Will my rate ever drop?!

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Mo$kva

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Hey all, just wondering how many of you noticed a significant drop in your rates after turning 25?

A bit about myself; got my M1/M2 in the summer of 2009 at the age of 17. Held onto the license for "experience" purposes and finally bought a ninja 250 in 2013 and have been riding it ever since, only because insurance on anything else is ridiculously expensive. I'm 24 now, turning 25 next September and for next season, my renewal is still $1700/year with TD MM.

I've put on 28,000 ticket free, claim free km on the 250 and am looking to upgrade to something bigger in the spring. Ideally, I'd like a Japanese 600, but even after shopping online, I haven't been able to find quotes for less than $2700 for a 5 year old FZ-07 (a bike I would be content with).

I'm starting to lose hope and am considering cancelling insurance for a few years until I'm a bit older and can get a reasonable rate. I know this will affect the "years of continuous coverage" on insurance applications, but it's killing me on the inside to pay 1700 a year for insurance for a bike that's only worth $2500 MAX.

Do you guys think I could get a better rate elsewhere or am I better off going on hiatus for a year or two?
 
I remember my insurance dropped over 50% the day I turned 25.

However, if you don't actually turn 25 until next September, well, you're not going to get any related discount until next September.

Have you called around and looked for better rates? Seems to me at 24 on a Ninja 250 with 3 years of experience you should be able to get a better rate than that, but it'll take some effort to call around and explore alternatives - remember, you can change insurers anytime, you don't need to wait for your renewal or anything.

Honestly, I'd look for a better rate, keep the 250 for another season until you're officially 25...and I think for the 2018 season you'll find insurance on a bigger bike much more palatable.
 
Mo$kva said:
Hey all, just wondering how many of you noticed a significant drop in your rates after turning 25?

A bit about myself; got my M1/M2 in the summer of 2009 at the age of 17. Held onto the license for "experience" purposes and finally bought a ninja 250 in 2013 and have been riding it ever since, only because insurance on anything else is ridiculously expensive. I'm 24 now, turning 25 next September and for next season, my renewal is still $1700/year with TD MM.

I've put on 28,000 ticket free, claim free km on the 250 and am looking to upgrade to something bigger in the spring. Ideally, I'd like a Japanese 600, but even after shopping online, I haven't been able to find quotes for less than $2700 for a 5 year old FZ-07 (a bike I would be content with).

I'm starting to lose hope and am considering cancelling insurance for a few years until I'm a bit older and can get a reasonable rate. I know this will affect the "years of continuous coverage" on insurance applications, but it's killing me on the inside to pay 1700 a year for insurance for a bike that's only worth $2500 MAX.

Do you guys think I could get a better rate elsewhere or am I better off going on hiatus for a year or two?
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It sounds bizarre

I suppose it depends, they might give you a discount AFTER 25(so when you turn 26) or the day you turn 25 (depending on your renewal date ofcourse)

But yes you should still get a discount, however if your in your 20s....even with experience, supersport insurance is gonna be a killer...

I wont even think about it till i'm 30, and have my full M

Id give Paul south a call(surnet insurance) hes pretty good, explain your situation, you might get lucky.


Edit

I just reread your post...a few things

1. You might regret cancelling simply because A bike is better than no bike at all...(im getting the blues just because of winter)
2. Shop around, you can probably get a cheaper quote for your 250(Paul south, or better yet i got a great quote on a ninja 300 from statefarm...like 1300/year but i didnt get the ninja)
 
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Thanks for the input, much appreciated :D

That's what I heard from fellow riders as well; that you don't slide into the 25+ category until your 25th birthday (and then the new rate is prorated from your birth date until your policy is up for renewal) OR until the next renewal following your 25th birthday, depending on the company of course.

Good points, but next year will actually be my 5th season of riding and being insured on a motorcycle (longer on a car), with a GM license that I've had for at least 5 years as well. Slightly discouraging that premiums haven't decreased by much since I stared, but I guess it's just the price of being able to enjoy life on two wheels. I'll definitely keep shopping and get in touch with Paul (thanks for the referral btw). I have a feeling that there has to be something better out there!

Would I be wrong to think that something like an FZ-07, Ninja 650 or CBR650F would be considered as a sport / sport touring instead of supersport in the eyes of most insurance companies?
 
Call Dalton Timmis as well and get a quote from them.

Your best bet for getting your price down at this point is shopping around. Dalton has access to more underwriters than any other broker out there, so it's worth the call.
 
Mo$kva said:
Would I be wrong to think that something like an FZ-07, Ninja 650 or CBR650F would be considered as a sport / sport touring instead of supersport in the eyes of most insurance companies?
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Depends Fz 07? No most people know that its not a sport bike
Cbr650F? Same thing i think most know its not a sport bike
Ninja 650? some people classify it as a sport bike(even though its not). Depends on this one on the underwriter.

You havent considered Sv650's Theyre great bikes, similar to the ninja and fz, but probably cheaper to buy and cheaper to insure.



For the most part insurance companies think like this:
1. Is it a sport bike?(If yes, automatic jack up of rates) IF NOT see #2
2. How big is the engine? (the higher the cc's the higher your premium)
3. How many R's does it have? (cbr 600RR, R6, GsxR, zx6R)

The ideal option would be(if you want to move up from the 250) would be to get a 650 parallel twin (sv650, fz07, Cbr650F or even the Er-6n(same thing as ninja 650, but not considered a sport bike)

This way you get a bigger bike and great performance, but dont take a huge insurance hit. You have been riding for a while, and are going to hit 25, so you should get a break in terms of insurance, you just have to shop around.(When i was looking i must have called and got quotes from like 15 different underwriters/brokers)
 
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Mo$kva said:
......it's killing me on the inside to pay 1700 a year for insurance for a bike that's only worth $2500 MAX....
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You're not paying the insurance for what the bike is worth...you are paying for liability, etc. for something you may do with a few hundred pounds of metal going at speed.

Unless you also have car ins. to keep yourself as continuous, it's probably best to keep insured and ride the 250.
 
bigpoppa said:
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For the most part insurance companies think like this:
1. Is it a sport bike?(If yes, automatic jack up of rates) IF NOT see #2
2. How big is the engine? (the higher the cc's the higher your premium)
3. How many R's does it have? (cbr 600RR, R6, GsxR, zx6R)

The ideal option would be(if you want to move up from the 250) would be to get a 650 parallel twin (sv650, fz07, Cbr650F or even the Er-6n(same thing as ninja 650, but not considered a sport bike)
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Too add to this, if you are looking at non-SS sportsbikes (or even sporty bikes), make sure you clarify with insurance companies what it is, to ensure you are getting accurate quotes. Come renewal time, it is always a PITA for my CBR650FA, as I need to double check half the time, since as soon as they year "CBR" they classify it as a 600cc SS bike, which can mean the difference from 1900/year to 1000/year for me.

Also for reference, the CBR650F is NOT a parallel twin...it is an inline 4 like the 600cc SS class (just makes less power). The SV650 and Ninja 650R are both twins, but the CBR650F and FZ6R are both inline 4s. I've also never heard of insurance caring about the engine configuration of a bike...all they care about is the displacement, the classification, and the cost.
 
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conundrum said:
Too add to this, if you are looking at non-SS sportsbikes (or even sporty bikes), make sure you clarify with insurance companies what it is, to ensure you are getting accurate quotes. Come renewal time, it is always a PITA for my CBR650FA, as I need to double check half the time, since as soon as they year "CBR" they classify it as a 600cc SS bike, which can mean the difference from 1900/year to 1000/year for me.

Also for reference, the CBR650F is NOT a parallel twin...it is an inline 4 like the 600cc SS class (just makes less power). The SV650 and Ninja 650R are both twins, but the CBR650F and FZ6R are both inline 4s. I've also never heard of insurance caring about the engine configuration of a bike...all they care about is the displacement, the classification, and the cost.
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Yes, some underwriters/agents specialize in motorcycle insurance, other times i get to talk to a 60 year old lady who has never seen a bike, and gives me an outrageous quote that makes no sense

As far as the cbr650f /fz6r is concerned, i guess they are not parallel twins, they just have similar performance to the other bikes
 
Switch to Geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your bike insurance.
 
bigpoppa said:
Yes, some underwriters/agents specialize in motorcycle insurance, other times i get to talk to a 60 year old lady who has never seen a bike, and gives me an outrageous quote that makes no sense
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I still remember talking to State Farm years ago, and they asked me if my motorcycle can seat more than 4 passengers, and do I ever use it for towing....
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