Anyone have a fair insurance company they can reccommend? My current insurer wont insure a MV, and others are giving me a high rate becasuse of a couple speeding tickets. I have 2 tickets in 11 years ( as far as the DMV keeps records ) unfortunately they are both with the last 3 years. If I cant get something fair Im just going to buy a R1 and get liability only instead of going through with the MV purchase. I just cant ride an MV without full coverage insurance, its too nice a bike.

-- Doug Chism (dougchism@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003

Answers

Try these guys they are pretty good!

http://www.motorcycleservices.com/home.asp

-- eric (ericpcollins@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003.

Did you try State Farm and Allstate? I've found those two to be rather competitive and responsive in the event of a claim.

I also believe insurance on an MV is cheaper than an R1 with both companies, since they base their quotes (or surcharges) on the number of models that were involved in accidents. Fortunately, there haven't been too many MV accidents.

And if any MV owners insured with State Farm noticed a slight rate increase shortly after 1/28/02, I'm really sorry. :)

-- Allan Gibbs (Phoenix, Arizona) (Agibbs996@aol.com), January 06, 2003.

State Farm would be the way to go, they actually base it off of CCs. But with your record it is hard to get on with them and they wont insure you without a car with them also. I am 27 and i pay only $31 a month full coverage. I cant complain. =) Good luck to you, hope we see you on a MV

-- Robbie (rpaggen@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003.

I will give allstate a call, they wern't on my list - thanks. Statefarm is one of the companies that wont insure a sportbike unless the driving record is spotless. This is a new approach to motorcycles and several others have given me the same answer. They wont cancel existing policies but they wont insure a new bike unless the record is clean. That motorcycle services wont insure MV's is what they told me.

-- Doug Chism (dougchism@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003.

They all have their ups and downs. I use State Farm, because they do indeed go by CC's which makes my $20k MV cost less to insure than my $10 R1. They don't count bikes in a multiple vehicle discount though. Bummer when I have a car and 2 bikes.

Allstate won't pay out if you crash. They'll screw you around as long as they can and then pay you less than you deserve. I've witnessed this multiple times. Allstate is to insurance what Citibank is to banking. ("Screwing customers is good for business")

I used to use progressive until they jacked up my rates. They seem to be a good company though.

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), January 06, 2003.

Umm, that's my "$10K" R1, not "$10". They're not that bad you know...

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), January 06, 2003.

That's it Allan...I want my $4.50 back. I know have to pay $209.50 every 6 months for full coverage instead of $205. Doug, I have State Farm and they signed me with a less than spotless record. I had 2 tickets in the past 3 years(although I believe only 1 of them was for speeding) and they signed me. I did however also sign my auto so that may have helped. You might try another State Farm agent and add your auto policy with them. I tried to go to Allstate but they said they would not sign a motorcycle policy for anyone who had received a ticket within the past 5 years plus they were about double what State Farm is anyway with a higher deductible. Needless to say, I am very happy with State Farm. Good luck and as someone else said, hope to see you on an MV soon.

-- Pete (pistonpete@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003.

Check out GMAC Insurance. My MV runs $377/year for full coverage including uninsured motorists. I have had 4 bikes insured with them and they seem very fair. I also had a claim and it was handled professionally. The link is www.gmacinsurance.com

Good luck

-- Scott Krane (a56healey@yahoo.com), January 06, 2003.

Don't even bother with Allstate. When I bought my MV (in April 2001), I insured it with them, since I had my cars and house with them. It started out at $350 a year full-coverage, but after the first year they wanted $1800 (keep in mind I live in Arkansas, am 31 years old, married, and have no accidents or tickets)!! My agent said that Allstate wanted to get out of the motorcycle insurance business, and the easiest way for them to do that was to price it so high, everybody would drop.

I now have State Farm and pay about $900 a year, which sucks, but at least I have insurance. Most places I called either didn't offer coverage in Arkansas, or wouldn't cover an MV (most didn't even know what it was).

I was talking about this to a group of guys I ride with this past weekend. I said that I think all insurance companies that offer motorcycle insurance should be required to cover any DOT legal motorcycle. As it is now, if State Farm goes up, I don't really have any alternatives.

-- Brad Cowell (bcowell@sbcglobal.net), January 07, 2003.

I have Allstate, pay $600/year full overage, in Michigan 45year old no ticket + my car and house with them, it look like insurance Co a good about BS... I was with progressive too, and jackup the rate with no reason. You never know what to expect from them. It sucks.

-- o (okthomas@tir.com), January 07, 2003.

Progressive Insurance.

-- Jeff (harley_killer@hotmail.com), January 13, 2003.

isnt it an R1 is wilder than an MV?

-- dza (dzaprojects@yahoo.co.uk), January 14, 2003.

I JUST switched to Farmers Insurance from Progressive. Progressive was able to keep a straight face and tell me that $3200/yr for full coverage on an MV was ok. This is my second MV, in-between I had an R1 (the WORST month of my life... damn that bike to hell...).

My R1 was $1200/yr full cov. from Farmers, but only had coverage for the 10 days that I owned it while switching... I now pay $24.88/mo for full coverage on my MV. Farmers is a great group - they won't normally write sport bikes, but I gave them my home insurance (they were MUCH cheaper than Progressive), my car insurance (THEY WERE 1/3 the cost on Auto) and some other little things I have insurance for (Life, Laptop) - so they wrote the MV for me...

Call them and let them quote everything for you - I have 2 current speeding tix and they didn't say a word...

J

-- Jeremy (jriga@mac.com), January 20, 2003.

I must say that progressive is a bad joke. I ride a big touring bike and have a perfect record, They were still upwards of 40% higher than who I am with now. And to top it off, when I called to cancel my policy they tried to hit me with a ten percent early termination fee. I was disgusted and will never recommend this to anyone. I work for a large, well respected motorcycle dealer in the midwest and believe me, I will do everything in my power to discourage our customers from using progressive. And I will try to convert those who still already have them to look elsewhere for a more respectable company. I am with Acuity now and so far so good! PROGRESSIVE = HIGH RATES! Do not patronize!

-- steve sutheimer (ssutheimer@wi.rr.com), March 18, 2003.

As a former Claims Adjuster for Farmers Insurance I can tell you that you would be best served to stay away from Farmers. They overload their adjusters to the point where they cannot complete all thier work in a 16 hour day. That is why they are being sued for overtime by every state in which they have adjusters (see Farmersovertime.com ). The morale there is so low the adjusters do not give a damn about the customers. Also, it is my experience Allstate will fight tooth and nail to not pay a claim. State Farm is a good company to be with. You might also try GEICO, AIG, and the company that best serves thier employees, (which will in turn best serve the customers, as a happy employe is a productive employe) USAA.

-- Lewis Friend (farmerssucks@yahoo.com), November 04, 2003.

I am building a case against Farmers, and I need former adjusters who can testify about the company's handling of uninsured motorist claims. John Shepards, Esq., Los Gatos, CA

-- (JohnShepardson@hotmail.com), April 15, 2004.

I am building a case against Farmers, and I need former adjusters who can testify about the company's handling of uninsured motorist claims. John Shepardson, Esq., Los Gatos, CA (408) 395-3701

-- (JohnShepardson@hotmail.com), April 15, 2004.

I have to agree with Lewis' post in Nov.. I am a former Farmers Claims Rep, and you may or may not get better rates, but I wouldn't let them insure my jock strap, let alone a car or house. The claims service is terrible. I was the only one handling a territory in Alabama that ranged from Jemison to the MS state line, up to Fayette, across to I-65 back down to Jemison.. Look at a map and tell me if I'm getting 10 claims a day in that area, and have to handle every car in person, would you be satisfied with your service if it took me a week to settle your claim, regardless if it is a scratch on a bumper or a total loss? My point, obviously, is even if you pay 50 cents a month for insurance, you'd better pray you don't have a claim (good luck), because you'll pull your hair out and call an attorney before you see the Rep. I work for Progressive now, and they aren't perfect.. BUT, if you have a loss, you'd better believe you'll be meeting your Rep within the first day or two. And, Progressive is insanely fair with estimating damage, giving benefit of the doubt on some ridiculous stuff. You definitely get what you pay for. Allstate is almost as bad as Farmers, in my experience with them. Their claims staff seems quite overworked as well. ** When you shop for insurance, ask a bunch of people about their claims experiences, not just the rates. Because, if rates are low, its due to 1 of two reasons. 1- They're a cheap ins co that will cut everything on an estimate to get by with as little as the law will allow (usually the smaller independent companies), or 2-They are desperate for customers, usually because of bad service, and are trying to rebuild a base of insureds. Also, keep an open mind about other people's claims experiences. One thing to remember is that the experience is a bad one by nature. Someone got hurt and/or their property was damaged. Ask if their SERVICE was good. In reality, were they put back in the position they were before the loss (financially or physically?)? Because thats all people are entitled too, nothing more, nothing less. It's the service that sets insurers apart. Good Luck.

-- Kevin Crosby (cheqsixx@yahoo.com), June 02, 2004.