drive the truck which is under separate insurance and never lapsed).

Also, FYI, regarding coverages, if trackdays are an issue for you, definitely review the policy for your next go-round. Last week the NY Times ran an article about insurance companies tightening up their coverages and now some of them are excluding track days (whereas they used to be covered if they were untimed events/schools). The article was about cars, but I imagine it probably applies to bikes, too. So read the coverage carefully. I'll try to link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/au...%20days&st=cse

[Trouble]

Vermont doesn't seem to care if you turn in the plates or not. One of the last vehicles I sold I actually took the plates off and brought them to the DMV. I couldn't turn them in to the State Police because of "all the paperwork it would generate". I went through the effort of bringing them into the DMV in Burlington and all they did was throw them in a bin. That'll be the last time I ever do that.

As far as cancelling your insurance, my provider told me that our winter season was taken into account with their rates and that they didn't recommend it. I switched from Progressive to Farmers because of cheaper rates. I'm sure it would depend on a lot of individual factors.

[yesterdayze]

Excellent, thanks guys that is great information to start with. Thanks for the feedback. I will keep trying to get a solid answer on the plates (a fine would suck) and if I do I will put it up here just as FYI for anyone else that may care.

Yeah, it is interesting that you mention the winter rate thing because when I signed up with Geico I was told the same thing, nonetheless I just had to pay renewal and when I asked they acted oblivious of what I was talking about. Interesting.

[yesterdayze]

WOW..... Followup to the insurance price side...

I had insurance through Geico...when I bought it for my wife and myself it was supposedly 700ish for the year. 6 months later I got a renewal notice for the next 6 months?!?!?! They wanted another 550 after I removed comprehensive.

Yeah, not cool.

So I called progressive. For just me they wanted 248 a year. Better....

Called a local broker, he ran the rates and came back with a new policy...same coverage through Dairyland. 98 dollars a YEAR for me or 148 a YEAR for me and the wife!!!!

I know it varies for everyone but holy heart attack that was awesome...needless to say after I questioned and grilled several times I took the insurance.

Figured I would share in case any of you are looking. May help.

[Trouble]

Dairyland - that's who I use. Not Farmers. Whatever.

Yeah, I've heard they are the cheapest around, and I know some local riders that use them. I haven't talked to anyone who has made a claim. That'll be the real test.

[Doc]

Dairyland huh? What is your coverage and deductibles. Does the coverage compare to what you had with Geico?


I have NEVER turned in a plate on a bike and I have never had any problems.

(where is that wood to knock on)

[yesterdayze]

Dairyland huh? What is your coverage and deductibles. Does the coverage compare to what you had with Geico?

For coverage I went with Liability + Uninsured motorist only which is what I usually go with. Comprehensive adds a little bit, not a ton.

Coverage was the exact same. I don't have the stuff on me right now since it is at work and I just rolled out of bed, but it was one up from VT minimum requirements so I think it was 50/100/20 if I recall correctly.

No comp, so no deductible. Being as cheap as it is I may throw comp on there.

[TIMMYDUCK]

In Vermont you never need to turn in plates, you paid for them and you own them forever.( Why do you think you see so many hanging up in bars and garages everywhere)

As for insurance I just switched to Dairyland myself this year 342 per year full coverage on my Busa after 11 years with progressive.

[slammp]

Didn't bother to read everybody's reply but here's my experience. (applies to Mass only) You have to turn in your plate to the registry to prove your not riding illegally. They give you a receipt and you fax it to your insurance. I do this every year its not a big deal, and it only costs $20 for a new plate in the spring (I save way more than that on the insurance over the winter).

[yesterdayze]

In Vermont you never need to turn in plates, you paid for them and you own them forever.( Why do you think you see so many hanging up in bars and garages everywhere)

As for insurance I just switched to Dairyland myself this year 342 per year full coverage on my Busa after 11 years with progressive.

Yeah, that was kinda what I thought. I have plates that are from cars I bought as a teenager and never heard a thing about them.

That is pretty good, especially on a Busa. I was psyched to find out about them.

[MotoFreak]

Dairyland - that's who I use. Not Farmers. Whatever.

Yeah, I've heard they are the cheapest around, and I know some local riders that use them. I haven't talked to anyone who has made a claim. That'll be the real test.

Uncle Snake

In Vermont you never need to turn in plates, you paid for them and you own them forever.( Why do you think you see so many hanging up in bars and garages everywhere)

As for insurance I just switched to Dairyland myself this year 342 per year full coverage on my Busa after 11 years with progressive.

I use Progressive and every spring I pay my premium in fulll (900 for both bikes, though that will have gone up now )...and in the fall when I put em up, I call Progressive and take off Medical and Collison. That way if the house burns down or the bikes rea stolen, I get some $$$.

As for Dairyland, ya'll better talk to Snake about his experience with them. Great rates are awesome, till you have a booboo. I know DL jerked him around pretty good. Progressice has solid rates, and their Adjusters are very good. Thats first hand experience talking!

[markbvt]

I've got State Farm (all three bikes, plus my car, plus renter's insurance). Rates are excellent for sportbikes, apparently, because they charge by displacement, not by style of bike. Also, I've never had my rates increase due to speeding tickets -- apparently State Farm only increases rates due to claims. I enjoy a substantial discount for having a claim-free record -- the only accidents I've had were the other people's fault, and I've always gone directly to their insurance and not even gotten State Farm involved.

Back when I had a Jeep, I used to suspend the insurance for the winter. When I got my first bike, I asked State Farm about doing the same, but they said that motorcycle policies don't get suspended for the winter. I guess they already factor in that most bikes are only used six months out of the year (or less).

--mark

[catamount]

+1 on Dairyland. They are leaps and bounds less expensive for bikes than anyone else I've ever checked with.

Nationwide gets my other stuff.

[jcbell1007]

+1 on statefarm. They were more than a couple hundred dollars less than progressive, dairyland, and much cheaper than geico.

Plates in VT are funny. Technically, they are owned by the state and are issued to you. You are supposed to turn them back in to DMV whenever the Registration lapses. However, they don't have any way to enforce it if you don't. The only time that we take plates off a car is if the plates are not assigned to a vehicle, or if the person is criminally suspended, driving their own vehicle, and we arrest them. Even then, they don't get sent back to the state for at least 60 days. We have to hold onto them in case the person get's their license back and needs to use their car. It's the states way of trying to make it harder for suspended people to drive cars and hurt other people.

Most insurance company policy's are 12 mo. policy's. I wouldn't think they would give you a rebate if you cancelled collision and/or medical. that would cause them to part with money, which ins. company's don't like to do. I just keep mine on all year round and have never had issues.

[yesterdayze]

Excellent, thank you everyone for the feedback. I ended up doing some research etc and purchased a 12 month policy through dairyland, higher coverage then the geico one, for 127.48 TOTAL. Geico was less then thrilled when I called and canceled.

Good to know about the plates too. Thanks again!

[TIMMYDUCK]

Glad you were able to sort everything out.

[Slyder]

huh this is an old one, ah well. State farm, 07 gixxer 1000... $360 a year. I have the cage and renters insurance through them as well. So that helps.

Also, do NOT let your insurance coverage expire to save $. That gets you a ding on the record. Also, if you don't like the rate you get, keep shopping. $360 a year for full....sure the bike sits in the hanger right now, but I'm ok with that price and I'm not going to call state farm and cancel this or that or another piece to save $20. The most expensive parts of the policy are the ones that need to be active 24-7 / 365. the other addons don't cost much at all. If you need to pinch $2-5 bucks a month, you got problems

[jcbell1007]

Well, I might as well throw in because of my pending purchase.

State farm policy for the GSXR is $416 a year w/$500 deductables.

The 848, same policy, goes to $440 a year.