Moving from UK to CA - insurance...

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BenF04

Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
399
Location
Bay Area, CA
Hi All,
Does anyone have any experience of getting motorcycle insurance when moving from another country to the USA (UK to CA in my case). I have been riding bikes for 25 years in the UK, have 13 years of no claims history and wondered if this would be recognised in the US? Can anyone recommend an insurance company who might recognise my experience / history and won't charge me an astronomical premium? I don't really want to have to buy a small capacity bike just to get some insurance history.

Cheers,
Ben
 
AAA was by far the least expensive. You should just get a membership as well because the DMV BLOWS!
 
I think you'll find insurance pretty reasonably priced here in the USA, can't speak for California, but in all the States I've lived in, I've never paid more than about $900 for full coverage.

Here in the USA, the no claims process isn't held in such high regard as in the UK.

Also, because motorcycles are mostly treated as hobby vehicles, capacity has minimal bearing on the price of insurance.
 
I believe California is little more expensive than other states but not by much. I've had insurance from 3 other states than CA one I have now.

I went with Foremost, as they cover track days. Before that I had StateFarm and USAA.
 
Thanks for the all quick replies, I will contact the companies you mention for a quote and see what they say.

Regards,
Ben
 
BenF04 said:
Thanks for the all quick replies, I will contact the companies you mention for a quote and see what they say.

Regards,
Ben
Click to expand...

Oh and to give you a figure, I paid $1500 for one year for Pani R and SF848. I also have no records.
 
I'm still not sure how everyone's insurance is so cheap every time this comes up.
 
Insurance prices in California (Los Angeles in particular) is primarily based on where you live and how high the chances are of your bike getting stolen and not so much about displacement, although that plays a small part as well. I have AAA full coverage with $250 deductibles (used to be $100 before they got rid of that) and my 2007 CBR600 which cost me all of $2500 to buy actually costs the same to insure as my 1199. This made no sense to me but they said it's because most japanese model bikes are in the high theft range and that's why it costs so much. For the record, I pay $950/yr and that's with motorcycle towing and roadside assistance.
 
Thanks for the info - Progressive came back with a quote of $3,895.76 which seems a bit on the steep side..

I will continue shopping. I noticed that some of the insurance companies have local offices - is it generally better to go to the office and talk directly to the agent? In the UK you can generally haggle ( negotiate ) on the quote and always get the initial quote reduced, is it the same in the US?
 
Progressive and Geico were very high when I was getting insurance. Go into a AAA office and get a quote. By far they were the best value. I pay about $1000/yr full coverage and roadside for both the Anniversario and Hyper together.
 
Is anyone else under 30? I've never been able to find full coverage under $2500 a year for the 1299.
 
Im 33 single and mine is only $710 a year on the 1299. But I have my truck and home through the same place so they give me a discount across the board.
 
Wherever you go, see about carrying you homeowner's insurance, if you buy a house, and other vehicles through the same company. That will get you some discounts.
 
That's probably part of my problem. My house and four wheeled vehicles are with USAA. They won't insure motorcycles. They have a partner deal with Geico and it was stupid high.
 
I have all my stuff: house, cars, and motorcycles through State Farm. I think I pay about 500 a year for my Multistrada. Being married with children helps also! My 1199 was about 800 something for a year.
 
State Farm is who I'm with right now for the Duc. They were the cheapest by a good margin. Still over $2k a year for full coverage though.
 
Rogue said:
State Farm is who I'm with right now for the Duc. They were the cheapest by a good margin. Still over $2k a year for full coverage though.
Click to expand...

Once you get over 30 and get married and have children those things will all lower your insurance.
 
Rogue said:
I'm still not sure how everyone's insurance is so cheap every time this comes up.
Click to expand...

Here is my horror movie...
Where i live personal/body insurance is 1300$
Bike insurance (property) is 12% of the value of the bike (new base 1299 is $50k) :(

I need a green card ;)
 
Last edited:

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