re insurance costs for a Spyder in Ontario
Back around mid-March 2018, there was a discussion on this subject on Ontario Spyder Ryders; you might want to check it out to see a range of policy costs from different companies across Ontario.
There was also some input here recently on another thread; the following was my contribution. I have provided detailed info for sake of comparison, as insurance rates are very dependent upon individual variables in coverage amounts, risk content, vehicle type, areas of use/residence and mileage driven:
Me: 77 year old accident free Ontario (Peterborough area) driver, multi vehicle discount, retiree discount, claims free discount, mature driver discount; G license holder for 62 years; M license for 44 years but have ridden motorbikes since age 13. Total premium: $2,082 CDN funds for 12 months.
Vehicles covered: 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, list value new $55K, driven 20,000 km/yr.
Covered for $2 million public liability/property damage; accident benefits (standard coverage) and $500 deductible collision, $500 deductible comprehensive.
Annual premium: $768 CDN.
2017 F3L Spyder, list before taxes $35K, driven approx. 8,000 km/yr. Covered for $2 million liability and property damage; accident benefits (standard coverage) and $500 deductible for each of collision and comprehensive.
Annual premium: $1,314 CDN.
For $US values, just figure 3/4 or 75%.
These vehicles are used alternately of one another, never on the road at the same time; however, the third party insurance (liability) charges are assessed independently according to what underwriters believe their vehicular capacity for causing damage might be. Third party liability insurance costs are higher for Jeep (about 1/3 more), seemingly because it could probably do greater damage to others than the Spyder. On the other hand, my accident benefits cost about 7 times as much for the Spyder portion of my policy as for the Jeep, presumably because they feel I could suffer much greater injury while ryding the bike.
AND, get this, although the $500 deductibles are the same for both vehicles, and the list cost of the Jeep is nearly TWICE that of the Spyder, it costs TWICE AS MUCH to buy the collision and comprehensive coverage for the Spyder. Explain that one to me, if you can.
Such is the working of the mind (logic ???) of an insurance underwriter/actuary.
This is the best/cheapest policy I could come up with that provided the coverage level I wanted. I maybe could save a bit (not much) if I raised the deductible to $1,000. Not really worth doing so, in my judgment. I shopped around; I knew what I was looking for. Many years ago, I was a licensed salesman of casualty insurance. I grew up in a family-owned independent insurance agent/broker business first started 108 years ago by my grandfather (since sold). My policy today is through a direct writer, Co-operators, but just to double-check, I asked my niece (still employed in the former family firm) to look it over. Try as she might, she couldn't come within $700 of what I'm paying (and she tried all the angles, believe me; Bob Denman will understand what I mean).
I'm just glad that my retirement/pension savings allow me the opportunity of owning a Spyder and being able to license and insure it so as to go out on the road. BUT, it ain't getting any easier, at least not on the north side of the 49th parallel. And the rationale behind the rates charged for the different elements of the policy is beyond my comprehension. I suspect that Spyders are simply lumped in with other 3-wheel vehicles (trikes) as far as loss/risk expectations go, and thus may be getting penalized somewhat when really we're supposed to be a safer form of transport due to the 'reverse trike' better stability. But that's hard to determine without getting more into the heads of the underwriters and risk management staff.
