Classic bike insurance rant

[Penforhire]

Okay, so I finally got my 1973 BMW R75/5 restoration to the point where I want to ride around on public streets to adjust things and shake out the bugs.  So I call up my insurer for the FJR, Foremost through Farmers, for an insurance quote.  These guys gave me the best price insuring my FJR when I shopped around.

I tell them I plan on maybe 3K miles a year, pleasure use only, and I asked for an assigned value of $9K against comp & collision.  Hard to swallow but, even doing the wrenching myself, I have more than that in receipts!  I'm still using the FJR as my main ride so this also gets 2nd-bike discount.

Would you believe they want to charge me MORE for the R75 than for my FJR!  The reason?  "Classic" bike status.  Grrrr.  Should I be talking to Haggerty or ?  I may just suck it up and stick with them because the 2-bike rate is still lower than some of my FJR-only quotes.

If you want to see my epic fumble-fingered restoration struggle you can see it in blog form at http://penforhire.wordpress.com .  I expect write my last post in just a couple of weeks and then it'll stand as a testament to perseverance over skill for everyone else out there whose favorite tool is a hammer.

[Ant]

Do you guys have online insurance comparison websites like over here? They're usually very good for getting a broad idea of who is offering the cheapest quotes. Once I know who is the cheapest there then I start haggling and playing them off against one another. I got mine down to half the renewal fee last year  

Its always worth shopping around, if you don't find anything cheaper then yeah you'll just have to suck it up and pay the premium. But at least then you will know that you're getting the "best" deal even though it is highway robbery.

[jhawk]

Hagerty and other classic/collector vehicle insurance specialists insure on an agreed value or purchase price amount. Check with one of them before you "bite the bullet" with a regular insurance carrier.

[bikerider]

The other option is, if you are really only going to ride a small amount every year just put liability on it and take your chances.

I pay $27 a year on my 72 H2 and $31 for my GS1000s Wes Cooley Replica.

[sagerat]

C'mon, pen, it's a compliment.  They've recognized the fine job you've done on restoring that /5 to its place in the motorcycling heavens.

All kidding aside, I have really enjoyed your website and glad the 75/5 turned out so well.  I don't think I can even come close to that with my R90/6.

[Mastros2]

Do some shopping.  Geico beat my old insurer by almost half.  Yes, I'm with Geico now.

[Penforhire]

Thanks for the ideas guys.  Hagerty's price is good but I want to see how many miles I'm going to put on it before having a hard annual limit.

Bikerider, I just spent 9 months of my spare time, $10K, and maybe a pint of blood restoring this machine.  No way am I riding with just liability coverage.  If it was up to me I'd probably put it on a wood pedestal in the living room but it seems I have to wait for a divorce first.

Sagerat, if I can do it anyone can do it.  I'm the weakest wrench of anyone I know who has a box of tools.  That was my point in taking the extra effort to post a running photo blog.  My buddy Joe, a BMW guru, was a perfect safety net but I needed him for less than six hours labor in total (and a half-dozen phone calls).

[bomber]

Pen -- given your posts, it sounds like the relative cost of the insurance pretty much matches the relative value of the bikes (to you)

on the other hand, having a bike I coulda purchased, new, with my mustering out pay, called a "classic" is a little disturbing (no offence to your bike, btw, it's an elapsed time thing)

[Penforhire]

No offense taken.  This happens to be the very bike I learned to ride on (my dad's)... 25 years ago.   You better get emotionally ready because "vintage" is not too far off.  

[Ant]

 You better get emotionally ready because "vintage" is not too far off.  

 

Kick him while he's down why don't you

[highside]

I think the problem is that you are insuring a $9,000 bike that has the brakes, tires, and suspension of a 30 year old machine. Add in the fact that even the smallest mishap will result in a total right-off due to the lack of parts and the difficulty of managing repairs, and their hesitation becomes easier to understand.

[bikerider]

Bikerider, I just spent 9 months of my spare time, $10K, and maybe a pint of blood restoring this machine.  No way am I riding with just liability coverage.  If it was up to me I'd probably put it on a wood pedestal in the living room but it seems I have to wait for a divorce first.

I have 2 years of rebuild time and $8K in my H2 that I have owned for 22 years. I have been driving where I need insurance for almost 30 years now. I have only had collision on one vehicle, and that was because I had to (bank note). I could probably total my truck and more than one of my bikes and still be money ahead on what I have saved by only carrying liability.

I guess it is all about how much risk one is willing to assume. If had to buy collision for my truck and 5 bikes I would probably be living in a tent instead of a house.

[05SprintST]

I insure my 72 Norton with Condon & Skelly (or condom & jelly) in Maple Shade NJ.  

$78 per year with full coverage. Met Life is the underwriter

[Windblown]

I guess it is all about how much risk one is willing to assume. If had to buy collision for my truck and 5 bikes I would probably be living in a tent instead of a house.

+100

I don't do collision on any vehicles. I run with Liability and Comprehensive only.  If you have a single claim against a collision policy at least half the costs of the repair will be re-paid by you in higher premiums over the next three years.   It's a racket.

[Penforhire]

Highside, parts are widely available.  That's not a problem because airheads changed so little for years and even then updated or backdated can be fitted.  Declared cost is less than my FJR and it is more likely to survive a crash.  So why more $$ than the FJR?  If I had to do it over again I'd save about half by transplanting parts from a running parts-bike.  Can't be the owner pool risk.  More squids ride FJR's.  

Perhaps the thought of weaker handling is correct but double-leading-edge drum brakes are not bad when propely adjusted and maintained.

[county]

.  If it was up to me I'd probably put it on a wood pedestal in the living room ).

Well, you're gonna need a rider on your homeowners for that.

[bomber]

Down? Down? I'm down?

Again?

Somebody give me hand, wouldja?

;-}

Having your Dad's bike, man, that's a wonderful thing -- good for you!

[highside]

Highside, parts are widely available.  That's not a problem because airheads changed so little for years and even then updated or backdated can be fitted.  Declared cost is less than my FJR and it is more likely to survive a crash.  So why more $$ than the FJR?  If I had to do it over again I'd save about half by transplanting parts from a running parts-bike.  Can't be the owner pool risk.  More squids ride FJR's.  

Perhaps the thought of weaker handling is correct but double-leading-edge drum brakes are not bad when propely adjusted and maintained.

Can you buy those abundant parts at your local BMW dealership? Since the insurance company isnt going to be inspecting your drums they are going to have to assume that they are going to be average for drums, which aint good.

[iXXion]

Its all well and good that you guys are buying full coverage for less than $100/yr.....but you know darn well that if anything happens to the bike, they're gonna look in their book and say......1973 Humbley-Stokes-----no longer in production, any parts will be hand-fabricated---nope, repair is not possible.  We'll pay you the value of the average 34 year old HS...and that's $78.  Thank you, and goodbye.

Pen wants his ensured for the value he places on it...close to what many new motorcycles go for.  Its not incomprehensible that they want him to pay a good buck for it, because the same thing is gonna happen if it gets hurt...they'll just total it, and that's a bigger chunk of change than they want to risk for a $100/yr investment.  Parts would be a nightmare and they'd have to find a specialty shop to repair it.  That's not the business they're in.

I respect the toil and $$ investment, but comp and collision on a classic motorcycle is just tossing money down the drain.  If anything happens to it and its the least bit fixable, you'll probably be doing the same thing all over again, which isn't in the insurance company's scheme of things anyway.

[Penforhire]

highside, yes.  Though some parts are special order (delayed) at my local dealers.  Most of my resto parts buys were from various dealerships that just have friendly out-of-state mail order business (Bob's, Hammersley,...).

iX, yeah, it probably doesn't fit the insurance scheme of things but I'd also expect my FJR to get rebuilt or replaced if totalled or stolen, no?