Insurance is one of those things you just don’t think about until you really need it. Let’s hope none us ever need it, and we all go on paying our premiums without ever making a claim. The reality is that you just never know if/when something bad may happen and you have to make a claim. Most of us know the basics of our coverages, but when we get around to reading our policy, we get this glazed look in our eyes and all of a sudden sleep comes very easy. I imagine most feel like the insurance companies have purposely worded our policies in a manner so as to totally confuse us. The Insurance companies would rather you just put the policy back into the drawer and take a nap. At this point you should give yourself a good shake and make a phone call to your agent/insurer. If youv’e bought a policy through an agent, make them earn their commissions and start asking questions about your policy and what it does cover… More importantly what it doesn’t cover. Now, I’m no insurance expert, but I do work for an insurance company… and I did stay at Holiday Inn Express last week. So here’s my attempt to demystify and enlighten you on motorcycle insurance. Here are some definitions.
BASIC LIABILITY. This is the bare-bones minimum. Required by all states, it is the "proof of insurance" that you are asked for when stopped. They come in two areas; Bodily Injury (BI) and Property Damage (PD). Both of these coverages are what is called third party. That means that they are for the other person when you are at fault. In a nutshell, it protects others from the damages you may incur on them. It does not cover you or your cycle. It is under this coverage that GUEST PASSENGER LIABILITY is usually included. That is the part that offers protection to the passenger on the back. Some companies charge extra for this, some include it. Always ask if it is included!
COLLISION. This pays for the repairs on your cycle (less the deductible). It will pay up the value of the vehicle the moment before the loss. Check to see what methods they use to decide the value. The coverage may be used regardless of who is at fault. This coverage is referred to as first party. In a nutshell, that means it protects you from the damages you may inflict upon yourself.
COMPREHENSIVE. This is the part of your policy that covers your cycle in cases of fire, theft, vandalism, flood, and most events which are not covered under your collision. It also pays up to the value of the cycle the moment before the loss. Again, check to see what methods they use to decide values. This coverage is also first party.
UNINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE. Also called UMI. This coverage pays for injuries and losses due to injury (loss of wages) caused by an uninsured motorist. This coverage only applies when the uninsured motorist is at fault. The accident must also be reported to Law Enforcement within 24 hours if hit-&-run. Identity of uninsured motorist must be known!!
UNDER-INSURED MOTORIST Also called UIM. This coverage will supplement the other person's coverages. In a nutshell, if the damages to you are more than his insurance limits, this will kick in and supplement. Some companies have discounts that will apply to the pricing structure. Those discounts can be for being previously insured, or being claim-free, or having taken an approved Rider Safety Program. Always ask if the company offers any sort of discounts in the subsequent years. These discounts can add up! Most companies offer many different combinations of the above coverages. The five basic coverages listed above can be mixed and matched into almost ten different combinations depending on the company you are dealing with. With that many different possibilities, it is easy to see why there are some very large differences in pricing when you are calling around for price quotes. UMI/UIM is the most important insurance to buy. Buy the highest limits you can. This protects you, your passenger, and even relatives in your household for injuries in any UMI/UIM wreck for medicals, pain and suffering, lost wages, and future losses.
If You Are Injured: The first and last rule: DO NOT TALK to any insurance people without first consulting an injury lawyer. Not about ANYTHING. Remember, the adjuster's job is to find every excuse to pay you as little as possible, whether it's your own company or not. Just because you are in the right doesn't mean things won't end up slanted against you by the adjuster. You may not even think you are hurt after an accident, say so to the adjuster, but discover later your injuries are much worse. You've just damaged your case. Just say "no." Don't talk to the adjuster. This can make a huge difference in how well you do. The opposing adjuster also won't help you to get your claim handled properly under your underinsured (UIM) policy, and could easily take actions that would ruin your UIM claim. Be safe. Call any good personal injury lawyer, including any AIM lawyer. At least get a free phone consultation. Call an attorney that does a lot of personal injury work regularly.
For more information on insurance:
http://www.7cycles.com/library.html
My Insurance Experience
Up until just recently I had my motorcycle insurance with my auto insurance – State Farm. It was convenient and readily available, but it just didn’t have all the coverages I wanted. I started shopping for insurance over the web in the summer and got many quotes from many companies, many lower than the premiums I was paying SF. Then I stumbled upon beemercycleinsurance.com. You may have seen their very plain black box advertisement in the MOA ON. I hit their site and was won over by the Beemer-speak and the right buttons they were pressing. After going through the quote, I thought I must have done something wrong or missed something. The quote was a hundred dollars less than the lowest quote I had received. $134/year/bike and with substantial coverages. I had to make the phone call to talk to a human to verify. Who needs an agent when you can buy it direct from the insurance company. I was sold. I bought two policies right then and there online. I received my ID Cards right away, effective date of 8/1/01. I felt pretty proud. I was paying twice as much with State Farm and now I had better coverage for much less money. A month went by and I had never received anything but my ID cards. Two months went by. Still nothing. Every time I called I was told that my policy would be printed and sent soon. The next time is was printer problems and that I should get it very soon. In the meantime, the company I work for (American Modern Insurance Group) started selling motorcycle insurance here in Ohio. AMIG has recently purchased GuideOne’s motorcycle book of business and have been working on converting policies and coming up with our own system. I was approached by one of the VP’s and asked if I would like to become the first AMIG policyholder. I didn’t think twice. Being in the Communications department, it was the perfect opportunity to be the motorcycle policyholder advocate.
By now it had been three months and no policy or anything from beemcycleinsurance. I took great joy in calling the guy to tell him I wanted my money back… and that he was probably breaking some insurance law here in Ohio. He offered no resistance whatsoever and said that I would be receiving a check in the mail. When, he couldn’t tell me.
In any case, I have a policy in my hand… the day after I was entered into the new system. My policy number ends with 00001, denoting the first policyholder. They made a big fuss over it… Now if they would designate a spot close to the door as motorcycle parking, I would be impressed.
The Prez Sez
I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! We all can be thankful for what seems to me to be a very extended, relatively warm, riding season. Based on the e-group chatter, a lot of you have been taking advantage of it.
Coming soon to a social calendar near you is our annual Christmas Party. Those of you on our e-mail list should be receiving a reminder for this event requesting a response. Please take a moment and respond so that our party organizers can plan appropriately. Those who don’t respond or are not on our e-mail list will be receiving a phone call asking if you plan to attend. I hope all of you who can squeeze our party into your schedules will make the effort to attend. We always have a good time, sharing food, drink, stories, and the holiday spirit. Not only that, but this is a great chance to get some benefits from your club dues, since the club buys the meat entrée and a variety of beverages (adult and otherwise). Of additional interest this year is the availability of the facilities at the racquet club, so dress accordingly. Participation is strictly voluntary. I hope to see lots of you there!
One bit of club business we’ll have to attend to at the Christmas party is the election of club officers. The only office with more than one nominee is vice president, where Greg Cullers, Bill Berry, and Jerry Cummins are all willing to organize the club’s rides. The rest of us officers will just slide on into another year of service.
And please consider coming out for brunch the morning after the Christmas party. The Old Country Buffet is just off I-675 near the Dayton Mall. It’s a great chance to meet other riders from southwest Ohio and to learn more about the many activities that take place throughout the year under the Ohio RA banner.
Bob
MOA Dues Increasing
The BMW MOA Board of Directors voted on July 12, 2001 to raise membership dues. Reasons for this increase were described in the July and August issues of the BMW MOA's BMW Owners News.
Effective January 1, 2002, dues will be as follows:
|
Full Membership
1 Year - $32 3 Years - $80 5 Years - $125 Lifetime - $500 |
Associate Membership
1 Year - $8 3 Years - $22 5 Years - $37 Lifetime - $170 |
Members have until March 1, 2002 to renew under the current dues structure. New members must join on or before December 31, 2001 to also take advantage of current dues. The most convenient way of “locking-in” present rates is to renew or join at the BMW MOA website: http://www.bmwmoa.org/. You may also snail mail the application for membership found in each issue of the BMW MOA's BMW Owners News. Please call BMW MOA Headquarters at 636-537-5511 if you have any questions. The membership benefits can more than pay for dues. To check out the benefits in detail visit their site.
Motorcycle Safety Tidbits
FTWO – Tip of the Day
We have all ridden in cold weather and despite having heavy gloves,
possibly including extra liners, those fingers get too cold and begin to numb.
So, what to do about it?
Here is a tip that Elaine Anthony, came up with a couple of years ago when we were out on the last leg (612 miles) of a week on the road and it was so cold that our fingers began to get numb. We pulled to the side of the road, got off our bikes, and dug into our first-aid kits. We pulled out a set of latex gloves and put them on over the liners, then put our regular gloves on over the latex gloves. It's amazing how effective that simple idea turned out to be.
(You do carry latex gloves in your first-aid kit, right?)
Internet Notes as of 11/26/01
GCBMWC.org hit stats 2239
Egroup messages 378
Egroup members 42