Scooter Insurance: advice & insights requested

[Portland_Rider]

I thought to post this topic-up to get members experience and ideas about how to get and who to insure with, etc.

My thoughts with insurance is that it does not make sense to be "penny-wise and dollar-foolish" in going with a company that has lower rates if they end up being lousy at later supporting your potential claim and the coverage does not meet your needs.

My coverage plans are that I'm going with very high levels of coverage like $100K/$300K/$50K. While I doubt that a scooter can cause that amount of liability damage (unless a rider cuts off a Mercedes with five passengers and they lose control and go over a cliff), my concerns are with being hit by a car that is way under- or uninsured. A rider's medical bills and long-term disability expenses can potentially be very-high.

I've reviewed Consumer Reports and JD Powers sites for advice on Insurers. Thats helped somewhat. Unfortunately, it seems like most companies have mixed service, mostly on the down side.

Scooter coverage costs does seem to be increasing with the increasing numbers of new owners. Many insurance companies appear confused about scooters too. The Amica rep on the phone did not know what a scooter is and she reacted to my being a member of the Oregon Scooter Club as if I had said that I was a new member of Hell's Angels (which I'm not).

Personally, my driving record is perfect (no accidents or speeding tickets for 20+ years), Amica and Geico wanted $500-$600 yearly for good scooter coverage!

Thoughts or advice?

PR

[Jrman]

I just got full coverage with State Farm. I have been with them for 30 years and like you I am a safe driver with no tickets or wrecks for 20+ years.

I am paying about $575 for full coverage including uninsured motorist for my 2009 People 150. It is the uninsured motorist that really jacks up the price. If not for that I would be paying $220 per year.

I went with full coverage less the uninsured motorist for my 18 year old son and his 2008 Buddy 125. His is going to be $550 without it. With it.. OMG! $$$... I could not afford that.

Interesting side note.. State Farm offers "stackable" coverage. I have the $100K/$300K/$100K coverage but I also have 3 other cars insured through them and what happens if I need more then the $100K/$300K/$50K I can use any or all of the other cars coverage up to the total of all 4 vehicles. That is an added comfort in case anything happens to me which I am the main bread winner of the house.

[jmazza]

As with every insurance situation, there are a ridiculous number of factors involved in the cost... many of them which seem like pure voodoo.

In my area of South Florida, uninsured motorist is very high due to the number or uninsured motorists on the road.

I currently do not have UM on my scooter for that reason (I'm with Geico and it bumps a $133 dollar a year policy to about $600 as you said). I'm currently looking into AFLAC as a supplemental policy in case I end up in an accident and out of work and/or in the hospital. The accident policy I can get is about $15/month and would cover me in many more situations than simply a scooter wreck.

Do a search for "insurance" here, pop some popcorn and sit down for a long read. Tons of discussions on it in the past!!

[irishtim]

Contact your local shop/dealer, club, etc. ask for a name of a successful insurance agent who rides (even a Harley). This is huge and will get you the advice you need about cycle insurance and a REAL person to talk with.

[sunbunny]

I choose Progressive. I thought their cost was very reasonable. I have 250/500k under and non insured. No collision, but comprehensive. It runs $250 a year. My son is also covered as a driver.

I decided against medical pay and collision, but often wonder if I should have opted for that. Do you carry these?

It seems like AFLAC would be a good idea also...never thought of that.

[MarkTur]

I'm with State Farm. Geico was more than TWICE AS MUCH!

Secondly, I skipped the Uninsured because it only pays out a Max of $25k-50k based on the extent of your injuries...HOWEVER, if you have health insurance, that will cover the bills (minus any deductibles). So the UM can be used to supplement that...

But if you're paying $500-$700 per year for UM, you may not even use that much to replace your deductibles - so I don't think it's worth it, and I skipped it.

[naptime]

i have all my policies through state farm.

i have been with them for 10 years, and my parents even longer.

i get multi vehicle discounts, because i have all my cars with them. and i get multi line discounts because they also insure mine and my daughters violins, our pop up camper, and our home, as well as life insurance.


when i called to get the policy for the buddy, they duplicated what is on my other vehicles: 100/500/100 with a 100 deductable and uninsured motorist coverage.

not sure why its so much more in florida, unless its because of demographics... but i'm only paying 230 a year.


now, granted , my discounts on the scooter were like 5 bucks monthly for the multiline and 5 bucks for the multivehicle. so, while they were nice, and welcome, they certainly weren't massive.

but i'm paying half of what you in florida are, and thats for the same coverages including UM.


but, i believe alot has to do with location of the scooter.


for instance.. with my cars, when i was living in an APARTMENT 5 miles where i live now, my vehicle insurance on my nissan hardbody was 110 a month. when i moved to my house with garage, the same insurance on the same vehicle, dropped to 55

monthly i pay 55 for my cages, and 19 for the buddy

[Dooglas]

I have scooter insurance through State Farm with the same liability limits as my car. The cost is $137 per year. Quotes up around $500 are way out of bounds IMO, unless you have serious driving record problems (or are a teenage boy ).

You are right to be concerned about liability limits. My son was hit by someone else (car accident) who had low liability limits on their cage. Their max for medical coverage was $25k per person. His medical expenses were over $100K before you even got to lost wages and other issues. The only thing that saved him financially was the uninsured (underinsured) motorist coverage on his own policy.

[jmazza]

not sure why its so much more in florida, unless its because of demographics... but i'm only paying 230 a year.

Exactly. It's demographics along with a TON of other things. There's a very high number of uninsured motorists here (up to 30% by some estimates) as well as a lot of unlicensed/unregistered drivers, or drivers driving on suspended licenses. FL is the pits on just about ALL insurances (don't ask me what I pay for the decidedly unholy trinity of homeowners/flood/hurricane insurance. OK I'll tell you- close to $3k a year), partially because there is a large amount of insurance fraud in the state. Some auto insurers have a special "Florida department" and when you call their 800 number and tell them where you are, they'll transfer you over (GEICO does).

Like I said, these discussions come up here all the time and, with the exception of people of a very similar age and life situation who have very similar driving records and live in the same zip code (yes, you can move one zip code away and have a totally different rate), they are not usually super helpful.

There are a few insurance constants that can be useful to everyone on a board like this. But there's a reason why ten of us could go to Progressive.com and do their "get our rates and our competitors" thing and come up with 10 different rates, everyone with different companies being cheapest.

Going to your local MC/scooter club or shop for recommendations is a really great idea.

[ericalm]

Like I said, these discussions come up here all the time and, with the exception of people of a very similar age and life situation who have very similar driving records and live in the same zip code, they are not usually super helpful.

When I was initially looking for insurance, I got quotes that varied by hundreds of dollars for almost the exact same coverage. When I started shopping for my wife, who was demographically very similar to me (in age, experience, location, etc.) when I first started riding, quotes for her varied by as much as $600.

Really, what anyone else gets for a rate will have no bearing on what you may get. The only things I can recommend are to shop around—get a lot of quotes from both big and small insurers—and to get quotes by phone, not online. A real person service rep helped me get my premiums down to where I wanted them, which would not have happened shopping online.

[luckyleighton]

Just for the info, I use Nationwide for all my insurance. They did not give me a discount, even though I have three cars, a house and life insurance with them, but it was $250/yr for liability, uninsured motorists. I did not get comprehensive.

I am not sure what the coverage levels were, but they are the same as for my cars. He told me there was no discount because scooters/motorcycles don't mix with the other policies and is kept on its own.

[k1dude]

Shop around. Like you, I wanted 100/300/50.

Progressive wanted $700
AAA wanted $500
Geico wanted $125

I went with Geico. You can see the quotes vary wildly for the exact same insurance. And they can change from day to day. I'll bet I could call today for quotes and the numbers and players would be switched all around. Who knows why? But that's the way it is.

[jmazza]

Who knows why? But that's the way it is.

There has never been a more applicable use of WHY RED IS RED

[Portland_Rider]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I appreciate it.

It is interesting how the quotes range in price.

It appears that Amica and AAA Oregon use Progressive Insurance for their customers who want cycle coverage.

I'm probably going to go with Progressive as they're quoting me the best package (I just hope the follow-up service is as good if I ever need them!).

AAA, State Farm, Amica, and Allstate were higher fees for me with less coverage, sometimes with far lower amounts of coverage. While I do have good health insurance I seldom use it and prefer to keep my premiums low and deductibles high.

Progressive quoted me:
$250K/500/100 along with $500 deductible Comprehensive/Collision and what seems like really good roadside assistance. Total yearly cost: $288 year. To get medical coverage for a second person on my scooter jumped up the fee big time like $350 more for the low-maximum of $25K coverage. With a person's potential medical emergency bills going into 6-figure$, I won't be giving rides to friends. If I ever was to be at fault in an accident and my guest hurt badly, the lawsuit could easily wipe me out.

PR

[irishtim]

On Progressive: Be careful. Their policies only cover NAMED OPERATORS (No one else can ride or be passenger on your scoot).

Their "...compare our rates with rates of other companies..." thing is also misleading. They only use the base rates that insurance cos. offer. Progressive does not account for any discounts (e.g. safe-driver, accident-free, other policies in household, etc.) that their competitors offer.

[Nash50]

What is the advantage of getting a policy that covers the rider's medical expenses if the rider also has medical insurance?

[ericalm]

What is the advantage of getting a policy that covers the rider's medical expenses if the rider also has medical insurance?

You can actually double up on medical coverage if you're willing to pay for two sources of coverage. (Do some states require medical coverage for vehicle insurance?) Sometimes, it may not make that much of a difference in your premium and some policies are "packaged" deals that may have that coverage bundled in.

[Portland_Rider]

"What is the advantage of getting a policy that covers the rider's medical expenses if the rider also has medical insurance?"

I keep my monthly premiums very low since historically I seldom need to see a doctor therefore my deductible is high. While I get immediate medical coverage if in an accident, I can still be responsible for up 20% of the bills as I understand it. A person never fully knows how an insurer will respond with covering a claim until it happens.

I don't want to pay-out thousands of dollars of my own money to cover my medial needs because someone else was at fault and was under- or uninsured.

If my medical bills (based on the other person being at fault) are $250K, I could be held for $50K of that amount without the extra auto coverage here if they are not responsible.

Disability Insurance is separate from medical coverage. So if a rider gets disabled, without such coverage and cant work, it can wipe you out finnacially.

PR

[Nash50]

So it sounds like the answer is your standard medical insurance would pay your medical bills so long as you were still on the plan, but there is a danger that you'd become disabled and drop off of your medical plan at work and then be without coverage for future medical bills incurred as the result of the accident. Did I get that right?

[ScootLemont]

I have State Farm (along with the house & cars, etc)
I pay $180 down here in Lemont
$100 deduct on Comprehensive
$250 deduct on Collision
I am about 30 miles from chicago so that doubles my rates

These past posts might help as well

topic3850.html
topic3976.html
topic4105.html
topic5454.html

[ScooterDave]

State Farm has been good to me. I carry full comp & collision with replacement my bikes. I also carry a $1,000,000 umbrella.

They did not change my rates when I divorced last year and dropped my homeowners & 2 cars from them.

[Alix B]

I LOVE my insurance. Maybe its great because their FOCUS is motorcycle insurance
Call Fernet, unless you live in Massachusetts, Alaska, or Hawaii.

My full plan is $75. Of course, our quotes could be different,but thats a ballpark figure.

http://fernet.com/

[irishtim]

I LOVE my insurance. Maybe its great because their FOCUS is motorcycle insurance
Call Fernet, unless you live in Massachusetts, Alaska, or Hawaii.

My full plan is $75. Of course, our quotes could be different,but thats a ballpark figure.

http://fernet.com/

What limits of liability and deductibles did you choose? Did you get Uninsured Motorist coverage?

[Alix B]

I LOVE my insurance. Maybe its great because their FOCUS is motorcycle insurance
Call Fernet, unless you live in Massachusetts, Alaska, or Hawaii.

My full plan is $75. Of course, our quotes could be different,but thats a ballpark figure.

http://fernet.com/

What limits of liability and deductibles did you choose? Did you get Uninsured Motorist coverage?

Actually, I have full coverage. The deductible is $200 for theft. FULL COVERAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE.

[jmazza]

I LOVE my insurance. Maybe its great because their FOCUS is motorcycle insurance
Call Fernet, unless you live in Massachusetts, Alaska, or Hawaii.

My full plan is $75. Of course, our quotes could be different,but thats a ballpark figure.

http://fernet.com/

They want $630 for full coverage for me, and no it's not my driving record- that's perfect! Once again, it's Florida. I think GEICO was less if I were to add on UM and Collision.