What I Pay for Insurance
I am 42 years old (as of 2021), live in Los Angeles, have a “Good” driving record and have common coverage levels on my vehicles. The Insurance Cost Premium for my 2018 Africa Twin Adventure Sports through AAA Automotive is $439.00 per year.
For additional reference, here are the rates that I pay for 2 additional motorcycles. You can infer that the insurance premiums relate directly to vehicle cost to some degree.
- 2017 Suzuki SV650: $329 per year
- 2018 Harley Davidson Sport Glide: $403 per year
While these rates may be higher or lower than other owners, I think they represent what most perspective buyers should expect to get quoted from insurance agents. Below I will outline my specific policy parameters and list some of the considerations every rider can consider to get the best rate.
My Specific Insurance Factors*
Coverage Levels
- Bodily Injury: $100,000 per person, $300,000 each occurrence
- Collision Deductible: $1000
- Comprehensive Deductible: $250
- Property Damage: $100,000 each occurrence
- Uninsured Motorist: $50,000 Each Person, $100,000 Each Occurrence
* These coverage parameters are not a recommendation and should be considered individually by each buyer. There are written here for example purposes only.
There are minimum insurance requirements based on your Country and State however some will need increased coverage limits based on their personal situation.
According to my AAA account documents, here are the parameters they factored into my insurance “discounts”.
- Multi-Policy / Home and Life Insurance
- Other Discounts – Loyalty, Professional (Occupation), Multi-Vehicle
- Driver Discounts – “Good Driver”
- Verified Milage – All Vehicles
Items (questions asked by the agent) that are not listed in my policy that I believe did impact my initial quote before discounts were:
- Location: Los Angeles
- Garage: Yes
- Previous Insurance Claims: No
- Age / Driving Experience: 42 / 20+ years motorcycle riding
- Education Level: College Grad
A list of AAA premium deductions available on their website can be found here, although I do not think that percentages listed line up exactly.
Insurance Company
While I am not affiliated with AAA Insurance in any way (other than being a client) and receive no compensation from them in any form in connection with my opinions, I commonly recommended them as an option for motorcycle insurance. In my experience, they have had competitive rates, and when combined with additional insurance policies (think home owner’s, renters, life insurance, multi-vehicle, etc.), have been the leaders in price. Additionally, AAA tends to award member dividend payments periodically which are a nice bonus. My last (2021) dividend payment was for $515! Though AAA states on their web site that $150 is the average. Either way, I’ll take it.
More importantly though, AAA insures motorcyclists, which not all companies do.
All that being said, there are dozens of insurance companies available to riders and each will give different rates to different riders depending on their situation. I recommend calling at least 5 or 6 of them until you start to see a pattern of reasonable price quotes close to eachother.
PRO TIP – Several insurance companies will quote you for 6 months of coverage to make the premiums sound like a better deal. Do not fall for this. Make sure you get an Annual rate or do the math for yourself!
What Factors Effect Insurance Premiums?
It is difficult to say exactly what the insurance costs will be for any one individual or vehicle because there are a host of influencing factors set by each insurance company. These include but are not limited to age of the driver, driving record, location, cost of vehicle and coverage levels just to start. In addition to those initial factors that every company uses, different insurance companies will take into consideration any combination of additional criteria including, occupational considerations, multi-policy discounts, security systems, annual milage, and even where you plan to park your vehicle. Depending on each company’s “Matrix”, their computer will then spit out a price for the agent to quote you.
The only real way to get an exact answer to “What insurance will cost you?” is to call the insurance companies you would be willing to work with and ask for a quote based on your circumstances or use an insurance broker who will do the work for you. In either instance, some combination of the mentioned criteria will be used.
Common Insurance Premium (Price) Determining Factors
Below is a list of common considerations that can be address before you make the call to the insurance company as well as considerations that are less realistically changed prior to getting a quote.
Controllable Factors | Uncontrollable Factors |
Shopping Around / Multiple Quotes | Driving Record |
Vehicle Selection | Where you live / Zip Code |
Coverage Levels / Deductibles | Driving / Riding Experience (years) |
Garage Storage | Occupation |
Vehicle Alarm / Security | Past Insurance Claims |
Future Insurance Claims | Veteran Status |
Multi-Policy Discounts | Age |
Annual Milage | |
Active Military |