Insurance aka Satan's O-ring

[Dima]

I received a letter from my credit union, that I have financed a bike through, and been told that I need to get insurance for my bike, or else 1100 will be added to my loan(for one year period, and another 1100 afterwards).
I've checked with progressive, and gieco, and turns out my monthly payment for insurance have to be not less than $400!

I pay 180 a month for a bike, had it for about 4 months, no accidents, no tickets, perfect auto/motorcycle driving records. The only thing is my age (i'm 20).

How did you guys get insurance?????? Are there any loop holes? I really don't want to sell my bike, because I just can't afford paying 600 bucks a month for a bike

[Loonette]

This is one of the harder knocks in life. It's just the way it is. I'm surprised that the bank didn't notify you of all this before they gave you the loan. It's a typical thing - they have to know that their investment is properly insured so that they don't take a big hit if the bike is ever totaled. Somehow you should have been aware of this before the dotted line was signed.

You'll just have to call around and see who has the best deal. Worse comes to worse, you might have to take a loss on the new bike, sell it, and buy a used bike that will be more easy on the insurance wallet. Good luck...

Cheers,
Loonette

[VermilionX]

what bike do you have?

anyway... the only loop hole i can think of is to change the registration so that it will belong to you and your parents. then insure the bike under your parents and just pay your parents the added premium.

im 25 when i bought my 1st bike so eventhough it sucks that im too old when i started... insurance wasn't that bad even w/ a RR literbike and i even had 1 ticket. i could have gotten it cheaper instead.

[M109R]

20 and $400 per month sounds about right.

The stealer I bought from has 18 and 20 yearolds with rich guilt ridden parents that pay about the same rate.

I would try looking at a cheaper bike that you only have to pay liability for until you get on a few more years.

You are classified as a major risk taker to the insurance company.

[icariz83]

The loophole I use is put insurance under my dad's name (who's 63) and I pay it. Saves a ton.

[JC Viper]

I've had progressive since I was 18. The yearly price that I started with was $1800 (Suzuki GZ250. Now that I'm 21 it dropped to $765 (with Vulcan 500) all full coverage.

This is considering the fact that I live in NYC the highest rates in the world and I did this under my own plan.

Things to consider:
Where you live (city rates are higher)
Do you have a place to store the bike (even a shed will drop the price)
Good credit
What kinda bike (any bike with a fairing will net you higher premiums, also those most stolen or most represented in accidents)
Most importantly, any bike on a loan is subject to higher premiums.

Going under your parents' plan is the best bet.

[GrandGT]

I gotta say I'm a little confused. I'm 19m and I'm only paying $115 on mine... and I live in Mass where we have a stupid no-fault system... and i forgot to have them take off the 10% MSF discount...

my bike aint that crummy...

[jonnythan]

I bought a used bike that isn't designed to go 200 mph.

My insurance premiums are $400 per year for full coverage.

[jmillheiser]

Katanas are high on insurace because they have a high accident rate and are expensive to fix. This is a standard problem with japanese sportbikes as many are owned by young, inexperienced riders.

[spinner]

I'm only 22 with two traffic violations from my cage, 1 was a speeding ticket. I'm paying $1850/yr through progressive. Not sure why being 2 yrs older makes so much of a difference when the primary discount happens when we're 25.

Edit: I have full coverage with $500 comp and $1000 coll deductibles. The breakdown on my fees says something like only $400/yr is due to my violation history