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Some insurance fun, I laughed...

2K views 35 replies 21 participants last post by  northernman 
#1 ·
I got bored and for giggles I went to progressive and found out how much it would cost me for insurance on a 2009 R1 (not really getting one).

21 year old male, MSF, endorsement, no violations, $500 deducts and everything else minimum required:


$11,591.00
Pay monthly: Downpayment of $1,931.85
11 payments of $996.20

Thats barely less than the MSRP of the bike itself, I guess they don't have much faith in me, they must assume the bike is going to be completely destroyed. This blows my mind :mrgreen: Perhaps it was when I put that it was going to be used to transport me to school daily that did me in.
 
#2 ·
hey, if it wasn't for you young guy's paying such high premiums us old farts would have to pay more. ;) & (insert sarcastic smilie)

have some more fun, ask them to recommend what type of machine would have resonable rates given your qualifications. that ought to be a hoot.
 
#4 ·
i dont understand some companies...i get great rates with state farm, which is why i went with them. i checked out the big three from TV (Geico, Esurance, and Progressive) and they were all between 1800-3000 a year. insane considering where i live, how old i am, and my driving record. even called my car insurance company (USAA) to see what they could do, and they go through progressive for bikes and it was the same quote i got online. went to a local agent and same thing...horrible rates.

good thing state farm goes by engine size and not that its a supersport. but jeez...im 29! you figure id get a little bit of a break as im not in the 18-25 bracket! LOL
 
#5 ·
i dont understand some companies...i get great rates with state farm, which is why i went with them. i checked out the big three from TV (Geico, Esurance, and Progressive) and they were all between 1800-3000 a year. insane considering where i live, how old i am, and my driving record. even called my car insurance company (USAA) to see what they could do, and they go through progressive for bikes and it was the same quote i got online. went to a local agent and same thing...horrible rates.

good thing state farm goes by engine size and not that its a supersport. but jeez...im 29! you figure id get a little bit of a break as im not in the 18-25 bracket! LOL
thats more than all my insurances put together!!!
 
#7 ·
If you think that's bad, don't try to buy health insurance when your 55 years old! Same sticker shock.

And, of course, that's how insurance works.
Wonder if the health insurance would be even higher if they discovered you're a 55 year old with a motorcycle :biggrin:
 
#10 ·
A buddy of mine has car insurance through Progressive, and he is unhappy. Seems they tie your premium to your credit rating, and when he and his wife purchased a bed on one of those "one year same as cash" deals Progressive jacked his rate about 50%.:mad:
 
#11 ·
i'm not suprised it was such a high quote for you to own an R1.

the premiums are linked to so many things though (or at least there are here):

age of rider
number years riding
age of bike
insurance bracket of bike (based on power and ease of which you'll lose control & crash ... coupled with the desireability of the bike for theives)
location of residence (inner city [Big city or small city?], suburb, rural.... and then relative crime/crash statistics for that area)
location of bike storage (parked on the street, on a driveway, in a garage etc.)
any additional security (locks/alarms/immobilisers)
fequency of use
estimated annual mileage

etc.etc.

I think it's good that the insurance is so high for a 21 year old on an '09 R1.
Severe lack of experience is probably the main reason, coupled with crash statistics etc.


Mind you, one insurer wanted £40,000 to insure me on my 2004 CBR600RR and i'm 25.
My current insurer put the RR and my Custom onto the same policy for £450 a year.
Half what i was paying for just the Custom the first year i had it.
 
#12 ·
A buddy of mine has car insurance through Progressive, and he is unhappy. Seems they tie your premium to your credit rating, and when he and his wife purchased a bed on one of those "one year same as cash" deals Progressive jacked his rate about 50%.:mad:
I'll have to keep an eye on that. Our bike insurance is thru progressive. We just purchased a new bed 1 year same as cash.

We have full coverage on the bikes, its 600 a year each, 1200 total.
 
#14 ·
A buddy of mine has car insurance through Progressive, and he is unhappy. Seems they tie your premium to your credit rating, and when he and his wife purchased a bed on one of those "one year same as cash" deals Progressive jacked his rate about 50%.:mad:
That's not just Progressive, all insurance rates are tied to Credit. Just another way for them to gouge you.:mrgreen:
 
#15 ·
A buddy of mine has car insurance through Progressive, and he is unhappy. Seems they tie your premium to your credit rating, and when he and his wife purchased a bed on one of those "one year same as cash" deals Progressive jacked his rate about 50%.:mad:
That's not just Progressive, all insurance rates are tied to Credit. Just another way for them to gouge you.:mrgreen:
Yep. Every insurer does that.

You could have a perfect driving record, but if your credit sucks, you aren't going to get the best rate.

I don't agree with it since it's essentially a "pay as you go" type service, meaning they can cancel your policy if you don't pay. It's not like cell phone service where they often give you free or discounted hardware up front, or, for that matter, a credit card, where you can potentially run up a bunch of charges, then default.
 
#16 ·
My wife works in insurance. It's amazing how many of the super-bikes are wrecked in the first year. The younger the rider, the earlier the crash.

I had her run prices for me once, just for fun. Most of the superbikes were scheduled so that your first year premium just rebought the bike.

Concerning credit rating: Statistically, the lower the credit rating, the more likely you'll have an accident. Credit rating can be viewed, to a point, as a measurement of lifestyle and that ties rather nicely to how likely you'll have an accident.

Insurance companies are full of statistics geeks.
 
#18 ·
Concerning credit rating: Statistically, the lower the credit rating, the more likely you'll have an accident. Credit rating can be viewed, to a point, as a measurement of lifestyle and that ties rather nicely to how likely you'll have an accident.
I don't buy that at all.

I know plenty of people with great credit that have terrible driving records and plenty that have poor credit ratings that have excellent records. The reason? Those people that have good credit often don't care about their vehicles as much. They buy something, then dump it 3 years later for something new. It's just transportation. Those with poor credit can't afford to buy new stuff often and depend on keeping their vehicle in good shape.

Now, I can understand using credit rating as a way of setting the initial rate when you first start a policy with an insurer, but once you've established a driving record with them, that should be the determination of your rate.

Just because someone has a run of bad financial luck for a while, doesn't mean their driving is going to suddenly go to crap.
 
#20 ·
By the way, it should be pointed out that you shouldn't make inquiries too often when you aren't actually genuinely shopping around.

The reason is, inquiries show up on your credit report. Too many can hurt your credit score. That's why you should always tell companies like Capital One that send those "pre-approved" card offers to stop doing it.

Of course, it seems like everything we do now days hurts your credit.

- It used to be that having large amounts of unused credit was a sign of trouble since you could really get yourself in deep with it. Now, that's a good thing, within reason, of course.

- It used to be that paying bank loans off was the best way to earn a high credit score. Now, it's mostly about consumer credit.

- It used to be that paying your entire balance off each month was a good thing. Now, if you don't don't carry a balance now and then, the credit card companies rate you lower since you don't make them any money in interest. Of course, if you carry a balance and make even one late payment, you're screwed for at least a year.

- It used to be that making one late payment on one card was only an issue for that card. Now, all the cards check up how you're doing with every other card and adjust their rate higher if they see you were late with another one.
 
#21 ·
- It used to be that making one late payment on one card was only an issue for that card. Now, all the cards check up how you're doing with every other card and adjust their rate higher if they see you were late with another one.
Fortunately, that little bit of highway robbery is going away in February when the Credit CARD (Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure) Act goes into full effect. Per the bill:

"Universal default -- the practice of increasing card users' interest rates based on their payment records with unrelated accounts, such as utilities or other credit cards -- is banned for existing credit card balances."
 
#22 ·
Not as much (I used to work for a credit agency)... (though not directly in the credit side).

Applying for credit is a "hard hit" on your credit, the pre-approved cards are a "soft hit" and don't affect your rating. In general, though, you're right- applying for credit lowers your credit rating.
 
#24 ·
Not as much (I used to work for a credit agency)... (though not directly in the credit side).

Applying for credit is a "hard hit" on your credit, the pre-approved cards are a "soft hit" and don't affect your rating. In general, though, you're right- applying for credit lowers your credit rating.
I have crappy credit i was told because i do not use credit enough.
Paid of the mortgage early, carry no credit card or account overdrafts, and barely ever even use the mastecard i have.
Oneday I decided to check my credit score, it was low.
I asked my banker why oneday when in talking to her.
Said i have money in the bank, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cars, bikes, homes all paid off, and she told me that was why my credit sucks.

I need to borrow more money to get a better credit rating.....seems screwed up to me.
But hey not much in that industry makes sense.
 
#26 ·
I need to borrow more money to get a better credit rating.....seems screwed up to me.
But hey not much in that industry makes sense.
No, you need to buy the bike with your credit card, then pay it off over the course of 3 or 4 months, making your payments on time each month. You'll eat some interest, but you'll see way more love than if you paid off a bank loan.

The only thing the bank loan will do for you is give you history with that bank for similar loans. Even then, they'll still look unfavorably at you for anything larger based on your score. So, even if they give you the loan, you'll pay a higher rate.
 
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