Penalized ! For owning a Spyder !

The lead -in :-
I currently have the auto's and home insured with The Hartford, through AARP -- attached is an umbrella policy.
Spyder insured with Geico.
I get an e-mail from The Hartford saying "we now insure motorcycles" -- cool ! I was waiting to consolidate ALL vehicles.
After a lengthy talk with the Hartford agent (who are using Foremost for the motorcycles insurance) I was informed that they will
NOT insure anything with 3 wheels
, only 2 wheel motorcycles and 4 wheel cars. !!
And now they know I own a motorcycle, I am putting my Umbrella Policy in jeopardy -- WTF !!
He went on to explain why 3 wheels are unsafe, back wheels lifting off the ground, etc, etc.
I went on to explain the safety features inherent in the Spyder, it being
A REVERSE TRIKE
, etc, etc -- inherent safeguards, etc
"No matter Sir, our policy is what it is. If you wish to keep your Umbrella Policy (now they know I own a bike) you will have to get rid of your Spyder - it having 3 wheels."
I told him the policy was ridiculous (he did agree, but "policy is policy" ) and was amazed when I told him to cancel the Umbrella as the Spyder is staying !!
"It is your choice" was the reply
, -- no kidding


I will be getting a notice of Umbrella policy cancellation, BUT, in the meantime, they will review their policy concerning 3 wheels as they don't want to lose customers.
I know this won't apply to ya'll on this forum -- just venting

Ignore me as is your want

^^^ dislike ^^^

Why not shop around and take all your biz somewhere else ? I did not think the AARP was competitive last time I checked.

Geico managed to put the house, cars, motorcycle and other stuff under a subcontracted umbrella at a decent rate. Give it a try. Maybe Harford will lose more than they bargained for.

Be a pit bull about this Rog. Don't give in. Break it off if you know what I mean.

My brother went through the same thing with Geico when they found out he had a winch and skid plates on his Toyota FJ. They freaked out because he might drive "off-road" and canceled his policy.

Insurance companies that try to pull stunts like that are stupider than we think. If they'll do this to you when you're paying them, imagine what they'll do when it's time for them to pay you. Dump them. I've had State Farm for years, and they've never questioned my motorcycles or camper, or 4x4, or jetski, or hobbies. We have an umbrella policy with them, and rider policies for stuff like jewelry and guns. Not the absolute cheapest rates, but they have always been good to me...So far. I guess that could always change, but I hope not.

I'm with the insurance people, if you can't even spell spider correctly how can it be safe to ride?

It's about numbers Roger, there aren't that many Spyders out there to make Hartford change their policy.

Time to shop for another company.

Anything with an odd number of wheels is obviously from the seed of Satan. You wouldn't expect them to insure a unicycle, would you? You need to find an insurance company that is demonic as well.... that shouldn't be too hard.

Try American Family, they've been quite easy to work with for me. Kinda like what Zilla says.

I have this problem of the umbrella too.

I've got a lot of different policies. The motorcycles never created problems.

But farm premises liability insurance and rental property insurance have both caused trouble.

My present solution is to put the whole lot with Farm Bureau and then they'll write the umbrella too.

I don't know their position on 3 wheeled vehicles.

I've never insured a spyder with them, but Geico has covered anything I've had (winches and lifts included), with zero fucks given. They went to bat with the best attorney when guy tried to pull a scam, suing me and Geico for his error. Not the only company out there, but they've been great to me.

I have a question of clarity for those with umbrella liability policies: Is it owning ANY motorcycle that jeopardizes the policy, or just owning the 3-wheeled motorcycle as a particularly unusual exclusion?

Regarding insurance, I've been a Risk Manager for almost 20 years. That doesn't make me an expert, but I know a thing or two about insurance. The most IMPORTANT thing that I tell anyone that will listen is this:

With insurance companies, the ONLY thing that matters is the underwriter's financial ability to pay claims.

There was a time when I was loyal to one company, thinking that years (or decades) of loyalty would somehow help me when claim time came around. Not at all true. The policy declarations (which is really your contract) is very clear about what they pay and don't pay. Your claim is 95% settled the instant you file it, all that is missing is the paperwork. They all have good customer service, and they all have horrible customer service. It's the luck of the draw regarding your adjuster, plain and simple.

Now every year when renewal time comes around, I shop 3-6 companies. I take multiple policy discounts into consideration, but in the end, the only thing that matters is their AM Best rating needs to be A- VI or higher. Then it's a matter of comparing apples to apples for coverage and limits, and may the best premium win.

I change companies often and don't think twice about it.

HotRodZilla said:

My brother went through the same thing with Geico when they found out he had a winch and skid plates on his Toyota FJ. They freaked out because he might drive "off-road" and canceled his policy.
Insurance companies that try to pull stunts like that are stupider than we think. If they'll do this to you when you're paying them, imagine what they'll do when it's time for them to pay you. Dump them. I've had State Farm for years, and they've never questioned my motorcycles or camper, or 4x4, or jetski, or hobbies. We have an umbrella policy with them, and rider policies for stuff like jewelry and guns. Not the absolute cheapest rates, but they have always been good to me...So far. I guess that could always change, but I hope not.

Click to expand...

Same coverages here, we have had State Farm for over 25 years. A couple of years ago, I decided to shop around with 3 different companies (Farmers, All State, & American Family) to check if I was being gouged or not. Nobody could touch the rates we were getting with State Farm. I would guess people just switching may not get as good of rates, but for the high limits we have, I cannot complain.

Also keep in mind what company may have great rates in Maine, may not have great rates in Detroit. Only way to find out is to get quotes for your address and property. I get quotes every two years usually....but moved to Farm Bureau about 4 years ago and every year my rates have slightly decreased, so I've just stayed with them.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Have already been shopping around to compare rates. Started with Safeco as I had a few good words about them given to me. They were $1000.00 per year more than I'm now paying --- shopping continues.

American Family and State Farm next.

I have a Spyder RT in the garage alongside the FJR, fully insured with an umbrella policy acknowledging the existence of the Spyder. Georgia Farm Bureau on the umbrella and Foremost on the Spyder. There are options. ...Don

P.S. Was going to recommend the Spyder Lovers forum but saw you already posted there.

We had State Farm for years until Mona had an accident 2 years ago with her Harley going down because of an oil spill in the road. They never even sent an adjuster to look at it and refused to discuss anything with us when we inquired about living with some of the cosmetic damage in order for her to keep her bike. She'd owned it for almost 20 years and the sentimental value of it meant a lot to her. They told me they only handled motorcycles as a courtesy and didn't have "specialty adjusters" for motorcycles, boats, rvs, or the likes of them. Pissed me off royally that after the money we'd spent for so many years we were so readily dismissed. Our house and cars are still with them but only until her car is paid off then we'll be moving everything. Bikes are now with Progressive with more coverage for less money that we'd been paying.

Try Dairyland... they work well for me.

Also, some of these Co's offer discounts for -Rider course

-Association member

-Multiple bikes

so I got all 3 discounts.

Rog - I used Costco's insurance(discounts etc) - Ameriprise - not sure if they do motorcycles as i have always used geico and their rates were good for me. my XR was less than the FJR