Insurance question?

[Richard_D]

What coverage is recommended? I think I'll go with progressive unless anyone has a better company.

[Aluminum_Butt]

It's tough to answer that question, because it has everything to do with you personal financial position. Personally, I carry 250/500/100 - mostly for the 100K property damage. The other liability limits are a tougher call - a bad accident could have you (or your survivors) paying much more than 500K. I haven't done it but I'm really considering a $1MM umbrella policy.

 

One thing is for sure, the difference at Progressive for my policy between 100/300/50 and 250/500/100 was literally a few dollars a year - it was a no-brainer.

 

I've been happy with Progressive, but I haven't had to file a claim. When I was sourcing insurance, they were definitely the most competitive in terms of price.

[Richard_D]

what about uninsured motorist and medical payments?

[jrlunsford]

As a 42 year career agent in the insurance business I would reccommend Full coverage with a $250 ded. on your collision as well as your comprehensive coverage and as for as your liablity coverage I would go with at least 100/500/100 and I believe this would be ample coverage for most people but as it's been said it depends on your financial situation. Also, you might want to consider additional accessory coverage as most policies only comes with a $1,000 of coverage and a couple of helmets would take care of that not even counting autocom, radio, radar dector, jammer, corbine or whatever kind of seat you use and many other items. Just to give you something to think about. Progressive Ins. Co. is just as good if not better than most companies. I've personally totaled out 3 bikes and never had a problem with any claim and they're really fast on paying you off. My premiums did however go up considerably for about 3 years and now my 2000 1100RT is costing me $279 yearly and my K1200RS is costing me $389 yearly. For what it's worth I hope this has helped in some small way.

[Aluminum_Butt]

For me, carrying uninsured and UNDER-insured motorist is an absolute requirement. It will be for your bank, too, if the bike is financed. There are a lot of people out there with no insurance, and even more with minimal coverage. If they caused damage to you that exceeded their liability limit, they'd never be able to compensate you because they have little money.

 

Medical payments depends on your situation. If you already have health insurance, medical payments will probably do you little good except to cover some deductibles. I don't carry it.

 

I normally carry a $500 deductible for comp and collision on my cars. But with Progressive, the difference in a $250 and $500 deductible was very small, so I went with $250. I found that to be unusual - especially on a motorcycle prone to drops and other minor damage.

 

Someone pointed out the coverage for accessories, and that's a valid point. For me, the extra cost of that coverage didn't make sense relative to what I stand to lose.

 

Personally I didn't go with Progressive's towing package. I have AAA RV - the coverage is good, and I more than recover the membership cost through AAA discounts at hotels and other places.

[kudzu]

Different situations in other states maybe, but my experience has been that lenders require first-party physical damage coverage (comp/coll) but not underinsured or uninsured coverage.

 

It seems to me that if you carry liability coverage and physical damage coverage on your bike and have other health coverage, your only exposure is your physical damage deductible and, possibly, monetary damages for pain and suffering.

 

What am I overlooking?

[Aluminum_Butt]

I went back and reviewed my policy, and I'd say you are correct. I have always thought that damage to my vehicle not covered by the at-fault driver would be paid based on the property damage coverage of the un/underinsured part of the policy. But the comp/collision section makes no distinction as to who was at fault - they will repair the vehicle as long as I'm paying the premium. If the other guy is at fault, they'll obviously pursue him for compensation.

 

So, if collision coverage always applies regardless of fault, the bank would be satisfied with that. Hence, I stand corrected.

[Richard_D]

My bike does not have a loan but regardless, if I understand correctly, I believe your saying I don't need uninsured ? Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding. If you go to Progressive's website for a quote, uninsured and medical payments comes up with "none" listed unless you ask for it.

[Aluminum_Butt]

I just went back and re-read Kudzu's post. He does assert that un/under is not necessary at all (my response was geared to lender requirements). What he says is correct in terms of exposure - but I don't have the stomach for that risk, especially given that un/under is less than 10% of my premium.

 

So it's not REQUIRED. Only you can judge whether the cost outweighs the risk.

[kudzu]

Un/under (UM/UIM in SC) could be bery important. It would be important if you did not have other medical coverage or if you were looking to be compensated for "pain and suffering." If the at-fault party had no insurance, and likely no assets, or too little insurance, medical bills alone could wipe out most of us. That coverage would also compensate you for lost income which health insurance would not. I was not categorically recommending that anyone not buy un/under. Just wanted to be sure the point about lender's requirements wasn't confused and suggest different needs for different individuals.

 

In fact, I was probably too fixated on my own situation. I have health coverage and carry liability only (high limits)on my bikes. Being retired, temporarily, loss of income is not an issue and I don't think monetary damages would alleviate my "pain and suffering." At different times, past and future, my needs have or might be different.

 

When deciding what is right for you, you have to assess not only objective details such as your income, assets, policy coverages, limits, deductibles, etc., but subjective things like your tolerance for risk, how you feel about money spent on insurance, what else you could do with those dollars... And, after all that, it's still a roll of the dice!

[Richard_D]

The lost income coverage is something I didn't know. Thank you for the info. That is the deciding factor since I'm not retired.

[kudzu]

I do not know about Florida, but in many states there is first-party coverage that would compensate you for lost wages without regard to liability. You should probably look into that first, because you would be in just as much trouble if you lost wages as a result of an accident in which you were at fault as you would in an accident where an uninsured or underinsured driver was at fault. Just more food for thought.

 

Hopefully, whatever insurance you decide on, you won't need it!

[steve539]

As a Florida Consumer Lawyer and having represented way too many injured motorcyclist I recommend as much Uninsured/Underinsured (they are the same thing in Florida as all UM is treated as excess coverage) motorist insurance as you can afford. Why? 25 % (according to State statistics) of Florida drivers violate the law and carry no insurance. They make a payment, get their license and then never pay again. The State can't keep up with them. Next reason: in Florida bodily injury liability is not required on the caged monsters. The only thing required by law is PIP (covers them not the biker) and property damage of $10K (fix your bike while you lie broken to peices). Of those that carry bodily injury coverage the limits are usually low. Thus the answer is to carry as much UM as you can afford. To me the collision, comp. etc., while important, are secondary to UM. Buy the UM and see what else you can afford. As to the carrier I use State Farm. Regardless of the carrier get the high UM limits and pray you will never need them. I save $ with high deductables on Comprehensive and Collision. Although Florida law does not require any insurance on a Bike, it is a very very bad idea to go without good UM. Since you are up the street from me in Florida feel free to give me a call (321) 258-8448 if you want some more input.

[kudzu]

Can't the motorcyclisst buy PIP? Since PIP would pay him lost wages, and medical if necessary, regardless of liability, wouldn't that serve him better than UM which would not compensate him if he were at fault?

[Rob]

Since every state has differant laws, I'll add that most of us could use a good disability policy also. In Kansas, most insurance policies will only offer basic PIP coverage. That is not enough for most riders. Find an agent that understands your needs and visit with them.

 

If you want proper coverage do your homework and don't depend on an 800 number.

[ELP_JC]

UM can be considered 'duplicate' coverage in many cases, and that's why it's not mandatory. But it's absolutely essential if you carry passengers (in your car or bike) not related to you. If the other person doesn't have insurance (or too little), your liability DOES NOT cover passengers in your car, so the only way to cover all their medical expenses (and possible lawsuits from them as well) is with UM.

 

On the bike it helps with what was already said: pain and suffering, lost wages, medical bills (or deductibles), etc. PIP is a definite duplication if you already have health insurance. Plus its limits are very low anyway.

 

I always pay cash for everything I own, but on a fairly new (and expensive) bike, I still carry full coverage after 3 years. Might drop the collision/comprehensive after 4 years, but might not: a simple driveway drop would make me regret that (at $2K+). My yearly premium currently is $380 with everything (max liab, coll/comp w/$1K ded, U/UM, $3.5K equipment, $1.5K gear, $0 deductible roadside to nearest dealer, etc). If I drop coll/comp, premium would drop to $120 a year. I like that.

[kudzu]

I think what you meant is true, but what you said is confusing, at least to me. Let's see if I can further confuse the issue.

 

Your liability will compensate passengers in your car or on your bike if their injuries result from your negligence. It is from your negligence that a lawsuit would arise. If you are sued by a passenger, your liability coverage would pay to settle the matter or provide you a defense and, up to the policy limits, pay any award they obtained against you.

 

UM/UIM coverage would do the same thing for you and your passengers if the at-fault party was un/under insured. In one sense, you are buying liability coverage for the other party. Your carrier would handle the matter as if they insured the other party. They would settle with you or defend the suit you brought against the responsible party and, up to the UM/UIM limits of your policy, pay any award you obtained against the responsible party. After the dust settled, your carrier would then proceed against the at-fault party to recover their loss if that party had assets.

 

PIP, on the other hand, will compensate you and your passengers without regard to liability. Sometimes being able to pay your passenger's medical bills and lost wages will prevent their bringing a lawsuit.

 

All of this varies somewhat state-by-state but I think the above is generally accurate.

[EricJRW]

A bit off-topic, but I just changed my policy from Dairyland to Allstate and saved over $100 (for my '04 R1150RT). This was not the case last year, as Allstate would have been more. They recently reworked their program, and with home and auto combined policy discounts, it worked out pretty well.

 

Oh, I also dropped the PIP as I have other personal insurance (via work).

[Ken H.]

Oh, I also dropped the PIP as I have other personal insurance (via work).

Yeah, but as I mentioned, motorcyclist contemplating dropping PIP on their bike policy need to be real sure their other policy doesn't exclude recreational activities.

[Bob Palin]

Yeah, but as I mentioned, motorcyclist contemplating dropping PIP on their bike policy need to be real sure their other policy doesn't exclude recreational activities.

True, but anyone whose insurance doesn't cover recreational activities also needs to get a new insurance policy, don't let the b#$%^*s do that to you!

[EricJRW]

Thanks for that... I will double check...