R18 - insurance nightmare?

D

Deleted member 213

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OK so I'm a Boomer with full No Claims Bonus, no accidents or convictions, store the bike on my own drive, good professional job, home owner. So my insurance should be easy to get and not too expensive right? Wrong. Seems that living in London means you are almost uninsurable for the R18 unless you put it in a single lock up garage. I used the usual internet insurance compare the market tool and every one except my existing one would accept me and the cost is higher than my M5 car. Even specialists didnt want to know. Finally, not even BMW Motorrad Insurance will take me on! You would have thought they might be flexible when its one of their own customers. This must be a factor in the UK for sales of the R18 as how can you sell a bike that is nearly impossible to insure? Anyway, wondered if its just me and residents of UK cities or affects others globally?:unsure:

R
 
Wowza. More than your M5? That definitely takes the fun out of things. The only issue I had with insurance here in Wisconsin, USA, was that the bike was so new it wasn't in State Farm's database yet. How does it compare with your Harley? Do you store that inside? Are the numbers based on engine size or maybe there's confusion about what an R18 is? I mean, it CAN'T be from a known history of theft or high repair costs, because that data doesn't exist.
 
Yes I had that nothing on the database problem when I first insured it in September 2020, not sure if its any better now. I think the problem for us is that the level of bike theft, especially scooters, in our cities is so high and our police have given up on investigating bike thefts so the premiums keep going up. My Harley alone was 50% of what the R18 cost to insure. Having them both on the policy is almost the same cost, just £100 more for the two. Ridiculous. Anyway sounds like Wisconsin understands big cruisers when it comes to insurance (y)
 
TodkaVonic said:
Wowza. More than your M5? That definitely takes the fun out of things. The only issue I had with insurance here in Wisconsin, USA, was that the bike was so new it wasn't in State Farm's database yet. How does it compare with your Harley? Do you store that inside? Are the numbers based on engine size or maybe there's confusion about what an R18 is? I mean, it CAN'T be from a known history of theft or high repair costs, because that data doesn't exist.
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It was so new when I bought mine it was not listed in my state. My Title actually reads, " Model, Unknown"
Made a phone call to Progressive from the dealer and 5 minutes later had the bike insured.
 
USAA doesn't insure new motorcycles in Georgia USA anymore, but uses Progressive as a third party. Was able to get insurance with Progressive on my R 18 Classic within minutes, with the same coverage I had with USAA. No problem with VIN numbers not saying it wasn't a 2021 model.
 
I was told by my insurance company that my R18 Classic would be difficult to insure without the Data Stealth Tracker which is paid by the dealer for the first year only. I live and ride mainly in Devon which cannot be compared to London. I had to double my excess to get the premium to a sensible level.
 
Desert Rat said:
I was told by my insurance company that my R18 Classic would be difficult to insure without the Data Stealth Tracker which is paid by the dealer for the first year only. I live and ride mainly in Devon which cannot be compared to London. I had to double my excess to get the premium to a sensible level.
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Mine is with Footman James. It took about an hour to sort out because the Classic was not on the database. As I am midway through the year it is not easy to work out the exact extra cost . I also have a few classic bikes insured. I ended up paying an extra £100 which is not too bad. Unlike yourself I am in a higher risk area.
 
While easy to get, my insurance was not cheap. $1700 CDN for the year. That was for full collision and comprehensive coverage and 3 million liability. More than our Honda CRV
 
clivescott said:
While easy to get, my insurance was not cheap. $1700 CDN for the year. That was for full collision and comprehensive coverage and 3 million liability. More than our Honda CRV
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That is high and on a par with what we pay in South Africa. And I stay in a town, not a city. Motorcycle theft is a problem (even hijacking motorcyclists at traffic stops, believe it or not), but not to the level experienced in UK cities. The biggest issues here are the number of unlicensed drivers, drivers with fake licenses, driving under the influence, mobile device usage while driving and p1ss-poor policing to deal with all of that effectively. Our accident rate is obviously high as a result since road users invariably simply drive poorly. Add rejection of 'colonial rules/convention' to the mix, and you see drivers often not stopping at traffic lights or stop signs - treating them like yield signs, if at all.

I own a virtual herd of motorcycles but can afford comprehensive insurance only on a couple of them. For the rest, I do balance-of-third-party, fire and theft. And ride defensively, other than fast most of the time.
 
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I'm surprised to see how expensive is the insurance in USA.

Mine is less than 500€, full insurance including home towing in case of breakdown
 
estoma said:
That is high and on a par with what we pay in South Africa. And I stay in a town, not a city. Motorcycle theft is a problem (even hijacking motorcyclists at traffic stops, believe it or not), but not to the level experienced in UK cities. The biggest issues here are the number of unlicensed drivers, drivers with fake licenses, driving under the influence, mobile device usage while driving and p1ss-poor policing to deal with all of that effectively. Our accident rate is obviously high as a result since road users invariably simply drive poorly. Add rejection of 'colonial rules/convention' to the mix, and you see drivers often not stopping at traffic lights or stop signs - treating them like yield signs, if at all.

I own a virtual herd of motorcycles but can afford comprehensive insurance only on a couple of them. For the rest, I do balance-of-third-party, fire and theft. And ride defensively, other than fast most of the time.
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That sounds like a nightmare, I'm sorry about that. However I do share your sentiment since I am originally from Brazil but living in America for many years. In Brazil I would never be able to afford and ride a BMW, or any 500+cc, due to high cost of acquisition, insurance and theft.
 
ftonello said:
That sounds like a nightmare, I'm sorry about that. However I do share your sentiment since I am originally from Brazil but living in America for many years. In Brazil I would never be able to afford and ride a BMW, or any 500+cc, due to high cost of acquisition, insurance and theft.
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De onde no brasil você é? Morei e trabalhei em Victoria durante anos. Minha esposa é da Barra do Jucu, ES. Meu Honda em Pedra Azul.IMG_2167.jpg
 
ftonello said:
Legal. Eu sou de São Paulo. Nunca visitei esta região, porém gostaria muito especialmente de moto.
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Já voou por São Paulo 10 vezes, pelo Rio pelo menos 80 vezes. A abordagem de pouso mais bonita é em Santos Dumont.
À direita 0:25 você pode ver a estátua do Cristo Redentor.
Pão de açúcar no centro da frente.

Brazil07 069.jpg
 
That's really interesting that you all are suffering the insurance. Outside of Chicago, I just went with Progressive and had no issues. In fact, I thought it was less than I expected for yearly cost. What are these insurance companies thinking--that we'll be doing wheelies on the highways with that much weight?!
 
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