Insurance

[Bucko]

I remember those 'good o'l' days in Ontario  .

In theory, here in the lower mainland of BC you can ride all year round.  In practice, you'd have to be a bit of a sadist to do so.  It's cold rain for about 8 months of the year and slightly warmer rain for 2 more months and if your lucky, it will be sunny, but not hot, from mid July to mid September.  I only insure my drifter for 3 months - I can't deal with riding in the rain at my age (although I do have a couple of other -lower insurance cost- bikes that are on the road for 6 months of the year so I can take advantage of Sunny days when they do come up).   Things would be different if I was retired, but for a working guy who tends to only get riding days in on the weekends, the Drifter is just too expensive to insure and have it sit on all the rainy days we get on the coast.

[49Reo]

Bottom line: Shop around, do your homework..don't take the rate the company gives you until your sure you can't do better. This all started for me when Dairyland, a company I'd been with more that 20 years, jacked my rate 400% even though I'd never had a claim....

Same thing happened to us with our home insurance; they doubled our rate, never had a claim with them or any other provider of home insurance. The agency where we bought our insurance said it was because the insurance provider wanted to "eliminate" the small farm policys and only insure the mega-farms which are basically corporate farms. And the little man takes another beating...

[CDNRatMan]

  In Ontario years ago you could get your coverage for 6 months, but it was at a dear cost, but they let you take it for a year and then have it sort of go on hold till the spring but you needed to take your bike off the road, then they changed it you needed to take the coverage for the full year no ifs ands or buts, and it can be dear......I just got mine for the year and it is $816, or $68.00 per month which is not bad really but I am only able to ride perhaps 7 months of the year so it becomes $116.57 per year. So perhaps time to shop around.

[Bucko]

Got my bill for the two bikes from Allstate, today. I have the ultimate policies on both rides, with vanishing deductible, and and towing, etc. All the toys....the price WENT DOWN from last year, and not just a little...a lot, almost $25. The total is now $185 to cover both the Drifter and the W....I don't understand what's going on, but I'm going to pay in cash, tomorrow...before they change their minds!

Full coverage for my Drifter, with the maximum available good driver discount  of 43% from British Columbia's famous government insurance scheme is $2600/ year.  Of course, I don't pay that as, first of all, I don't insure for a full year, and second of all, I, like many of my BC compatriots, buy the optional bits of the coverage from a non-government source at a significant discount.  But for comparative purposes, I'd still pay approximately $1600 for a full years coverage.  I think you have a slightly better deal.

[Troll]

Bottom line: Shop around, do your homework..don't take the rate the company gives you until your sure you can't do better. This all started for me when Dairyland, a company I'd been with more that 20 years, jacked my rate 400% even though I'd never had a claim....

[chief]

.....but will they sign ona new client who lives out of state...or should I say out of THE states....lol

Most insurance policies have territorial exclusions... meaning a policy purchased in one country is not valid in other countries. Make sure you check that out before you assume your Canadian policy is valid in the USA and vice versa.

Captive agents would have to push any policy to the local area agent, and your rates will be determined by your home of record, not where you buy the coverage. Not all companies can or want to write policies in every US state or Canadian province. There are regional companies and there are national companies. A good independent agent can handle all that for you. They are paid by the various companies on a commission basis, so it costs you no more to use an independent agent.

[CDNRatMan]

49, when I came back from overseas, I bought a truck in Windsor, had it insured there, but once they found out I was actually going to live in Northwestern ON they cancelled my policy because they said I lived too far away........

[49Reo]

.....but will they sign ona new client who lives out of state...or should I say out of THE states....lol

[gdrudd13]

I was surprised at how cheap it was for me when I got insurance. New Rider, full coverage, $3000 in accessories, and a $100 deductible was only $134 for the year. Plus really high injury coverage, although I can't remember the exact values. Oh yeah, and only 24 when I got it. Supposedly insurance goes down once you hit the age of 25, we'll see if that holds true for the motorcycle. I want to take an experienced rider course at some point which should make it even lower.

[Troll]

    I have my "paid in full" receipt. I asked the agent why it went down, and all she could tell me was that I qualify for every discount Allstate offers, so...maybe getting old isn't such a bad thing. I had her check, and, I have "0" dollar deductible, trip, helmet, clothing and towing insurance, uninsured/underinsured, guest passenger, med. pay, as well has the highest limits they offer for a motorcycle, ($300,000-500,000)and $2500 in accessory coverage.....Not complaining, in the least... When you shop, it never hurts to check EVERYBODY... I never even gave them a thought until I bought my first policy from them in 2010....now I have everything I own that is insured with them. The whole package turns out to be WAY cheaper than with ANYBODY else. $185 bucks and it's all done 'till net year!!!!

[chief]

Rates vary by locale... State, County etc. My wife and I worked in the commercial insurance business (me=Safety, her= Big Shot)... I offer a few pieces of advice for what they are worth.

1. ALWAYS buy your insurance through an INDEPENDENT AGENT!!   There are two kinds of agents in the world... Captives=work for one company, and Independent=works for you. Independents have multiple companies and will do your shopping for you.  We ALWAYS use independent agents.
I had Progressive at one point and decided to move, even if it cost me more money. We told our agent and he found a policy with better coverage, much cheaper. And, from a company I never would have thought to check.
2. Ensure you compare apples to apples. It does matter what the coverages are. We always bump up the deductible and the limits - it usually ends up costing the same as lower deductibles and limits. When you compare policies make sure your coverages are the same.
3. Ensure you understand about cash value, accessories coverage etc.

[Troll]

Yeah, the rates vary all over the map. Progressive wanted almost $400 for the Drifter, and 2 something for the W...I'm pretty happy with this. I know people who pay twice that much for basic liability and for only 6 months...

[Drifter1500]

My bill for Progressive Insurance for USSA members with all the good stuff you listed was $80.00 for the year.
This was on a 2000 Drifter, and included $5000.00 for aftermarket accessories.

[Troll]

Yeah, me too..."WOW" I won't believe it 'till I have a Paid in Full receipt in my hand...I thought last year's bill was good, at $218...maybe it pays to be old....naaaahhhhh!

[DC]

All I can say is WOW|

[Troll]

It was an email statement.  Yes it's for full everything, towing, helmet, clothing, trip interruption...

[49Reo]

I insured my trike for 5 months, bare bones policy, plate, and 2 million liability, was over $500.00. Plus my collision, vandalism, fire, theft, etc, through a company called "Beacon" Beacon is a private policy, in B.C. all road insurance, plate, registration fee, etc HAS to be a government policy. Beacon, for 12 months for both bikes, is about $800.00 or so. It covers the bikes for on the road, storage, etc. Joke up here is, B.C. stands for:
"Bring Cash!" lol I have a clean driving record, so get the cheapest rate, my truck (Toyota Tundra) is almost $2000.00/year. Need an extra job just to pay for insurance. Phooey. Thanks, Troll, you just ruined my day.....

[CDNRatMan]

you get mail on Sunday?

[greenbarn]

Is that for full coverage, collision etc?  sounds like a good deal!

[Troll]

It's Sunday...the're not open...yet

[CDNRatMan]

  I would have been down there before the dust settled........

[Troll]

 Got my bill for the two bikes from Allstate, today. I have the ultimate policies on both rides, with vanishing deductible, and and towing, etc. All the toys....the price WENT DOWN from last year, and not just a little...a lot, almost $25. The total is now $185 to cover both the Drifter and the W....I don't understand what's going on, but I'm going to pay in cash, tomorrow...before they change their minds!