Insurance Continuity

M

mindactivated

Well-known member
I have two questions:

(1) I know that when someone is not insured for a while they "reset" and end up paying a very high amount once they get a vehicle again. How does this work exactly? If I sell a motorcycle and then don't buy one for a month later (and am technically no longer insured under any vehicle), will my insurance be substantially higher? Also, if I'm only insured on a motorcycle but not a car, and then I buy a car 5 years later, will I be paying exorbitant fees (assuming clean record, etc)?

(2) I moved into a condo and still occasionally use the family car (owned by my parents) in another city, should this be disclosed to the insurance company or does it not matter since it's the same as borrowing or driving a friends car?

Thanks...
 
I'd just like to point out that this practice is actually illegal. Insurance companies are barred by law from taking length of insurance into account when calculating your premium. They do it anyway, but if it strongly affects you, I encourage you to report it to your MPP and BBB.
 
Continuous insurance is not needed for motorcycles because they are classified as recreational vehicles

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drumstyx said:
I'd just like to point out that this practice is actually illegal. Insurance companies are barred by law from taking length of insurance into account when calculating your premium. They do it anyway, but if it strongly affects you, I encourage you to report it to your MPP and BBB.
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Lol as if they're gonna do anything. They're the biggest scam out there.. As long as you pay up, you can do whatever you want to your customers and none of the complaints will ever surface. It's a few hundreds a year per business - nice extortion scam.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Lol as if they're gonna do anything. They're the biggest scam out there.. As long as you pay up, you can do whatever you want to your customers and none of the complaints will ever surface. It's a few hundreds a year per business - nice extortion scam.
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It's about all you can do as a consumer. There's so much they're doing wrong, and covering up their massive profits with massive executive salaries and bonuses. It's just amazing that we put up with it.
 
drumstyx said:
It's about all you can do as a consumer. There's so much they're doing wrong, and covering up their massive profits with massive executive salaries and bonuses. It's just amazing that we put up with it.
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Going to the BBB does nothing for the consumer. The Ombudsman's office is a heck of a lot better avenue for insurance industry complaints.
 
I actually cancelled my Insurance for my car and didn't get to insure it maybe a month after a few years back. The agent asked me why there was a black out period for my car I just told them I was riding my motorcycle for the time being (which I was) while I shopped around for better rates. I don't think it affected my rates but then again rates keeps going up anyways so hard to tell if it played any factor.
 
Julz said:
I actually cancelled my Insurance for my car and didn't get to insure it maybe a month after a few years back. The agent asked me why there was a black out period for my car I just told them I was riding my motorcycle for the time being (which I was) while I shopped around for better rates. I don't think it affected my rates but then again rates keeps going up anyways so hard to tell if it played any factor.
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I sold my truck in early August by September my insurance company had called to say I had better get something or I would face and increase for having a gap.The rational is that you lf your not insured your not driving and if your not driving you lose your skill.Bikes are different as they are seasonal.Yes i agree it's b******t.
 
drumstyx said:
I'd just like to point out that this practice is actually illegal. Insurance companies are barred by law from taking length of insurance into account when calculating your premium. They do it anyway, but if it strongly affects you, I encourage you to report it to your MPP and BBB.
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If you go six months uninsured the standard is that you are classed as a new driver.The government is in bed with the industry without a doubt.
 
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matt123 said:
I stand corrected i guess!Not too happy with being lied to by JOHNSON'S INSURANCE.I ran out and bought a car sooner than planed on their false information.Is that fraud?Now I wish I had called them out on it.Thanks for the link
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Unfortunately, you'll probably just have to go to the ombudsman if you ever have an issue, the insurance companies are just deep rooted in this activity. They say they get around it by using 'loyalty' discounts, but even if you jump companies every year and have no breaks, it's the same as someone who's been 'loyal' to one company for many years.
 
You can't be penalized for not owning a car. If the insurer cancels you (nonpayment, misrep etc) than that's different. But if you sell you car and wait 2 years before buying a new one than it doesn't count against you. Young drivers who are really on the ball will sign up for a car sharing program or get added to someone else's policy for a week and then cancel it and wait 5 or 6 years before buying a car. That's all it takes to have 'insurance experience'.

As for your parents car, as long as you don't live in the house and are not a regular operator of that vehicle it's not necessary to disclose it. BUT if you crack up their car both you AND your folks are tagged with an at fault (if you're at fault of course)
 
Wasted said:
You can't be penalized for not owning a car. If the insurer cancels you (nonpayment, misrep etc) than that's different. But if you sell you car and wait 2 years before buying a new one than it doesn't count against you. Young drivers who are really on the ball will sign up for a car sharing program or get added to someone else's policy for a week and then cancel it and wait 5 or 6 years before buying a car. That's all it takes to have 'insurance experience'.

As for your parents car, as long as you don't live in the house and are not a regular operator of that vehicle it's not necessary to disclose it. BUT if you crack up their car both you AND your folks are tagged with an at fault (if you're at fault of course)
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You're right in that you can't be penalized, but the fact is that you *are*. Try running a quote where you had 2 years of insurance 3 years ago, vs 2 years currently insured.
 
Well when I was a broker it didn't change the pricing with my companies. The question is designed to be asked 'have you had insurance in the past'. Than there are questions about cancellations. But if I had 2 months of insurance experience 5 years Go I should get the same rate as someone who's had insurance for the last 3 years. I'll need to have a good reason for the gap but not owning a car is acceptable. A company might extend a loyalty discount to someone who is coming from a insurer that they were insured with for several straight years but the rate (yes rate is different from premium) is the same.
 
Great info guys, good to know!
 
This seems like a good place for my first post. I have been watching this site for over a year now, and have been horrified at what has become of biking and the insurance industry. I have not had insurance for a few years and I finally decided to go and buy a bike and call around for some quote. I picked up a 650 enduro and I called up what used to be a Jevco broker and got a quote of $650 for the year. I was happy with that and did not bother trying out TD. I did not think that anybody else would be much better. One day, I was at the bank (RBC) and I asked them if they insured bikes and they said sure. I gave them my info and their price was about $30 bucks more. So, I think I did alright. Now I am over 40, so age really makes a huge difference. I have an M license. Back when I was 19 I was paying around $600 for my FJ1200, but that was a lot of cash back then.
 
Trevor Phillips said:
This seems like a good place for my first post. I have been watching this site for over a year now, and have been horrified at what has become of biking and the insurance industry. I have not had insurance for a few years and I finally decided to go and buy a bike and call around for some quote. I picked up a 650 enduro and I called up what used to be a Jevco broker and got a quote of $650 for the year. I was happy with that and did not bother trying out TD. I did not think that anybody else would be much better. One day, I was at the bank (RBC) and I asked them if they insured bikes and they said sure. I gave them my info and their price was about $30 bucks more. So, I think I did alright. Now I am over 40, so age really makes a huge difference. I have an M license. Back when I was 19 I was paying around $600 for my FJ1200, but that was a lot of cash back then.
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At the top end of reported inflation, $600 in 1992 was about $1200 in todays dollars. That bike for a 19 year old today would probably run about 2000-3000 with 2 years of experience. Also, don't quote me on this, but I think we have LESS coverage now than then.
 
matt123 said:
I sold my truck in early August by September my insurance company had called to say I had better get something or I would face and increase for having a gap.The rational is that you lf your not insured your not driving and if your not driving you lose your skill.Bikes are different as they are seasonal.Yes i agree it's b******t.
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It was actually Johnson Insurance that question the gap. The agent actually had to get back to me to check with someone else if my "story" was acceptable. Her reasoning which is dumb and assumptious is that if a car is registered under my name and I have no insurance then I could be driving the car without insurance. I didn't want to argue how dumb that was since she sounded like she didn't know what she was saying anyways and their rates at the time was the best I could find plus they take airmiles lol. I will now be in a position to shop around again as my renewal is in a couple of months.
 
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