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Are insurance companies stupid with regards to the 500?

7K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  Ben 
#1 ·
Why does my CBR500R insurance cost so much? A S1000RR or ZX10 is considerably cheaper to insure (no joke).

I think they don't understand how cheap this bike is to own, operate, and repair and lump it with the supersport CBR. It's not even close to the same class as the other CBR's.

I feel like starting a protest to get them to look at the actual bike costs so they will lower rates.
 
#6 ·
About $400 a year fully comp for the 500 new, was quoted well over $1000 (same cover) for a 600rr new. New street triple was quoted about $800.

In Au.
 
#9 ·
That doesn't sound too far out of the ordinary except the others you mentioned should be much more expensive. Of course a lot of other factors go into it such as your location, your age, your driving record, your deductible that you chose, marital status and statistical data in regards to claims made for that particular model by region or nationwide, as well as what options you picked like medical, and uninsured/underinsured, etc..

I don't know how much mine is but i'm paying about $480/year for both my 500 and zx6r, and that's collision and comprehensive, but NO liability, with a $500 deductible. I live in Nebraska, so insurance rates are relatively low here compared to more crowded areas on the west coast or east coast. Not sure how other countries are, but i'm sure it varies greatly. As a comparison, for my Ducati 1198 I was paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $600-$700/year with the same exact policy specifications, so quite a bit more than both my current bikes together.

I'd check with other companies. I have State Farm and they've been pretty good so far and premiums are very reasonable.
 
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#10 ·
I don't understand having collision and comp but not liability. Most states require liability (not my state for motorcycles, though). If you wreck your bike the most you will be out of pocket is the cost of the bike, which is not too much for our 500's, but if you hurt somebody, or damage their vehicle it could cost you a lot more.

I've gone just the opposite direction; I have liability and under insured motorist coverage, but not collision or comp. If I had only liability and not under insured motorist my premium would be a lot less, but I guess I need to insure myself against those people who DON'T HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I think I provided too much information so it's confusing. The specific amount of cost is not important, just the difference compared between bikes for the same person. I'll list an example of prices. This is what I'm talking about:

2013 S1000RR $250
2013 ZX10 $250
2013 Yamaha 1300 cruiser $150
2013 Ninja 300, 500, and 650 are all $140
2013 Suzuki SV650 $140

2013 CBR500R $270

Exact same coverage for all. It makes NO SENSE that the CBR500 costs so much compared to those other bikes. It's a freaking $6000 standard bike with dirt cheap parts. Geico, Progressive, Allstate, etc. don't have the exact same prices but they all have the 500 priced high in the same way.
 
#18 ·
Can I ask how you got all those figures? Is there a site that will give ballpark figures for different models?
I know it depends on your driving record and a lot of other variables, but I'm considering a
new bike and don't want to have to call an agent a dozen times to get quotes on different models.
 
#12 ·
they're capitalising on the situation, no stupidity at all. I suppose there're more honda 500s on the road than any other models and they're supposed to be beginner's bike. and beginners are supposed to be inexperience riders. don't get me wrong if I assume they're expecting to pay more insurance claims to these groups of riders, hence the high premiums.
 
#14 ·
Im paying like $25/month for basic **** from Allstate. You just tell them the VIN and they pull up the exact bike and all so they see the cc and everything. Sometimes when insurance companies dont want to insure you for whatever reason they'll just price you out by giving you an outrageous quote so you go somewhere else.
 
#16 ·
It's about demographics and risk. Some insurance companies specialise in particular areas of the market: older drivers, younger drivers, those with good driving records or those with bad. If you fall outside their chosen area of customer, then you'll not get a favorable quote from them.

Years ago I bought a new one of those Chinese clones of the old Honda CG125 to use as a ride to work hack, because it was cheaper than buying a secondhand Honda. It cost me £200 to insure against an original Honda being £50. When I queried it the broker explained that the type of individual that bought the Chinese bike used them in a way that resulted in a higher rate of claims, whereas those riding 25 year old (visually identical) Hondas didn't. I ended up buying a secondhand 1979 Honda frame and transferring all the parts over to it!

I suppose our CB500's popularity with new riders has a similar detrimental effect on premiums.
 
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#22 ·
I don't get what you're getting at. Yes I'm insuring for collision and comp...how would I keep that a secret from the insurance company if I have insurance through them?? That makes no sense.

My bikes are both race bikes, so I don't need liability (which is legally required to ride on PUBLIC roads), because my bikes are never used on public roads, so nobody has to worry about hitting me or me worry about hitting them. Liability only pays the other person in the case of an accident that I am at fault at, which again...will never happen. What I do want is protection against theft, or damage to the bikes while they're being transported in a trailer, or some sort of fire damage. That's where collision and comprehensive comes into play and that's why I wanted that. Liability gives me 0 benefit and as long as I don't ride on public roads (which I don't...my bikes aren't even registered), then I'm not required to have it. The coll and comp is a low enough cost to where I thought it was worth it. The greatest risk for damage is if I get into an accident while trailering the bikes and my trailer insurance only covers the trailer itself, not the contents, according to my policy. Most people don't insure their race bikes at all, but I didn't want to take that risk because in case one of the scenarios above happens I don't have several thousand dollars in cash to simply replace everything, so the $40/month is worth it to me.

Hope this clarifies things before you draw more incorrect conclusions ;)
 
#21 ·
Speaking of deductables (or excesses in the UK) My excess is £100 with a voluntary excess of £0. Usually when you look at quotes these companys have the voluntary excess at £500 (hoping you don't sot it). You can change it on the slider, I do to £0 and it made my policy £4 more expensive! Saving me £496 if I had it stolen or had an accident! No brainer.


The insurance for my CBR500R + Kwak KE125 1978 (mint with 1000 miles on it from new - documented) is £120 a year. This is one of the main reasons I have a CBR500R. Cheap insurance, cheap to run, looks great and cheap to maintain. Great fun.


PS that is for fully comphrehisive insurance + pillion riders included. it pays to shop around.
 
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