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How much and what type of coverage should I be looking for. i have pretty high coverage on my auto's with progressive and when i asked for similar coverage for a SV650 I was quoted $1500 a year. That seems alfully high. Are there coverages i should make sure i have and some I can do away with like unisured motorist, etc. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

We need a sticky for insurance Q&A.

Depends on your bike, if its new, if its financed, if its worth anything to you, whether you have other medical insurance, and your rate will vary depending on your driving history, age, sex, and credit history.

CNF2002 wrote:We need a sticky for insurance Q&A.

Depends on your bike, if its new, if its financed, if its worth anything to you, whether you have other medical insurance, and your rate will vary depending on your driving history, age, sex, and credit history.

I am 45. male. No accidents/No tickets in 20 years. 2006 Suzuki SV650 or Yamaha FZ1. Good medical insurance. Great credit history. $4000 Financed.

I'll add my experience here. I purchased a new DL650 last year (very simliar motor to the SV). I also have auto insurance through Progressive. I currently pay approximatley $300 per year for MC insurance through Progressive. I'm relatively young (25) and have one moving violation within the last 18 months. That $300 per year gets me $500K CSL liability / uninsured motorist coverage and $100 / $1,000 comprehensive / collision deductibles. I live in Minnesota so that may factor in to things somewhat (inability to ride all year long).

I am 45. male. No accidents/No tickets in 20 years. 2006 Suzuki SV650 or Yamaha FZ1. Good medical insurance. Great credit history. $4000 Financed.

$1500 does seem high. Try some independent insurers that cater to motorcyclists...I got my best rate at one of those. The 'major' carriers were ridiculous.

Since you bought a new bike this might not be great advice, but personally I'd invest the bare minimums in property insurance and as much as you can comfortably afford in the personal injury insurance. If you wreck your bike you stand a much greater chance of being injured than if you were to wreck a car, therefore you want to afford the best medical care possible. I would also suggest a disability insurance policy since you're more likely to be disabled from an accident than killed (I don't have any statistics to back that up, but it makes sense to me).

All that said, I have the bare minimum insurance I can legally buy on my extremely cheap, used bike because I'm very broke. I pay about $270 a year through GEICO. I have no health insurance, no disability insurance, and no coverage over liability. So, if I had the money I'd take the advice above. Since I don't I don't. YMMV.

I don't know where you live, but up here, I believe that if you finance a bike, it has to be fully covered.

Even if I were to pay cash for a bike, I'd want full coverage. THe worst is when you need your insurance company to be there for you and they tell you that you're not covered for this/that and/or the other thing.

Found an interesting little article on insurance, thought I'd share...

Are you Insured?

You are probably familiar with Progressive Insurance, whose witty ads in the print media depict an executive in motorcycle boots with a motorcycle headlamp lighting his desk, daydreaming about his next ride. Through their ad campaign in the moto-mags and TV, and by sponsoring motorcycle museum events, Progressive has energetically sought after and captured the lion’s share of the motorcycle insurance market. If you are riding uninsured, you should know that motorcycle insurance is quite affordable, and is a good investment. Call around to several providers and get a quote. Make sure your wheels are insured when you ride.

Progressive recently funded two interesting surveys with the motorcyclist in mind. The first was a study of two million motorcycles that determined which bikes are most likely to be ripped off or crashed. Remember, if you choose a motorcycle that is more likely to be stolen or crashed, your rates will probably be higher.

Motorcycle Thefts

MOST LIKELY TO BE STOLEN

1. Suzuki GSX-R Series
2.Yamaha YZF Series
3. Honda CBR Series
4. Suzuki Hayabusha
5. Kawasaki Ninja Series

LEAST LIKELY TO BE STOLEN

1. Suzuki Savage
2. BMW R1200C
3. Honda Rebel Series
4. Honda Shadow Series
5. Yamaha V-Star

Motorcycle Crashes

MOST LIKELY TO BE CRASHED

1. Suzuki GSX-R Series
2. Kawasaki Ninja Series
3. Suzuki TLR
4. Yamaha YZF Series
5. Honda CBR Series

LEAST LIKELY TO BE CRASHED

1. Yamaha Virago Series
2. Honda Rebel series
3. Suzuki Savage
4. Harley-Davidson FXR
5. BMW R1200C