Moving To U.S. -- Need Advice On Bike/Car Insurance

[marcopolo]

My wife Katherine has been selected for a four-year posting to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., with an option for a fifth year. We will be moving at the end of August most likely. While we have not yet found a place to live, we fully expect to be living in D.C, and not in Virginia, or Maryland. We will be bringing our car and my R12100RT. Living in the U.S. will be a new experience for both of us and we're now coming to grips with the myriad of logistical details involved. An obvious one is vehicle insurance for the bike and car. I will shortly start calling around (or checking online), but before I do, I have a few pretty basic questions (assume I know little, or nothing, on the subject ):

 

1) what major U.S. insurers would you suggest I contact?

2) should I combine bike and car insurance with one company?

3) what coverage should I get for the bike?

4) what coverage should I get for the car?

5) anything else I haven't thought of?

 

With respect to coverages, the Embassy has given us a booklet that provides the minimum coverages stipulated by the U.S. State Department (we'll both have diplomatic status), but I'm presuming we'll want to have more than those minimums.

 

Any help much appreciated (and I imagine this will be the first in a series of this sort of post by me).

 

 

 

[MT Wallet]

I don't know about the East coast. I suspect rates will be high. I've had AAA for 30+ years with no complaints. I've had Dairyland Ins for the bike and also Progressive for the other bike so I have both(long boring story). I've had no real complaints. An agent ought to help you with coverage limits. More is better. What about health Ins.? just curious. Good luck and I hope your stateside experience is a good one.

[Glenn Reed]

I know this doesn't address your question directly, but since you will be living in D.C. proper, I would recommend familiarizing yourselves with the subway system, called the Metro.

 

Here is a map on their website, with lots of tools to find the best way to get from point A to point B (or vice versa). The two closest stations to the embassy itself are Archives/Navy Memorial, which is on the Yellow and Green Lines, and Judiciary Square which is on the Red Line. Both less than a quarter of a mile away, or 400 meters. (I don't know if that's as the bird flies, or actual walking distance.)

 

Personally, I would use the Metro as much as possible within the city itself, as traffic and parking are quite challenging. The city is not laid out in a grid pattern, and even if you get used to how Charles L’Enfant laid out the streets, there will always be visitors driving there as well, and they will not be as familiar.

 

When you do decide to get out of town, that's when I would get out the car or bike and plan some travels. Let us know, there are a few of us who aren't far away, and would love to share our roads with you. In addition, you won't be terribly far from some of the events that take place in the Southeast, like the RCR in West Virginia, and the HelenBack in Georgia and FART in North Carolina. (Caveat, both of these might move around in the future, but I am sure they will still be in locations with great roads.) This year's UN is in NC also, but well before you get here.

[Rougarou]

My wife Katherine has been selected for a four-year posting to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., with an option for a fifth year. We will be moving at the end of August most likely. While we have not yet found a place to live, we fully expect to be living in D.C, and not in Virginia, or Maryland. We will be bringing our car and my R12100RT. Living in the U.S. will be a new experience for both of us and we're now coming to grips with the myriad of logistical details involved. An obvious one is vehicle insurance for the bike and car. I will shortly start calling around (or checking online), but before I do, I have a few pretty basic questions (assume I know little, or nothing, on the subject ):

 

1) what major U.S. insurers would you suggest I contact?

2) should I combine bike and car insurance with one company?

3) what coverage should I get for the bike?

4) what coverage should I get for the car?

5) anything else I haven't thought of?

 

With respect to coverages, the Embassy has given us a booklet that provides the minimum coverages stipulated by the U.S. State Department (we'll both have diplomatic status), but I'm presuming we'll want to have more than those minimums.

 

Any help much appreciated (and I imagine this will be the first in a series of this sort of post by me).

 

 

 

Shop around, I carry USAA but that is mainly for military and former military and families. Diplomatic status may allow you to get it. As for coverages, I carry the minimum my state requires and have done so in every state I have resided in.

 

Major insurers off the top of my head:

 

Allstate

State Farm

Geico

Progressive

Nationwide

Farmers

 

And plenty other smaller companies.

 

As for living in DC, the many folks that I know that work the area do not live in DC, they like the outlying areas of NOVA, MD and even PA (one lady I know lives in Gettysburg, works in DC). Good luck and enjoy! Also, welcome.

 

[philbytx]

Don't forget to see if you could obtain a better rate by "bundling" your home (I assume it will be renters?), car and motorcycle insurance

 

In our case, we get a better car rate by bundling together our auto and home insurance (Central Insurance) but actually get a better bike only rate going to a pure motorcycle insurer. In our case Dairyland Cycle. Our independent agent helped us here.

 

As far as coverage goes, remember that we also have under-insured and, more importantly, UNINSURED driver coverage here. Deductibles will be down to the depth of your pocket book LOL!

 

Your best bet would be to find a good independent insurance agent near where you will be living and have them run a few quotes for you. Perhaps ask someone working in the embassy who they use?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NCStephen]

Each state has its own guidelines and companies choose to do or not do business there. So if you are going to be in DC, find out what the major companies are there. Just do a google search on that. I would combine as many policies together as possible to give a bigger block of business and get whatever discounts can be had. Compare this with shopping at independent agencies and getting individual providers and then go with what you feel is the best combination.

 

Some folks will go for minimum coverage, perhaps nothing other than liability. You have to ask yourself the what if questions of a vehicle being stolen, or hit by an uninsured person, or a tire blows out and you create a multi vehicle accident. Also you have to find out how the insurance works in DC, no fault or traditional. My point of reference is traditional coverage. So you are seeking to cover the things you cannot afford with the insurance. If you can cover 3000 bucks easy enough without it upsetting the budget, price out what policies look like with that high of a deductible. If your wife hits a scooter or bicycle rider and they don't have health insurance (many many don't), then it is the policy's medical portion that pays for that up to the limit you have purchased. Also many folks run vehicles with no or very low coverage. Will there $10,000 property damage limit (just an example) cover the cost of your car if they hit and total it? After those limits are met, both in the case of your hurting others or them hurting you, you are responsible. Again, what's the risks and what can you absorb? As a professional with perhaps a higher visibility, you can/should have the discussion of an umbrella policy for larger events where you might be sued.

 

If you go for the fuller coverage on the vehicles, most comprehensive coverages will cover some things with little or no deductibles, ie a rock hits your windshield and breaks it or a limb blows out a tree and breaks fairing, shield, and damages bag and seat.

 

Normally it is homeowners that applies to your personal possessions in the car or bike. If you have coverage other than just liability and you have a lowside in the rain, your helmet most likely will be covered with the bike, but your gear/boots/gloves/jacket etc most likely will be under your homeowners. The laptop, phone, other things lost/damaged when the bag/case came open will also be homeowners. This is the same as if it is stolen out of your car.

 

So a good agent will help you decide your risk exposure and how much you are willing to assume yourself. A policy (or policies) tailored to you will pick up from that point.

 

Good luck.

NCS

[Rougarou]

Good pointing out. I misunderstood how the OP was questioning the required insurance. I carry full coverage with the minimum deductibles (actually priced going higher with them, but the cost was negligible). I thought the OP was inquiring about more than the minimums of what is required concerning liability, eg state requires $150/300/150, he wants to get $300/600/300. My bad for the lack of reading comprehension

[GRB60]

Mark,

The requirements and coverages available vary by state as insurance is regulated by the states (and the District, I'd guess). So, where you live will matter. I'd suggest contacting an agent and inquiring about rates on all of the insurance you'll need. As noted, there are usually discounts for multiple policies.

 

Some companies sell thru independent agents and some only thru company agents. Pick a few and ask them to describe available coverage. How much you need depends on how much you have to lose.

 

Good luck with the move!

[Peter Parts]

Very different world than Ottawa! You might consider fire-and-theft insurance. Or mugging insurance? As with many hedges, try to avoid paying for a hedge unless the counter-party can sink you. In other words, big deductibles and high maximums.

 

You might really consider not living in DC. The metro goes out of to some very fine suburban locations (say, Silver Spring, Maryland) and might get you down to Ericksons's Folly faster than living downtown. Or check some of the cycling trails. Not to mention the horrors of parking at home and possibly near work.

 

Otherwise, nice place. Good food. Friendly folks, mostly.

 

I used to joke with my cousins who lived in DC: which season in DC do you want to escape from - winters or summers?

 

Hint: bring your own tea, tea pot, and tea cozy.

 

Ben

[Sweendog]

Use the online tools that are available to get some ball-park prices. Often combining insurance policies will help, but not always. I've found the major insurers that will write home or renters and auto insurance often have horrific motorcycle rates. Allstate wanted to charge me almost 8X what Progressive offered.

 

First and formost, figure out which state you're going to be living in. Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. will all have their own laws on what insurance is required, and all the insurers will have different rates depending on your residence. You'll really need to burn up the phone lines talking with agents, and/or send a lot of electrons back and forth to the various websites.

 

I recommend checking Progressive and Geico for your Motorcycle Insurance, but neither will be very helpful for home or renter's insurance (They'll sell it, but they're just passing through to other underwriters).

 

For auto insurance, you'll typically save by bundling it with your home/renter's policy, but again you'll see huge variances among the various players.

 

Good luck!

[Rocer]

Mark, congratulations to both you and Katherine. Sounds like a great adventure is in store for both of you. I look forward to your posts from south of the border. In the meantime we'll keep the home fires burning.

[johnlt]

You will find that your insurance rates vary with zip code. In other words, exactly where you live can make a huge difference in cost. Unfortunately, I believe you'll find that a DC zip code will be much more expensive than VA or Maryland. Even within a state, like VA, if you live in a more rural area i.e. zip code, it is much cheaper than near DC.

[tallman]

Congrats.

5 yrs is a long time.

I'd find the where first, then do the dance.

A week or two spent on the front end determining the place for y'all will be worth it in the long run.

Anyone say road trip?

 

In the DC/NY/Boston megalopolis it seems many live 50-90 miles

"out" and commute by train or car.

First issue is cost.

Distance = exponential savings on residence usually.

Cost to commute worth the overall quality of life.

OTOH, nothing better than convenience.

There may be a place that calls to both of you.

 

Good luck.

[lawnchairboy]

Endobobdds pick up the white courtesy phone.

[mickeym3]

State Farm and bundle it all. Know a high end collision repair owner and you can generally tell how a company operates by how it works with shops doing any necessary repairs. I know SF has been great on repairs required on both cars and bikes over the last 30 years. None of those where chargeable to me and I get a great accident-free discount as well.

[jjg3]

Congrats on your wife's posting.

 

I have State Farm for my house and cars and have had for 30 years, both in TX and here in VA (DC area). Thinking of bundling, I asked my agent in TX for a motorcycle quote (I had Geico in TX) and without even checking he said to stay with Geico, that he couldn't even get close. My agent here in VA asked if I wanted a quote (on 4 motorcycles). It was about 4x what I pay Progressive. I'd recommend shopping around, but staying with a known name.

 

I live in Alexandria, VA and love it. The daily motorcycle commute in and out of DC is the easiest I've ever had anywhere thanks to the limited-access I-95 HOV lanes. If it weren't for the hellacious traffic all the other times I would consider retiring here.

 

Good luck to you.

[CVA-42]

By all means, shop around. So many variables come into play when comparing insurance. Bundling may or may not save you money overall. I've had State Farm house and car insurance for forty years and been with the same agent for thirty-eight. Had my bikes with them a long time as well and thought I was getting a good deal but my rates were creeping up and it wasn't so great when I finally looked into it. Switched the bikes to Progressive several years ago and saved money. Then switched to Foremost two years ago and saved quite a bit more for better coverage. Buy the max liability insurance that you can. It's cheap. Also consider an "umbrella" policy that covers virtually everything. Even if you have, say, $250K/500K liability insurance, you can reach those limits scary quick in a bad accident involving personal injuries that is your fault. A multi-million dollar umbrella policy is relatively cheap. Personally, I wouldn't be without one.

[Fubar]

Hint: bring your own tea, tea pot, and tea cozy.

 

Ben

Wait, we have tea here! I drink it all the time.

 

But seriously, bundling them all together is a great money-saving idea unless the company's prices suck for one. We have Liberty Mutual for house, both cars, even a life policy but their bike insurance cost are stupid high. The agents even told me that, so I got Progressive.

 

Age and ZIP code have big effects on cost. Minimums are best exceeded, imo, and if you have an old car, drop the comprehensive, it's just not worth the expense to insure a $2000 car with $500 of coverage every year.

 

An independent(not tied to just one company) agent can give you a lot of options and advice on relevant coverage needs for miles driven annually.

 

Also, some states (FL & others) do not require insurance on motorcycles (or motorhomes/RVs/road toasters) but reality will dictate whether you want to take that particular risk.

[gmcjetpilot]

Shop around, I carry USAA but that is mainly for military and former military and

families. Diplomatic status may allow you to get it. As for coverages, I carry the

minimum my state requires and have done so in every state I have resided in.

 

Major insurers off the top of my head:

 

Allstate

State Farm

Geico

Progressive

Nationwide

Farmers

 

And plenty other smaller companies.

 

I'm shopping around for insurance, and I have USSA but they do not do motorcycle;

they transferred me to Progressive for USAA members. I also got a quote on line

from Geico, but was a little higher, but not sure I was comparing apples and apples.

 

I hate to HIJACK thread, but I really want to ask what coverage & limit philosophy

folks have. I was quoted from $355 to $460. Geico bare min liability only was $127.

 

 

PROGRESSIVE made a big deal about trip interruption coverage. Basically if you are

away from home they will cover your expense for a break down and accident, hotel,

transportation of bike back to home. I think "trip interruption" limit is pretty

small, $500, not going to get many hotel nights or rental car days or airline

tickets for $500. Not sure if the transportation of bike is under the $500 limit.

 

One big kicker was personal medical. I have personal health and medical through

work so I can drop that. It would be nice to have extra medical in case I'm really

screwed up, but personal medical limit is $10,000. Peanuts. I am going to look for

something that will pay my bills and take care of me for a year or year'(s). $10,000

for medical is trivial. "Better than nothing", but is that really true? I'd be better

going out and getting some extra medical insurance outright separate from motorcycle

insurance.

 

Comprehensive? I could replace my 2004 R1150RT today for $8,000. I paid much less,

but then I got a great deal. They don't tell you how much they value the bike at.

Does not do much good if their pay off is $4000 with a $500 deductible. My complaint

is they really don't tell you much. Again why have insurance if it is not going to

fully cover you. I can part the bike out and recoup much of my loss.

 

Bottom line if I get the liability only I can save $325-$425 a year.

 

I am pretty underwhelmed at the high cost and low limits. That's the reality of

the game, but my feeling is if you are going to have insurance, it should really

cover you. It seems motorcycle insurance is pretty half arse. I will keep looking.

I will either go "all-in" gold plated full coverage or minimum legal liability.

Going half arse with limited limits and higher premium is not a good value.

 

I ride my bike for pleasure and will likely not ride much through winter, yet

you're stuck with a 12 month policy. Car insurance I believe is every 6 month.

I guess what you say, shop around. Insurance companies don't have TV commercials

and their names on sport stadiums because they don't make buckets of money.

[gmcjetpilot]

I got some more info from Geico on some of my concerns.

 

Geico has a storage program where they reduce your premium for

winter if you are not driving. You still keep making payments.

When Spring comes, you call them and say you are riding again.

They will figure out the savings and credit you. This does not

apply to comprehensive since that covers for fire, theft, not in

motion loss. This mitigates having a 12Mo policy and ride only

8 months out of year.

 

Geico values bike based on the price of 4-bikes of the same make,

model, year and condition. They will take an average. Accessories

will be factored in. You can also have an agreed on value policy.

 

Both Progressive and Geico cover accessories as part of collision/

comprehensive. The baseline limit is $3000 for Progressive, $2000

for Geico, but you can raise accessory coverage with either company.

I have well under $1000 in accessories.

 

Progressive does have the $500 limit trip interruption and rode

side assistance. Geico will tow your bike up to 75 miles back to

your home, or to the nearest suitable repair shop.

[marcopolo]

Thanks for all the useful suggestions. In the end, I insured the bike with Geico. I insured the car with State Farm, along with our renters policy and an additional umbrella liability policy. One thing that struck me, as compared to what I'm used to in Canada, were the low liability limits offered by both State Farm and Geico. In Canada, I carry $2M on the car and home policies, and $1M on the bike. That's why I ended up with an additional umbrella liability policy. It just seemed rather odd to me, especially given that we think your country is more litigious than ours. By the way, we ended up renting a townhouse in Old Town Alexandria (parking for both a car and a bike in D.C. was difficult, if not impossible, to find).

[Kathy R]

Every state is different, with some requiring ridiculously low minimum amounts of coverage.The insurance industry would rather have a nice low limit to what they pay out.

[Glenn Reed]

There is a local club (bmwbmw.org)that covers your area. Paul was a member, and there are others here on the board. Endobob comes to mind, and Tina Fraemb (sp?) as well.

 

Depending on where you are in Old Town, the Braddock Road or King Street Metro stations might be close enough to walk to. I highly recommend the Metro (as I mentioned early in this thread) for getting around DC.

 

Once you are here (not obvious if you have made the move yet), let us know!

 

 

[marcopolo]

There is a local club (bmwbmw.org)that covers your area. Paul was a member, and there are others here on the board. Endobob comes to mind, and Tina Fraemb (sp?) as well.

 

Depending on where you are in Old Town, the Braddock Road or King Street Metro stations might be close enough to walk to. I highly recommend the Metro (as I mentioned early in this thread) for getting around DC.

 

Once you are here (not obvious if you have made the move yet), let us know!

 

 

Not there quite yet, but by the end of the month. Thanks for the Metro suggestion. We had been to D.C. a half dozen times before undertaking our house-hunting trip a couple of weeks ago and had used it quite a bit before. No question it's the way to go. My wife will be taking it to, and from, the Embassy, a straight shot of about 20 minutes, or so. Haven't quite figured out which station we'll use. Braddock is a bit closer, but maybe she stands a greater chance of getting at seat at King St.? We took the Metro to, and from, Alexandria several times when we were looking for a house, but never at rush hour.

[DiggerJim]

I insured the car with State Farm, along with our renters policy and an additional umbrella liability policy. One thing that struck me, as compared to what I'm used to in Canada, were the low liability limits offered by both State Farm and Geico. In Canada, I carry $2M on the car and home policies, and $1M on the bike. That's why I ended up with an additional umbrella liability policy.

That's the better way to do it. In some Canadian provinces there's a liability concept with medical benefits that doesn't apply to the US where the insurance company can be held liable for payments in excess of policy limits that here would simply be denied because of the contractual limits. So, Canadian insurers simply up the coverage levels they offer & price at so they get more correct rates/premiums for the potential risk. Here, you're better off with an umbrella policy as it's cheaper than providing the same coverage by duplicating it on your auto & home. A 5M umbrella cover will cost far less than 5M on your auto and another 5M on your home. It is extremely unlikely that you'd ever have a claim on either your auto or home policy that would extend across the policy types to get the $10M of combined coverage you're paying for. As a result, a single umbrella policy of 5M gives you the same protection as the high coverage limits you would get from individual policy coverages. Pricing is based on the likelihood of loss and the bulk of your exposure is in the sub-300K range so that's why insurance companies require underlying home & auto liability coverages in that neighborhood - the primary risk of the umbrella coverage is being funded thru the underlying policies and they only need to price the umbrella for the likelihood of claims exceeding 300K which contrary to the public press are relatively uncommon which is why umbrella coverage is pretty cheap.

 

Honestly, 2 or 3M in an umbrella is all that almost anyone needs. The coverage needs to be balanced against the assets you're trying to protect. In most people's cases, they simply don't have more than 2 or 3M of stuff (homes, potential earnings, etc.) to protect. In fact the poorer you are they more litigation & judgement proof you are because there's no incentive to sue someone who can't pay. Perversely, carrying very high insurance policy coverages can actually provide an incentive for lawsuit because the other lawyers know there's capacity to pay. That's why umbrellas tend to start to rise in price per dollar of coverage (or simply become unavailable) at very high levels of coverage - excess of 10M for instance because there's not an increase in the risk of loss but an increase in likelihood to be subject to a lawsuit (relatively speaking).

[marcopolo]

I insured the car with State Farm, along with our renters policy and an additional umbrella liability policy. One thing that struck me, as compared to what I'm used to in Canada, were the low liability limits offered by both State Farm and Geico. In Canada, I carry $2M on the car and home policies, and $1M on the bike. That's why I ended up with an additional umbrella liability policy.

That's the better way to do it. In some Canadian provinces there's a liability concept with medical benefits that doesn't apply to the US where the insurance company can be held liable for payments in excess of policy limits that here would simply be denied because of the contractual limits. So, Canadian insurers simply up the coverage levels they offer & price at so they get more correct rates/premiums for the potential risk. Here, you're better off with an umbrella policy as it's cheaper than providing the same coverage by duplicating it on your auto & home. A 5M umbrella cover will cost far less than 5M on your auto and another 5M on your home. It is extremely unlikely that you'd ever have a claim on either your auto or home policy that would extend across the policy types to get the $10M of combined coverage you're paying for. As a result, a single umbrella policy of 5M gives you the same protection as the high coverage limits you would get from individual policy coverages. Pricing is based on the likelihood of loss and the bulk of your exposure is in the sub-300K range so that's why insurance companies require underlying home & auto liability coverages in that neighborhood - the primary risk of the umbrella coverage is being funded thru the underlying policies and they only need to price the umbrella for the likelihood of claims exceeding 300K which contrary to the public press are relatively uncommon which is why umbrella coverage is pretty cheap.

 

Honestly, 2 or 3M in an umbrella is all that almost anyone needs. The coverage needs to be balanced against the assets you're trying to protect. In most people's cases, they simply don't have more than 2 or 3M of stuff (homes, potential earnings, etc.) to protect. In fact the poorer you are they more litigation & judgement proof you are because there's no incentive to sue someone who can't pay. Perversely, carrying very high insurance policy coverages can actually provide an incentive for lawsuit because the other lawyers know there's capacity to pay. That's why umbrellas tend to start to rise in price per dollar of coverage (or simply become unavailable) at very high levels of coverage - excess of 10M for instance because there's not an increase in the risk of loss but an increase in likelihood to be subject to a lawsuit (relatively speaking).

 

Thanks, Jim. That makes good sense. You must be in the business. The umbrella policy I got from State Farm is for $2M. Interestingly, the agent also said that it covers our home here in Canada too (and I had to zap them a copy of our Canadian homeowners policy). What I failed to ask the State Farm agent was whether their umbrella policy also covers me on the bike (insured through GEICO). I sent an e-mail yesterday, but have not received a reply. I'm assuming that it might very well be, given that our home in Canada (not insured by State Farm) is covered by SF's umbrella liability policy.

[CVA-42]

Good info here. My incentive for buying an umbrella policy, which I brought up way back on this thread, was an accident my daughter had about ten years ago when she was a college student. She was driving a vehicle registered in my name, found to be at fault, and cited for it. Her car was repairable and she was fine but the other two vehicles involved were totaled and there were personal injuries including one that necessitated back surgery. Long story short - - the property damage and the personal liability claims came scary close to my insurance policy limits. I thought I had been well-insured but this was a real eye-opener for my wife and I. We sweated bullets for quite awhile until the cases were finally settled. As soon as the requisite time had passed after the accident, we took out an umbrella policy.

[DiggerJim]

You must be in the business. The umbrella policy I got from State Farm is for $2M. Interestingly, the agent also said that it covers our home here in Canada too (and I had to zap them a copy of our Canadian homeowners policy). What I failed to ask the State Farm agent was whether their umbrella policy also covers me on the bike (insured through GEICO). I sent an e-mail yesterday, but have not received a reply. I'm assuming that it might very well be, given that our home in Canada (not insured by State Farm) is covered by SF's umbrella liability policy.

Yep - been building software for the industry for the past [errrhumph] number of years

 

Assuming your Geico liability limits meet what State Farm requires for underlying auto (and mcycle is considered an auto policy) the Umbrella is good for any badness you cause (or someone claims you cause) while on the bike. The companies don't care where you got that insurance as long as it's there. The limits required are generally 300K for the underlying insurance but can be different based on the Umbrella policy.

 

The whole idea of the umbrella is to cover you (and members of your household and oftentimes invited guests as well) no matter what you're doing whether at home or going about your life. For a few hundred bucks a year it's an insurance bargain.