How Do I Make My Car Insurance Work Like My Motorcycle Insurance?

Here's the deal- I'm super happy with the way my motorcycle insurance is structured. I pay $3xx/yr for the Buell (highest risk) and then, for additional bikes, a few extra dollars per year (DRZ is $12/yr, for example). If I remove the Buell, they go off the next highest risk bike, and keep token increases for all others. This makes sense to me, as I can only ride (and therefore crash) one at a time.

My car insurance, with the same carrier (Progressive) makes no sense. I pay $8xx/yr for my truck, and when I add other vehicles, they stack. Another $7xx/yr for the BMW, another $7xx/yr for the Mazda, etc. But again, I can only drive one at a time. This means I can't afford to have more than a couple cars, but I could have 10 bikes if I wanted to.

What gives? Are they assuming I'll die if I crash a bike, and therefore be done, but I'll survive a car crash and therefore the extra cars are more "ammunition" for me to go crash again? Is there a way for me to make my car insurance work the way my motorcycle insurance does?

Try a different company. Progressive is probably the best for motorcycles. But they don't really hold up for cars, in my experience. I'd start with calls to State Farm, Allstate, and then an independent insurance agent. Have them calculate it with the cars, and the cars and bikes.

Make sure that you have one vehicle listed as your primary driver; the others are just collector/fun cars.

I just quoted with both State Farm and Allstate- both worse

Allstate might be better if I had 5+ cars, so that's an option I guess.

This is relevant to my interests, if I could get car insurance that works like that motorcycle insurance, I'd save mad moniez. I'm the only person who drives the cars aside from a mechanic once in a while.

I feel State Farm is hosing me and the wife. We have five cars insured and we can only drive two at any given time. We seem to be paying normal rates on all of them except for Spitfire, which has a classic car policy on it with the usual restrictions.

Sadly I've never seen an auto policy which works the same as an MC policy. I'd own even more cars if they did.

My progressive policy works similar to that. Not THAT cheap, but close. My Miata, which was a secondary/pleasure car, was $8/month. I recall when I had 4 cars on the policy, the last Saturn Wagon I had added was only around $5/month.

I wonder how much of of the rate structure difference between 2 and 4 wheels is dictated or influenced by state law?

In reply to Type Q:

That's actually an interesting thought- and would explain how ProDarwin is getting that deal with the same company I have.

FYI, that was in VA and NC. And liability only.

what you describe makes sense liability wise.

What if they all suffer hail damage at once? it does not matter which one you were driving.

Could also vary depending on full or liability only coverage.

Minimum coverage on everything.

You live in Pennsylvania and don't have Erie insurance?! They're less than half the cost of USAA!

In reply to Sky_Render:

I've gotten quotes from Erie, they come out about the same as my current plan.

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

In Pennsylvania, you are keeping your rates at nearly the highest they can be when you have minimum limits= 15/30. One factor most companies look at when determining the rate you pay for your coverage is...your current coverage limits. They figure that more responsible people will seek more coverage, and those who seek "just the minimum" are just minimally responsible. In fact, some companies look at your minimum limits policy as you being the same risk as someone with no prior insurance.

I've actually seen companies offer lower overall premium when higher coverage limits are selected, it's happened to me the last 2 times I switched myself.

When you do your shopping, ask for 25/50/25 with matching un/underinsured limits. You should see a minimal impact on your quotes this time, and most likely you'll see lower rates for the same coverage when you shop again in 6 months.

In Illinois, State Farm will not let you insure a motorcycle as primary transportation if you also have a car on said policy. Doesn't matter if you explain that the car is only for when it snows.

etifosi wrote: In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: In Pennsylvania, you are keeping your rates at nearly the highest they can be when you have minimum limits= 15/30. One factor most companies look at when determining the rate you pay for your coverage is...your current coverage limits. They figure that more responsible people will seek more coverage, and those who seek "just the minimum" are just minimally responsible. In fact, some companies look at your minimum limits policy as you being the same risk as someone with no prior insurance. I've actually seen companies offer lower overall premium when higher coverage limits are selected, it's happened to me the last 2 times I switched myself. When you do your shopping, ask for 25/50/25 with matching un/underinsured limits. You should see a minimal impact on your quotes this time, and most likely you'll see lower rates for the same coverage when you shop again in 6 months.

You're kinda, sorta right, but not really. It's not an assumption that minimum limits buyers are minimally responsible. It's data driven. If you buy a lower limits policy, the insurance companys' potential exposure is lower so they can charge less premium as a general rule. They then look at your individual driving record to determine responsibility potential. They typically correlate, so your theory works out. People who buy higher limits are often more responsible, but no assumptions are made. Trust me, I deal with policies that have 2 comma limits and there are plenty of morons there too...

Motorcycle insurance is cheaper than auto for very simple reasons. Their potential to cause harm/damage to others is much less. When a Buell runs into an Accord at 40mph, who comes out ahead? But swap that Buell out for a mommy wagon SUV and ask the same question. As for why they charge you much less for the second bike, I'm not as familiar with motorcycles as I am with cars, but again I'm guessing it's risk based.

It's opposite here. I wish I could insure my bikes like my cars are. It cost me the same to insure my Z06 as my KLX250.

In reply to Klayfish:

By definition, higher limits = more financial responsibility.

Also, just because you said "trust me", I can't. "Honestly"!

I guess I should also mention that although I have liability only, I have the maximum coverage progressive allows (500 CSL).