What does Motorcycle Insurance actually cover?

[n4mwd]

A riding buddy of mine said that motorcycle insurance doesn't cover things the same way as they do for car insurance. He said that Uninsured Motor Vehicle and medical payment coverage only covers passengers and not the rider. Does anybody have any first hand experience with these coverages?

I tried emailing Progressive, but they gave me the runaround and refused to answer the question. That's a major red flag.

I also asked them if a car causes a motorcycle to crash, but doesn't actually impact the bike, and then runs off, would that be covered under uninsured motor vehicle? Again, no answer.

They said that I'd have to actually have a wreck and submit a claim before they would tell me if I was covered.

[Alex]

Call your agent and find out what you're actually paying for. If you're not satisfied with the answers you're getting, find a different insurance company.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Alex

Call your agent and find out what you're actually paying for. If you're not satisfied with the answers you're getting, find a different insurance company.

Progressive doesn't really have agents. Its just a web site that takes your money. I know what coverages I pay for, I just don't know for sure what they cover. Recent events have made me wonder if I'm really getting as good a deal as I previously thought.

[Heed]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I know what coverages I pay for, I just don't know for sure what they cover.

so, you don't then?

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Progressive doesn't really have agents. Its just a web site that takes your money. I know what coverages I pay for, I just don't know for sure what they cover. Recent events have made me wonder if I'm really getting as good a deal as I previously thought.

This is pretty much the reason I chose not to go with progressive. I walked into an Allstate and they answered all my questions. Then I cancelled with them and walked into AAA and they also answered all my questions.

Real People > Computers

[saxnbass]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Progressive doesn't really have agents. Its just a web site that takes your money.

Not true, I did mine over the phone with Progressive. The people on the phone have always been very friendly, patient, and helpful. I asked them what exactly is covered, what it all means, and the lady explained it all in pretty simple terms. You can search for agents here <- Clicky.

[Jiggles]

Also want to point out how easy canceling Allstate was

Me "Hi, I'd like to cancel my policy"
Extremely Friendly and Nice Allstate Woman "Ok, what was your name again?"
Me "Sean Voight"
Allstate Woman "One second... Type type type... Alright its canceled, here's your receipt, have a nice day"
Me "Wow thanks!"

I was able to cancel my policy in under a minute. No run around bullcrap. I have AAA, but I highly recommend Allstate cuz they are the **** son!

[sombo]

Actually yes Progressive does have agents. They don't have as many agent offices as others like Allstate and State Farm, but they do have them.

As for what Progressive's uninsured/under-insured coverage covers, I can tell you that first hand since I have it and just used it. Whoever told you it covers the passenger and not the rider is a fool and doesn't know wtf they are talking about. It's pretty much just the opposite, in that it covers the rider in case of an accident in which the other party is at fault and doesn't have any or enough coverage.

So if you get hit and have to go to the hospital, then find out that the other party doesn't have proper coverage to pay for it on their end, your UM kicks in to cover to the medical costs because of an "uninsured/under-insured" motorist causing your injuries. The medical payment coverage (which is called personal injury protection - aka PIP) is what is supposed to cover your medical expenses if you have an accident regardless of who is at fault.

As for if a car causes you to wreck but doesn't actually impact you affecting your coverage. That will come down to the accident report findings and how it's ruled. That will probably become an uphill battle no matter who your insurance is with. That type of case will need the police to prove that your accident was caused by the other driver and might also need the involvement of an accident claims lawyer on your side to fight for you. I say this because every insurance carrier will try to argue and refuse payment on the grounds that you were never hit. It will have to be proven w/o a doubt that you were not the responsible party in the accident and you would not have had said accident had it not been for the involvement of the other party. That's never an easy fight regardless of who the company is.

If you want to know how they work all you really have to do is actually read the details of the coverage. Surprisingly they actually tell you online what each part does..... I know, shocking that they give you information that's useful, right?

[bob706]

I went to my state farm agent to see about modifying my coverage and to my surprise she tells me in florida, you are not required to have motorcycle insurance. she didn't recommend dropping coverage

[n4mwd]

I used the clicky link above and got the name of a local agent. They said that progressive wont even tell them what's covered beyond the routine stuff. She said they told them to have the accident first and then they'll say if its covered. Same as what they said to me. Luckily the agent is a biker only agent and also represents other companies. They are going to run my profile to see if any of the other companies can do better on the rates. I have my doubts because progressive is pretty low.

She also confirmed that the rider is also covered by medical payments and uninsured motor vehicle. I think Sombo is right in that a hit and run will only be covered if I hire a lawyer.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by bob706

I went to my state farm agent to see about modifying my coverage and to my surprise she tells me in florida, you are not required to have motorcycle insurance. she didn't recommend dropping coverage

Yes, that's true, Florida doesn't require motorcycle insurance. But the problem is that with every cage out there trying to get you, you need something to cover damages and medical expenses when they run off. The liability portion of my bill was only $9/year.

[massacremasses]

use an insurance broker.

I used Wells Fargo, which idk if they are the best, but they got me the lowest rates I feel, cause I couldnt get them any lower. I tried

[n4mwd]

I called Progressives number. I actually got someone with a brain. She answered all my questions.

A hit and run is covered under uninsured motorist.

However, a car that causes a wreck, but isn't hit, isn't automatically liable unless they admit it or there are witnesses that testify that it was another driver's fault. So basically a situation like that requires a cop or judge to rule that the other guy was at fault. And then his liability would pay same as if he hit you.

The progressive web site is horrible. It wouldn't even let me make changes to my policy. Its ridiculous.

[mholme]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

The progressive web site is horrible. It wouldn't even let me make changes to my policy. Its ridiculous.

I have my car and bike covered by Progressive and can make changes to both policies at will. Are you doing the online quote option? It should let you go to a saved quote and edit it. I just checked an old quote I have and it still let me go back and make changes. These are all the custom options they have:

Drivers:



Policy coverages

Bodily Injury & Property Damage:


Uninsured/ Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury and Property Damage:

Medical Payments:



Transport Trailer:




Vehicle coverages for 2009 KAWASAKI EX250-J :

Physical Damage Options:



Comprehensive:



Collision:



Disappearing Deductibles:



Roadside Assistance:



Accessory coverage:

[massacremasses]

yeah I deff can make changes on my progressive policy...

[sombo]

I never had problems making any changes I needed to my policy online either.

[n4mwd]

It would let me make changes to get a quote, but then wouldn't let me actually change the policy. It also wouldn't show me the cost of the changes I made until I got the final quote. So I had to make dozens of quotes to see what stuff was actually costing.

Then finally, I got into a section that said it would let me change my actual policy, but when I clicked "continue" it just kept coming up with an error message that said "Invalid umbium" with no english subtitles.

That's when I called them and the girl was able to fix the policy on her end. I still haven't received any email confirmation. It turns out the error message "Invalid umbium" means that the bodily injury liability has to be the same as the uninsured motorist coverage.

Of course, the stupid web site didn't change both at the same time like an intelligent web site would do. And when I made them the same, it still said "Invalid umbium". Finally I just logged out and let her change in from her side.

Another thing that irks me is that I'm required to carry liability in equal amounts to uninsured motor vehicle. I mean, if there is an accident with a cage, its almost guaranteed that I will need more medical coverage than the cager - regardless of fault. This may be a state thing, but it still irks me. It only raised my premium by $6, but it still irks me. Especially since I live in a state that doesn't require any insurance at all.

[sombo]

Ok, none of what you said makes any sense. I live in FL, have progressive, and have NEVER had any of the issues you just stated..... EVER!! I just tried doing what you said you tried and did not receive that error. What I did get was:

Changes Requiring a Signed Form

Form Delivery Method

Request to change the Bodily Injury limit without changing the Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist limit to match.
*This policy will be issued with Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist at 50/100 Stacked until the signed form is received. This form is not available to be printed online. It will be sent by U.S. mail.

Note: Once the signed form is returned, the change will be effective one day after the U.S. postmark date. Forms sent by U.S. mail will be sent to the insured within 5 to 10 days.

Then when I tried to force the change with them being different it automatically changed the UM to match the Bodily Injury Limit on the next page. So I have no idea how you are having so many issues with the Progressive website and your policy.

[Sailariel]

I am covered by USAA--which farms their MC Insurance out to Progressive. I have been with them 3 years with no problems.

The question I have is. If you report a hit and run or anything else for that matter, does that go on something like Carfax, which labels the vehicle as having been in a wreck?

[250rr]

I use an independent agent, who represents Progressive. I just got my insurance on my first bike So far, no complaints. In fact, I couldn't believe how reasonable the insurance was!

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by sombo

Ok, none of what you said makes any sense. I live in FL, have progressive, and have NEVER had any of the issues you just stated..... EVER!! I just tried doing what you said you tried and did not receive that error. What I did get was:

Then when I tried to force the change with them being different it automatically changed the UM to match the Bodily Injury Limit on the next page. So I have no idea how you are having so many issues with the Progressive website and your policy.

I didn't get the same stuff you got. They may have been having server troubles. I noticed it was really slow. The girl said they didn't need any signatures, just a check for the difference.

Nevertheless, it was a nightmare when I was on it. It wasn't that bad when I first signed up for it.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I didn't get the same stuff you got. They may have been having server troubles. I noticed it was really slow. The girl said they didn't need any signatures, just a check for the difference.

Nevertheless, it was a nightmare when I was on it. It wasn't that bad when I first signed up for it.

Different web browser? Whenever I have issues with a website I switch to a different browser

[massacremasses]

[n4mwd]

I should have tried a different web browser I suppose. However, I was using Firefox and if they aren't smart enough to make their web site work with the #1 browser in use**, then they deserve what they get. I used Firefox when I signed up the first time and I didn't have these issues (as bad).

It still doesn't tell you what individual changes cost. You have to get a complete quote before it says anything about price. Geico will tell you what the change will cost before you make it. I don't think that is so difficult.

** IE=20%, Firefox=40%, Chrome=30%, others=10%

[sombo]

I use FF as well and that's what I was using when I got that. This is all just rather confusing as to how you can have such a drastically different experience with the exact same thing using the same browser.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

** IE=20%, Firefox=40%, Chrome=30%, others=10%

That's not too far off of what I'm seeing on server logs here for the past month. Firefox is still the leader, but Chrome is catching up fast.

Firefox 28.02%
Chrome 25.95%
Internet Explorer 19.38%
Safari 18.24%
Android Browser 5.19%
Opera 1.29%
Rest < 1%

The Firefox auto-update process has been a little glitchy though, so it's good to check if you're using the latest version (8.0.1). If you go to the About Firefox menu, and it's anything less than that, get to mozilla's website and download the latest. A lot of people seem to get stuck somewhere on a 3.6.X version and Firefox falsely reports that it is up to date.

[massacremasses]

Im a long time FF user and switched to chrome this year and havent looked back...

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by Alex

That's not too far off of what I'm seeing on server logs here for the past month. Firefox is still the leader, but Chrome is catching up fast.

Firefox 28.02%
Chrome 25.95%
Internet Explorer 19.38%
Safari 18.24%
Android Browser 5.19%
Opera 1.29%
Rest < 1%

The Firefox auto-update process has been a little glitchy though, so it's good to check if you're using the latest version (8.0.1). If you go to the About Firefox menu, and it's anything less than that, get to mozilla's website and download the latest. A lot of people seem to get stuck somewhere on a 3.6.X version and Firefox falsely reports that it is up to date.

Oh yeahhhh that 1.29% is all me baby!

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

Im a long time FF user and switched to chrome this year and havent looked back...

I guess I'm one of the ones stuck on FF 3.6.13. I seem to remember trying newer versions but didn't like the user interface.

I tried chrome about a year ago and uninstalled it after about a month. It was just too buggy and not as mature for me to use. There are a lot of basic things that it just doesn't do. But I totally forget what they were.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I guess I'm one of the ones stuck on FF 3.6.13. I seem to remember trying newer versions but didn't like the user interface.

You probably want to fix that. Huge security holes, and bugs that will cause some relatively surprising errors on any number of more full-featured websites. I don't like the stock user interface it starts with from 7.0 on, but with a few clicks you can get it back to very much how it looked in the earlier versions (putting the menu bar back, adding the home button, etc.)

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by Alex

You probably want to fix that. Huge security holes, and bugs that will cause some relatively surprising errors on any number of more full-featured websites. I don't like the stock user interface it starts with from 7.0 on, but with a few clicks you can get it back to very much how it looked in the earlier versions (putting the menu bar back, adding the home button, etc.)

OMG New FireFox interface == Opera interface!!!

Perhaps I should try the new flavor of FireFox? Or stick with the original Opera?

[sombo]

Originally Posted by Alex

You probably want to fix that. Huge security holes, and bugs that will cause some relatively surprising errors on any number of more full-featured websites. I don't like the stock user interface it starts with from 7.0 on, but with a few clicks you can get it back to very much how it looked in the earlier versions (putting the menu bar back, adding the home button, etc.)

Odd, my FF always had the menu bar and home button (and yes this is from 7.0 on). This is a lot of tweaking you can do within FF to adjust the interface, but I personally don't see that huge of a difference between the newer FF and older FF. I know the location of the tabs moved from under the address bar to above it (which I personally think makes more sense), but other than a little bit different graphical style there isn't really much different.