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Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 2:41 pm
by BigChickenStrips
i am 21 years old, i just started riding and bought a Ninja 250, i am insured with "full coverage" (500 deduct on comprehensive, 1000 on colission) i dont remember my other #'s. but i have a clean driving record. my parents (the company thinks i still live at home) have their cars insured, and home insurance. i also took the MSF. i pay about $740 a year. i think in six months i may lower my coverage a little.

being young and a guy hurts on insurance, no matter how good of a driver you are.

funy story- my g/f's little brother has so many tickets/wrecks on his record (he is 19) he got a quote on a 2005 civic SI, $600 a MONTH thats abotu $7000 a year to insure it... lol he could ride a busa' for that. lmfao...

Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 6:46 pm
by rugaluga
yeah I forgot I live in Los Angeles. You guys are right though I think I'm gonna get the most coverage for the first few years till I get the hang of it and then drop it down some.
Thanks for your reply.

Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 7:30 pm
by thebighop
Keep this in mind when buying bike insurance...
First, none of us ever think we'll need it, and we all hope that we don't ever need it...but.
If you ever do have an accident. Don't count on the other guy having any insurance. All too often, you'll get clobbered by some jerk with no coverage...so you want plenty of your own to pick up medical expenses.
It's the medical that will be used more than anything else. If you luck out and don't get hurt, any collision coverage will either repair or pay out the worth of your bike. But if you go with limited medical, and get hurt real bad...and I have seen real bad come out of what appeared to be a minor accident...you may get stuck for a bundle of money and even if you can sue the other driver, there's no guarantee you'll ever collect.
A simple visit to an emergency room will run in excess of 400 bucks in most areas, more if you're admited or treated.
Don't short change your self on insurance, and don't listen to these guys that tell you to go cheap or with PL&PD. What if your scoot gets ripped off? PL&PD doesn't cover that or collision repairs. How much are you paying for your bike and how much are you willing to lose in the event it's totaled out? Or you're totaled out? The money you spend on insurance is worth it, even if you never (hopefully) have to use it.
Look around in this forum and count all the posts about guys that have been ran off the road or hit and none of them were able to get a plate number. And look for the ones that lost control and left the road. They all needed insurance to make themselves and their bikes whole again.
And no, I am not an insurance angent...I'm just one of those that have been in an accident and got screwed by not having enough coverage.

Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 7:51 pm
by ofblong
but if you ahve health insurance already whats the point in medical coverage for a bike?

Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 2:34 am
by CNF2002
Usually medical insurance pays a percentage...on a 500K medical bill, the portion you actually end up paying could be pretty significant. That extra medical payment from the auto insurance can cover that.

Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 9:35 am
by ofblong
CNF2002 wrote:Usually medical insurance pays a percentage...on a 500K medical bill, the portion you actually end up paying could be pretty significant. That extra medical payment from the auto insurance can cover that.
hehe ok I have a max out of pocket of $1500 so I dont have to worry to much about it but I see your point.

Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 10:54 am
by flynrider
Most decent health insurance policies will limit the out of pocket costs on major medical. Mine is 80% until I'm $2000 out of pocket, then the rest is 100%.

You can choose to pay an extra premium each year to cover that cost IF the injury occurs on the motorcycle, or you can keep the money and take the risk that you won't have to spend $2,000 on a major medical event involving the motorcycle.

Since my $2,000 is at risk when I'm driving a motorcycle, a car or flying an airplane, I'd have to pay an extra premium on all of three of those policies to protect my out of pocket losses. In the long run, I'm better off just assuming I'll have to eat a maximum of $2,000 and use all of that saved insurance money to cover it.

Insurance has its place, but some kinds are more useful than others. Generally, I only insure against large losses. I don't see any point in paying an insurance company to assume risk on small stuff. Financially speaking, being overinsured can be just as bad as being underinsured.

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 7:34 pm
by rugaluga
So what insurance company do you guys use?

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 8:42 pm
by MrGompers
I use progressive for motorcycle insurance. I pay $175 year for full coverage on a 2005 honda shadow 600. I passed the MSF course which gives me a 10% discount on liability (about $7 a year so, not really a big savings there)

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 11:24 pm
by ofblong
rugaluga wrote:So what insurance company do you guys use?
My employer funded one.