Insurance Costs In your Area.

Just curious what insurance costs are in your. I am in Saskatchewan Western Canada. We have state controlled insurance so you have to buy you plates and base insurance for the government. Package policies etc can be purchased elsewhere.
Here is an example of what we pay here. Our government is currently trying to raise the rates even further. We have no mandatory training for riders so a 17 year old can buy a 1200cc sport bike and kill himself on the first ride. To make things worse if the bike is in an accident even a minor one, the injury claim by the rider is calculated into the repair cost of the bike. So a guy dumps his new GSXR and takes out his knee, they will pay him out 50k for a knee injury and tack that to the repair cost of the bike .So you have a $70,000 claim on a $20,000 bike. So now the bike is totaled and you have a huge claim to payout. Stupid system, but that what is we have, and this is what we have to pay to ride:
Newer sport bikes $2800++++. per year
Newer touring bikes $2200.
Older touring/sport bikes $14-1800. per year.
Vintage bikes 30 years or older if driven under 5k miles per year are $120 per year.(best deal by far) If more than 5k miles per year they are around $1200 per year.
Just thought it would be fun to see what others pay to ride bikes around the world.

 

I'm in Ontario, Canada. And while it isn't a government issued insurance policy, it's even more "fair" because it's an open market thing. Which means they all get together and charge what they want...
I'm paying approx $600/yr for pl&pd, the bare minimum to get me legal.
Insurance is legalized extortion!! I cant help but think it would be better if the mob ran it....

 

My 03 VFR is registered in NY, has full coverage, $500 deductible Comp & Collision, $264.00/yr.

I Lived in Toronto for 12 years, but can't remember what insurance was then on my new 83 VF750F.

 

Just phoned the Insurance company the other day for my 84 VF500 and was told it would be $131.00 a year for $1,000,000 PL/PD with a $250 deductible on Fire/Theft in Alberta Canada with Unlimited mileage a year.

 

I live in Kelowna BC and we too have a provincial insurer called ICBC. My yearly cost on the bike is $880/year for $2M public liablity and property damage (the minimum insurance allowed here, I could get lower liability insurance at $500,000 but the cost difference is minimal at $800/year). If I add full collision ($300 Deductible) and Comprehensive insurance (with a $300 deductible) the rate goes to about $1900/year. For comparision sake, I have liability ($5 million as I use the car during the day frequently) and full comprehensive and collision ($300 deductible each) and my 2009 Mazda 5 costs $1114/year. My driving record is perfectly clean for 18 years with no accidents for 18 years and no speeding tickets in the last 8 years.

So why does a $4000 motorcycle that does maybe 5000 km's a year in the summer, cost more to insure than a $15,000 car that does maybe 20,000 km's a year and is used throughout the year including the winter months?? Who Knows??

 

Allstate I pay $264 a year, actually less because i cancel it 10/25 till prob 4/1. Ohio, if you don't have a loan you don't have to cover bike, I don't cover bike.

 

No insurance required in the State of Washington. Sometimes the brokers have influence on rates. I live in both Oregon and Washington and my broker is in Texas. Looks like each province has different insurance requirements and rates as does each (or most) states. Driving or riding record is a significant factor in rates. Get a DUI or a ticket for doing shit like texting at the ton and haul out the checkbook.

 

My wife's 07 WeeStrom is $800 and my 2010 vfr is $1300 for the year. We both have full coverage, she's got 3 performance awards and I got her by 1 with 4 in the 4 year period they look at. Together we're getting punished about $400.

 

99 VFR and 06 Suzuki GS500, $470 a year with full coverage on both (theft, vandalism, collision and comprehensive, $500 out of pocket deductible).

I'm glad we can still shop around for for auto insurance in the US. Bike/auto insurance is still reasonable here....for now.

 

Ohhh, this sounds like where I get to do my ramble...

A few things to note. I've been in the insurance business for over 25 years, and own my own shop. For clarification, I don't do anything with personal lines (no auto, home, health, life, etc.). I'm also not familiar with the laws and regulations in Canada, so can't comment specifically about that.

There are way too many variables to probably ever provide a fair comparison.
Full coverage vs. Liability only.
State required limits vs. Protecting you Ass coverage.
Driving record.
Age
State.
Zip code.
Experience.
The list goes on.

The thing that amazes me the most is the amount of people that go and purchase coverage on-line rather than using an Agent. Contrary to popular belief, rates are not "jacked up" when you go through an agent. To the contrary, an Agent can have access to multiple different companies, and rates can and will vary between these companies. Case in point: I was with Travelers (using an agent) for about 2 years. Paying about $400 annual. $500K limit. No comp or collision. Made a move to Progressive (using an Agent), got full coverage including the comp and collision, with a $100 deductible and pay $380 a year.

I know I've thrown this comparison out before, but I'll say it again (and this mostly applies to our litigious happy US of A): When you're sick, you go to a Dr. When you need electrical work on your house, you call an electrician. When you need plumbing, you call a plumber. (You get the idea). So when you need insurance, why don't people use an agent? Do they really think they know the best coverage? Do they really think they know the language of the policy and how it'll respond if your involved in an accident or when someone is suing you?

I guess if you're just buying insurance to be legal, then it doesn't matter. But for those of you that might have something (i.e. assets) to protect - a home, a wife, a family - do yourself a favor. Go and get an agent. Now if the unfortunate situation arises, at least you have somebody on your side. Someone to call. Someone to help and assist you. Someone to call the company on your behalf. Do people really think they stand a chance of battling an insurance company when there's an accident/loss to your property and its you versus the 800# gorilla? Yea, good luck with that.

In other words, get an agent.

 

Great advice Pliskin, my wife has been an Independent Agent for nearly 20 years, she has helped so many save big bucks and made sure they got best coverage for the $.

 

I always go in to the local Auto Plan Broker when I renew my car insurance. Right now I am using BCAA (a Canadian version of the AMA I would imagine) for the simple reason that I prefer to talk to an actual person when getting my car insurance renewed. Since we have a provincial insurer there really is not much advantage to this since it won't change the government set policy rates, but I just feel better because I got to talk to a person. The agent I deal with has offered to insure the comprehensive and collision portion of my auto policy (Liability and Property coverage must be purchased through our provincial insurer ICBC but we can choose privatized insurance for the balanc of the coverage) but after discussing the option, the AGENT mentioned that I should stick with the ICBC plan. Though she mentioned that I could likely save about $100 per year by changing my collision and comprehensive coverage to BCAA, she mentioned that in the event of a claim, it was easier to deal with just one insurance company, especially considering the cost difference. She also mentioned that since I had a hit and run claim registered against my vehicle two years ago when someone shmutzed it on the street in front of my house, I only had one forgivable claim left so the next one would increase my yearly rate above what ICBC would offer. With ICBC, hit and run, and comprehensive claims do not affect your rate cost (unless you suffer from a significant claims history). By using BCAA to renew the ICBC policy on both my vehicle and my wife's truck, we do however save a significant amount on our home and contents insurance.

Thus using an agent to do the work for you, can indeed save you money somewhere and offer assistance you might not have otherwise known about. Like Pliskin said, USE AN AGENT, they are there to help.

 

I recently went to BCAA for Home Owners Insurance and they were about the best I could find. Except, when I looked closer at my earthquake coverage, there is a $30K deductible. So that really means if your house is not destroyed, basically you are on your own. One hell of a lot of repairs can be done for $30K. Keep in mind, earthquake insurance normally would not cover the cost of the land because in all likelihood, it is still there. I will address that with the agent when it comes time for renewal in the fall. But will likely stay with them. I was getting increasingly pissed at Royal Bank Insurance whose rates were climbing exponentially over the past few years.

But back to the original post about bike insurance. I have ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia) our infamous Public Insurance outfit, But have private for collision, Fire Theft, Trailer and Gear. BCAA admitted to me they could not come close to the price I have with Beacon Underwriters.

Basic ICBC including license and plate fee and $200.K liability, complete with a 43% claim rated discount (-$690.) is $947.00 (Fooken ouch eh!)

Private Beacon including $6K declared value on bike, $1K for trailer, $2K for riding gear, and a $$1K deductible: $250.00

So total for the whole year, as I ride year round, $1197.00.

Just a foot note to Beacon Insurance. When I made a claim a couple years ago with them, I found the agent on the phone difficult to deal with when I was trying to save them and me money through acquisition of free parts and services mostly from people here on VFRW. I told her so and got so frustrated with her, I told her forget it. I would pay my deductible ($500. at that time) and take the bike into two different shops and get all new parts at retail price, and they could pay the rest. And that was what was done when I could have saved not only my deductible, but probably a couple hundred for them too. But I did go back to them through my agent again. Nice thing about them is that you declare the value of the bike. If you say it is worth $6K, even if it is clearly worth $2K, if it is damaged beyond repair, $6K is what you get for it less the deductible. You pay for that coverage. Careful here though. You have a beater worth $2K, you have a collision and think it should be written off because it will cost more than 2 grand to repair, the insurance company can say they will fix it if it can be made safe and road worthy for $6k or less instead of you getting paid out the $6K. Read your contract. They usually have that right.

Personally, I hate Insurance Companies. About as much as I hate our Judiciary here. They are all about making obscene amounts of money for their shareholders and really don't give a rats ass about their paying customers, like the Judiciary does very little to satisfy the public interest. Both are out of touch with reality.

Understand please I do not consider agents to be in this boat. They are just selling the shit that is being offered. And I agree, they seem to work harder for the person sitting across the desk than the Insurance Companies at the other end of the Internet.

In many instances, medical, home, auto, or what ever other type of insurance you can think of, if we can be really dedicated and reliant, self insurance is the cheapest way to go. If you had started back when you were say 20 years old, put away insurance fees you would normally pay every month or year in a secure account or fund, providing you did not suffer a catastrophic event, by time you were 65 years old, you would have one hell of a lot of money in the bank, and then for the remainder of your years, consider financing the Insurance Company's gold plated benifits. But we as a whole can't do that. So we pad the pockets of the Insurance Companies.

 

What about your rising water (Tsunami) coverage Randy?? If you get a quake big enough in Vancouver to cause you earthquake damage to your house, I think the ensuing wave coming from the Cascadia fault line off the coast of Washington and Vancouver will wash away all your troubles any whoo. You have watched the program on the Discovery Network haven't you??

Just Kidding............

 

Actually I sat with an Earthquake Preparedness group back before I retired. There are two faults of concern. There are two very distinct and different fault lines to consider. The Cascadia which runs on the west side of the Island and the Georgia Plate that runs down the centre of Georgia Straight. Both will have devastating consequences to south west BC but in different ways. If the Cascadia were to suffer the big one, yes, there will be a tidal wave. But that will have little effect on the LMD due to Vancouver Island breaking its force before it hits the mainland. I doubt that a big one hitting the Georgia Plate fault line will cause much of a tidal wave. But for me, where I live, on river silt, tidal waves are not the concern. Ground liquification and dike stability is. We have a big one, I thin my house is gone. I am below sea level at a high tide.

I am not aware that you can get flood insurance anywhere in Canada anyways. Water escape? Yes. Flood? No.

A few things I did learn that even if everyone followed the well known advice as far as preparedness goes, they are so far out of the field it is scary. To have 48 hours supply of water is simply a joke. You need to be able to care for yourself with what you have for at least 7 days even more. The most important thing to have on hand is "CASH". In an emergency such as an earthquake, you can buy what you need somewhere. But none of the usual means of paying for things will work. No power. SO you need cash on hand and a fair chunk of it.

The next most important thing is, you need to get yourself back to work. Sound strange? You bet. But if people don't get back to work, recovery will not happen. People will die. But they don't get deader in time. If you cannot improve the situation fast, more will die.

They have done lots to strengthen buildings and all, but we need more education from prominent and well educated people in the geosciences, to prepare ourselves for what will happen sometime.

Rant over.

 

The cheapest to get a plate on my 99 would be 850/ year I'm paying 1150 for mine 1 million liability and theft only no collision if I make a claim on collision it would make my rate go up 40% for 7 years cheaper to buy another bike in the long run its as much as my truck with full 2million liability and everything else how can that be rite trucks worth twice the bike book value and it'll definitely do more damage if it runs into something

 

I pay $320/year here in VA for full coverage with State Farm. $500 deductible.

 

progressive $169 a year just Liability, I think that's too much next time I try a agent too.

 

Holly Shit. You think that is too high? Eeeegad! I purchased mine November 19, 2013 for a year. This is "Basic Coverage with only $200,000 third party liability. Unless I run into a pedestrian, I don't think I am going to cause too much of an injury to the truck I smash my face into so $2M liability is a little high as far as I am concerned. Now, that is basic insurance with out Public Insuracne company here in BC.

My collision, fire and theft/vandalism is private insuracne throughtBeacon Insurance. That gives me $6000.00 declared value insurance on the bike. Write it off, I get $6k. $1000.00 coverage for a motorcycle trailer. Not sure if that means a trailer I am trailering the bike on, or a trailer I tow behind the bike. Doesn't matter cause I don't do either. Try not to anyways but one person I ride with likes to trailer the bikes to destinations then ride from there. The policy also gives me $2000.00 for gear including suits, gloves, boots and helmets. The policy came with $1000.00 for gear inclusive but that is no where near enough. Hell my helmet was $850.00 alone.

So, sonofwolf, I am afraid you won't get me to shed a tear for you on that one. But spill just a wee drop drop of fine single malt anywhere other than the tongue of a scotch snob, and I will bawl my eyes out.