[PinkPanther]

I think my dads just tryin to be a total jerk about this but I wanna know if he's actually right. I live in L.A. and im 19, only having my license for a year, so insurance is already high for me.

He said if i wanna have a bike I need to pay for everything but comprehensive ( i managed to convince him thats not absolutely necessary). Personally I would just get liability at 15/30 or whatever the lowest one is, and i wouldn't get collision either. my logic is that I honestly dont think that if I do manage to hit a car that I would need to pay all this money for insurance, instead just pay for what i think wud b minimal damage to fix it out of my own pocket. he wants me to get full coverage minus comprehensive at 50/100. please let me know your thoughts, i want to know i'm being unreasonable or if he just wants me to run out of money so I cant afford to own a bike anymore

sorry if i dont explain things well enuf or repeat myself, i'm not very awake right now

 

[08sv]

First 15/30 runs out pretty quickly. Say your knee is blown. Potentially by the second surgery your coverage could be maxed out already. I have heard of knees costing up to 15k for surgeries.

We have 100k/300k/100k on both bikes and I feel much more secure knowing that if something goes bad at least I have some breathing room before I am stuck with the bills.

The largest portion of our coverage rates is from the "uninsured motorist" ( which I would advise anyone to get), the second largest portion would be the theft coverage.

Hope this helps.

 

[1K_wayne]

The total bill for my knee surgery in December was $14,785. This was for outpatient surgery on a torn PCL and Meniscus, a hospital stay can get ridiculous. I have 300/500/300 along with full UM, UIM, and medical on both my bike and truck, along with a larger homeowners liability policy. You can't always pay for what you think minimal damage would be, you might just have to pay for what the other partys lawyer and the courts agree on. Insurance is only expensive until you need it. Oh, and living in LA I would definitely get comprehensive, you might want do a little research on how often bikes are stolen.

 

[Marc]

If it's your fault that you crash and get hurt, your bike insurance isn't going to pay your medical bills. You need health insurance for that. If it's someone elses fault then their insurance will pay. If they don't have enough coverage and you have uninsured/underinsured coverage that will kick in and help pay.

If you have only 15K liability and it's your fault that a Mercedes crashes, flys off a cliff, gets totaled, and the corrupt banker driving it gets hurt, you got a problem. They are going to sue you. If you don't own anything then I guess they won't get anything. If you do own things of value then you're going to lose them.

Everybody knows what happens if you don't have collision or comprehensive and your bike gets damaged or stolen.

 

[RandyO]

I think my dads just tryin to be a total jerk about this but I wanna know if he's actually right. I live in L.A. and im 19, only having my license for a year, so insurance is already high for me.

He said if i wanna have a bike I need to pay for everything but comprehensive ( i managed to convince him thats not absolutely necessary). Personally I would just get liability at 15/30 or whatever the lowest one is, and i wouldn't get collision either. my logic is that I honestly dont think that if I do manage to hit a car that I would need to pay all this money for insurance, instead just pay for what i think wud b minimal damage to fix it out of my own pocket. he wants me to get full coverage minus comprehensive at 50/100. please let me know your thoughts, i want to know i'm being unreasonable or if he just wants me to run out of money so I cant afford to own a bike anymore

sorry if i dont explain things well enuf or repeat myself, i'm not very awake right now

your the total jerk, your so underinsured, why bother at all

even the amount he is telling you to get is under insured

why no comprehensive?

its what covers you for theft, natural occurances and animal hits (collision does not cover you for hitting a deer )


if you can't afford the insurance, you can't afford a bike

 

[MattSV650]

I agree you should have plenty of liability insurance. You probably won't do a lot of damage to a car in a crash, but you could.

As for collision, it depends on how much it costs. When I bought my first bike, my '00 Gen 1, I paid $4000 used. It was $300 for liability and $3000 for full coverage. So I just got liability. I wasn't going to pay $3K every year to cover a $4K bike. Even if I completely totaled it, it would be cheaper just to throw it away, unless it was in that first year.

However, now that I just bought an '08 and my insurance is cheaper now because of my age, I have full coverage.

 

[RandyO]

If you have only 15K liability and it's your fault that a Mercedes crashes, flys off a cliff, gets totaled, and the corrupt banker driving it gets hurt, you got a problem. They are going to sue you. If you don't own anything then I guess they won't get anything. If you do own things of value then you're going to lose them.

just a likely that mercedes was being driven by a young surgeon that can no longer use his hands, this young surgeon is married 5 years and has 2 young children and a wife that were counting on a lifetime of income from the education he recieved at Harvard Medical School

 

[jlh-sv]

if you can't afford the insurance, you can't afford a bike [/QUOTE]

Quote of the year.

 

[nigelcorn]

just a likely that mercedes was being driven by a young surgeon that can no longer use his hands, this young surgeon is married 5 years and has 2 young children and a wife that were counting on a lifetime of income from the education he recieved at Harvard Medical School

Yeah, that would definitely suck, for both of you. However, most professionals have disability insurance for that type of thing. No matter how much insurance you have, there are examples (like this one) where it will not be enough for the lawsuit. You can't protect yourself against every conceivable situation. I have no problem with the minimum (though 15/30 sounds really low). Where I live it is 50/100. If the bill comes to more than that, they will get a lawyer, who will have one look at you (19 year old who couldn't afford better insurance) and will advise his client that they won't get anything out of you. There are very few people who would pursue any type of legal action against you, other than to be vindictive. If they did, it would just mean that you declare bankruptcy and have bad credit for the next 7 years....could be worse.

So, in summary, I don't think 15/30 is enough, just because it doesn't cover your medical expenses. I do think the minimum in most states (50/100) is enough. In your situation, I wouldn't worry about getting the 300/500 insurance, it is more than you need. As soon as you get a million dollar home and drive something worth taking away in court, then you can worry about it.

 

[R1DAVE]

if they get a judgement against you in court it can be enforced any time, be it now or ten years from now. they can follow you from job to job and take it out of your pay. your best bet is full coverage. you never know whats going to happen, and the more traffic the more you have to lose. lets say your driving down the interstate and someone runs you off the road. they keep going but your bike slides and hits a car which in turn hits another car. cop will say its your fault and now you have to pay for 2 car repairs. it can and it has happened. usually when wrecks are on the interstate there are more then just 2 cars involved. just some food for thought

 

[tlc4diving]

Realize too, that if your parent's names are anywhere on anything tied to the bike, then a judgment can come back on them and their property. CYA

 

[Verbal Kint]

If it's your fault that you crash and get hurt, your bike insurance isn't going to pay your medical bills. You need health insurance for that. If it's someone elses fault then their insurance will pay. If they don't have enough coverage and you have uninsured/underinsured coverage that will kick in and help pay.

If you have only 15K liability and it's your fault that a Mercedes crashes, flys off a cliff, gets totaled, and the corrupt banker driving it gets hurt, you got a problem. They are going to sue you. If you don't own anything then I guess they won't get anything. If you do own things of value then you're going to lose them.

Everybody knows what happens if you don't have collision or comprehensive and your bike gets damaged or stolen.

:iamwithstupid:

your the total jerk, your so underinsured, why bother at all

even the amount he is telling you to get is under insured

why no comprehensive?

its what covers you for theft, natural occurances and animal hits (collision does not cover you for hitting a deer )


if you can't afford the insurance, you can't afford a bike

:iamwithstupid:

just a likely that mercedes was being driven by a young surgeon that can no longer use his hands, this young surgeon is married 5 years and has 2 young children and a wife that were counting on a lifetime of income from the education he recieved at Harvard Medical School

:iamwithstupid:

if you can't afford the insurance, you can't afford a bike

Quote of the year.[/quote]

:iamwithstupid:

if they get a judgement against you in court it can be enforced any time, be it now or ten years from now. they can follow you from job to job and take it out of your pay. your best bet is full coverage. you never know whats going to happen, and the more traffic the more you have to lose. lets say your driving down the interstate and someone runs you off the road. they keep going but your bike slides and hits a car which in turn hits another car. cop will say its your fault and now you have to pay for 2 car repairs. it can and it has happened. usually when wrecks are on the interstate there are more then just 2 cars involved. just some food for thought

:iamwithstupid:

Realize too, that if your parent's names are anywhere on anything tied to the bike, then a judgment can come back on them and their property. CYA

:iamwithstupid:

 

[dmleong]

First off if you think your dad is being a jerk for teaching you responsibility, you are not mature enough to handle the responsibility of riding a motorcycle. When i bought my motorcycle I was 25 years old and had the California minimum liability 15/30. It was pretty stupid, I was on my own and paid for ALL my own bills. After i got Married, started a family, and bought a house I realized that i need more coverage. I then called my Insurance company and asked to upgrade they gave me 100/300 free of charge; they said all I had to do is ask. I pay $97 a year for liability and full coverage would be in the $700-800 range. Really not worth it for me to go full coverage, but thats a personal preference.

Now i realize you are young and excited, but you really need to look at it from your dad's point of view. As others said he needs to cover the family's butt, so you can have some fun on a motorcycle. I say not a bad trade off to pay for some of the insurance. When you are on your own you can do whatever you want because it will pretty much only affect you. Your dad on the other hand has a family to take care of and is teaching you a little responsibility at the same time. Your dad is not being a jerk he's being a good father.

 

[crown180]

Hello, have to agree with your Father, his "assets" are on the line also until you are out on your own, they will look to him once your 15 grand is gone in seconds. May not get them but gonna cost him to protect it.

 

[frick]

Your dad knows what he's talking about.

Who paid for the bike? If he paid for it, then by not getting full coverage, you're being a jerk by not considering the monetary value of his gift to you. If you paid for it, then by not getting full coverage, you're likely going to be really upset if/when you crash the bike or it's stolen and there goes all of the money you spent on it. If it's under a loan, you're required to have full coverage so the bank knows they can recover the money they loaned you if it gets wrecked or stolen.

Also, some insurance companies offer medical coverage besides the 15/30 (or higher), but most companies don't because it's not worth it for them to offer it on motorcyclists. Mine does and I pay more for that.

I live in LA as well (if you mean Los Angeles), and I think you'd be nuts not to get more coverage--especially with bike thefts and the drivers here. I don't have full coverage on my 2002 because 2 years worth of full coverage is nearly the worth of my bike and I take the risk, but then I do not have a 2007. If I did, I'd get full coverage.

Your dad's worried about you, and rightfully so.

 

[Nox]

some of these guys are very constructive, some are DBs, but all of them know what they're talking about. Minimum coverage isn't enough, not even close. you don't nkow how much a crash can potentially cost you, and last thing you want is a stupid mistake becoming a lifetime burden at your age.

As for collision and comprehensive, i don't see these as necessary since there's an upper limit to your losses - the value of your bike. not having these coverages might even keep you in check.

 

[holterb]

A guy i knew was riding a bike in the twisties and a van passed him, then a few miles down the road right behind a turn they decided to do a u-turn and he t-boned them. It was a 17 year old with minimum insurance. The guy would have garnished the kids wages for upwards of 20 some years if he didnt have a well paying job and a good concious. He decided not to sue him and deal on it himself.

The kid would have had his wages garnished until he was 40 all because he wanted to save a couple hundred bucks a year.... I go 300/500/300 and max UM and UIM, no comprehensive though, thats expensive. haha

 

[leaftye]

With the way some people here are talking, it's practically impossible to get enough insurance. I worked with a plastic surgeon that has his own practice. Mess up his hands and you'll cause him to lose millions and millions in future earnings. You can't possibly get enough insurance to cover that.

 

[Maviryk]

A guy i knew was riding a bike in the twisties and a van passed him, then a few miles down the road right behind a turn they decided to do a u-turn and he t-boned them. It was a 17 year old with minimum insurance. The guy would have garnished the kids wages for upwards of 20 some years if he didnt have a well paying job and a good concious. He decided not to sue him and deal on it himself.

The kid would have had his wages garnished until he was 40 all because he wanted to save a couple hundred bucks a year.... I go 300/500/300 and max UM and UIM, no comprehensive though, thats expensive. haha

Something is wrong with this story. How does a VAN pass a MOTORCYCLE in the twisties?

I want this van.

 

[leaftye]

I don't see motorcyclists pushing it very hard in most twisties, especially if they're not on sport bikes.