Author Topic: Ride your bike, save on insurance.  (Read 4294 times)

bwall

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Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« on: January 02, 2015, 04:56:12 PM »
I called my insurance broker the other day to make a change to the policy--we are officially a one car family now. I bike everyday and my wife takes public transportation, so we really don't drive very much anymore.

During the conversation I said that we would be driving 8000 miles a year, not 12,000. Our insurance premium dropped by 25%.

Has anyone else had the same experience?

dandarc

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2015, 05:03:54 PM »
When I've quoted it, ours drops by close to 50% by removing my car.  I really need to get back into the biking this year.

Indexer

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2015, 07:32:10 PM »
If you are biking a lot and not using your car, and especially if you have two cars tell your insurance agent its a 'pleasure use only' vehicle.  If its parked most of the time anyway why not?

When I was in college I used public transportation or walked everywhere.  My mustang sat under a tarp except when I drove to other cities.  I listed it as a pleasure use only vehicle.  Insurance dropped to almost nothing.

I just started biking to work so once I've been doing that long enough to justify it I will be calling my insurance agent.

They may ask for your mileage each year so it is important that you aren't driving it a lot.


bwall

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2015, 01:27:52 PM »
If you are biking a lot and not using your car, and especially if you have two cars tell your insurance agent its a 'pleasure use only' vehicle.  If its parked most of the time anyway why not?

They may ask for your mileage each year so it is important that you aren't driving it a lot.

Yes, that is the term that they used 'pleasure use only'. And, they did ask the mileage. So, if there ever is a claim I'm sure that they will do the math. But, I'm not worries since we really don't use it that much.

JLee

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2015, 08:26:49 PM »
Which insurance company do you use? Progressives asks me if it's business/pleasure/commute, but they don't ask how much I drive.

minority_finance_mo

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2015, 12:18:59 AM »
I called my insurance broker the other day to make a change to the policy--we are officially a one car family now. I bike everyday and my wife takes public transportation, so we really don't drive very much anymore.

During the conversation I said that we would be driving 8000 miles a year, not 12,000. Our insurance premium dropped by 25%.

Has anyone else had the same experience?

Woah, 25% reduction in miles = 25% reduction in price? I wonder if the pricing structure is linear.... hmmm... *furiously calculates monthly cost of driving zero miles.*

bwall

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2015, 01:04:19 PM »
The question "business/pleasure/commute" is the one that matters.

Commute = daily driving = increased likelihood of accident.

Business = any employee will drive it and most likely not care about it.

Pleasure = only driven when you want to = off peak traffic hours = less likely to be in an accident.

I'm sure that they have some sort of matrix, where above X miles it cannot be a pleasure vehicle anymore, say, somewhere between 8000 and 12,000. But, if you'll declare driving of 6000, then you have just 'given' them 2000 miles. If you drive more than 6000, then there might be a problem if you have a claim. Say, that you drove 7500 miles while just declaring 6000. . . .. They could use this as leverage against you in a claim. I'm not an insurance agent, so I don't know for sure. This reflects my opinion of insurance companies more than anything.

Kmp2

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2015, 01:30:39 PM »
Yep, same thing happened to me when I fully committed to a bike/transit commute. Reduced mileage, no daily driving and I took off collision. The rate was 45% lower :), which covers my (work subsidized) bus pass.

hyla

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2015, 10:18:18 PM »
Not at all.  My insurance went up when my mileage went from 12,000 a year down to 3,000 a year, because it coincided with a move to a state with more expensive insurance, I don't get much of a discount for driving fewer miles.  I think I save maybe $7 a month on a $65 monthly insurance bill because of the low mileage.  Yes, you get a bit of a discount, but compared to other things used to calculate your insurance (location, driving record, value of car etc.) it's pretty minor. 

BlueMR2

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Re: Ride your bike, save on insurance.
« Reply #9 on: January 07, 2015, 10:04:44 AM »
I called my insurance broker the other day to make a change to the policy--we are officially a one car family now. I bike everyday and my wife takes public transportation, so we really don't drive very much anymore.

During the conversation I said that we would be driving 8000 miles a year, not 12,000. Our insurance premium dropped by 25%.

Has anyone else had the same experience?

Nope, not anymore.  Mileage and usage is no longer factored in on my insurance (it used to be, but they don't use it anymore).