Insurance - Anyone have any history with Markel?

[Bob Denman]

Arbitration... or subrogation?
Subrogation is a process whereby you have your insurance company pay for a collision claim, and they attempt to recoup the money from the other party's company.
You'll be paid minus your deductible. You will get that back, when your company collects the funds from the other company.
(If they don't collect in full: you'll be paid based upon the percentage of fault assigned to the involved parties.)

Arbitration comes into play, when the two companies simply cannot reach an agreement. A neutral third party is brought in to make the decision.

Both processes take time.. because lawyers bill by the hour! :banghead:

 

[canamjhb]

I have had Geico insurance for years. Two automobiles, motorhome, and two bikes, a Goldwing and Spyder. The bike insurance is due May 1st. And, of course, I get a number of solicitations from other companies......all wanting to be my best friend. Geico wants $238 for the 2002 Wing and another $770 for the 2014 RTL. This is minimal coverage and the last blemish on our driving record was a speeding ticket I got in 1969. I checked with Progressive and they quote $172.50 for the Wing and $253.50 for the Spyder. That is $582 less per year and includes much higher levels of coverage. Keeping the same minimal coverage my cost would only be $312.00 but I opted for higher coverage amounts..... Bye, Bye, Geico. Hello Flo

 

[LeftCoast]

We represent The American Modern Group here
They do a great job of servicing claims.

But I bundled my Spyder with my Homeowners, Auto, Umbrella, and Motorhome package. It's with Safeco.

I have car and homeowners with no claims with Safeco and my estimate was $1600 for a used 2014 RTS. $800 from Progressive. Calif may be the most expensive place to insure a bike.

May also be an issue compared to the rest of you that I can only claim 3 years riding experience.

 

[Fire34]

We have Allstate for our homeowners, had a tornado 3 years ago now no complaints with them on this , our home was habitable so we were lower on the list. Automobile not so much. Currently we have Geico for the cars and Spyder
People that had State Farm for their homeowners had nothing but problems
Dave

The company my bike insurance is with spells their name: Markel. I haven't had to make any claims, but the premium and coverage is right.

While everyone else is telling their insurance story, I'll tell mine. When I first got my bike, I would have gone with USAA just because if they had it, they don't. I shopped around and Allstate had the best deal. At renewal time when they sent me a bill, I called them up and asked what the total would be if I paid up front instead of monthly. The price given was less than the total for monthly, I paid it and was happy. That was until about 9 months later when a bill showed up for another $13. I asked what it was for and was told this was the fee since they were no longer charging my checking directly. I said I paid what I was quoted and why wasn't I given this charge initially. The answer was tough, I owed them the money. I considered it theft not worth fighting over, but worth dropping them for. GEICO was the best deal I found, now even better than what I was getting from Allstate. The next year I looked around again and was pointed to Markel by a coworker. They had the best deal then and they have vanishing deductible, making it ever better.

My State Farm story isn't about bike insurance but it explains why, like Allstate, if I ever consider either company for coverage is because I have no other option. I got into a fender bender where it was determined we were both at fault. We swapped info and talked to our companies. My company told me that means each side pays for their own damage, unless, like me I had none so I had to pay half of the other person's. I expected the two companies (USAA for me and State Farm for her) to handle it. The next thing I know is I get a bill from a collection agency working for SF for my share of the bill. SF didn't send anything to me or USAA, just went directly to the collection agency. When asked why they said they didn't know how to contact me. I asked how the agency knew where to send the bill if they didn't have my contact info. No answer. I bought this to USAA who was surprised this happened and said they would handle it. I then got a copy of a letter the collection agency sent to the state telling them they should rescind my license since I didn't have insurance. I wrote back to them threatening to sue if Florida does as I do have insurance and they would have known it if they had any brains. Anyway, USAA must have settled the problem and FL must not have thought much of their claim as I still have my license.

As I said, if I ever have ANY kind of insurance from Allstate or State Farm it will be because I have NO option.

 

[PeteF]

We had Markel for about five years. I had the opportunity once to assist their fraud department with an investigation before I retired. They’re a good company and specialize in power sports insurance. That being said, they began raising my rates like all companies seem to do. I eventually shopped and got a much better rate through Dairyland. $430 a year full coverage for a 2015 F3 and a 2016 Road Glide.

 

[bcer960]

well, I'm hoping to get my bike on the road next weekend. I'll report what my insurance price is, but I guarantee.......

IT'S 3 - 4 TIMES WHAT YOU GUYS ARE PAYING.

 

[PeteF]

well, I'm hoping to get my bike on the road next weekend. I'll report what my insurance price is, but I guarantee.......

IT'S 3 - 4 TIMES WHAT YOU GUYS ARE PAYING.

I've read where rates in Canada are crazy high. Why is this? You guys can only ride six months out of a year.

 

[bcer960]

Each province is different. Here in B.C. the insurance company is government owned. ICBC, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. We have no other choice, and must get the basic insurance through them. Collision, comprehensive, fire and theft etc can be bought from other companies. I have storage, collision etc through a company called Beacon. I pay this for year round coverage. As I have not got the bike out of the shed yet, I have not looked at the papers to see what I pay, but I will post that, and what the 6 month insurance costs for the ICBC portion.

I plan on insuring on Sat.

 

[ofdave]

'Top Tier' for me included 'FULL VALUE' replacement. :lecturef_smilie: IF my 2016 RTL was Totaled I receive a NEW 2018 RTL plus any accessories. :bbq:You GET what you Pay FOR. :spyder:

I don't think you are reading the policy correctly.
I think the replacement value you'll get is most likely to be for an equivalent bike-not a 2 year newer model.
If what you say is correct please quote the policy language here so we can all get the same policy that you have. And let us know the name of the insurance company-they will get a lot of business.

 

[dondje]

'Top Tier' for me included 'FULL VALUE' replacement. :lecturef_smilie: IF my 2016 RTL was Totaled I receive a NEW 2018 RTL plus any accessories. :bbq:You GET what you Pay FOR. :spyder:

Little Blue...

Usually full replacement value means that insurance will replace your vehicle with another of equal value - less deductible. Most insurance companies will try to use the lowest book value they can get away with. As for aftermarket accessories, those are usually separate from the equal/book value and have to be declared and covered under a policy rider. Hope you don't have to get into an accident to find out your coverage isn't what you think it is.

Regards,

Don

 

[bcer960]

So yesterday I finally was able to put the bike on the road. Weather here has been horrible, and even the 150km ride yesterday was pretty cold.

anyway, Insurance costs. I have the max discount available, -43%. As i said earlier I get insurance through 2 different companies. ICBC is required as liability insurance, and the minimum insurance to be on the road for every vehicle. (On top of that, we have to insure every vehicle we drive, not the driver of the vehicle as is the case in some places) I then have fire, theft, collision and storage insurance through Beacon. I get the beacon insurance for 12 months, and the ICBC for 6 months.

Ready for the price......

ICBC $793
Beacon $898
-----------------
Total $1691 for 6 months riding, and 12 months of storage.

YOU GUYS GOT IT CHEAP :gaah:

 

[bushrat]

YOU GUYS GOT IT CHEAP :gaah:

I have to agree with bcer960; here's why ... at least from an Ontario owner's perspective ...

77 year old accident free driver, multi vehicle discount, retiree discount, claims free discount, mature driver discount; license holder for 62 years. 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), as 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 on 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 I wanted. I could scrimp and 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, 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 D. 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.