I'm renting a bike from EagleRider in Las Vegas, Nevada for a 4-day ride through and around Death Valley California.
The insurance offered by EagleRider is fairly expensive per day and comes with pretty high deductibles to boot.
My personal motorcycle policy and my credit cards do not cover insurance for motorcycle rental. So for the moment it looks like I'll have to fork over to EagleRider.
I was wondering if anyone has found worthwhile third-party alternatives in the US to cover bike rentals?
I was thinking perhaps some visitors to the US from other countries face a similar challenge.
Did you try calling your insurance company and asking them if it's something you could add to your existing policy?
I flew down to Orlando a few years ago and rented a BMW GS1200 from them to ride down to the Keys (bucket list stuff) and they were really awesome. Make sure they include helmets in the rental if you decide you don't want the hassle of transporting yours. Also, do a quick video (cell phone) walk around of the bike in case you miss anything on the initial inspection. Lastly, if there are any toll roads that require the e-z pass they will try to up sell you into paying a lot of money per day. You have three options if you want to avoid the additional rental fee. 1.) Walgreens or the like usually provide the box for purchase. 2.) You can normally log onto the state's DOT site and post pay any tolls within 2 weeks to avoid a fine. 3.) Avoid the tolls. Rubber down and have fun!!!
And if your insurance company won't allow you to add to your current policy you can always switch to Progressive...this is right from their website:
https://www.progressive.com/understandin...cycle_ins/
"Unique Situations When Motorcycle Insurance DOES Apply
Again, it’s always best to review your policy to see what is and isn't covered. Here are a few unique situations in which your Progressive motorcycle insurance policy will provide coverage for potential claims.
Renting a bike – If your bike is in the shop, or you’re on vacation and want to go for a ride, your Progressive policy covers you if you decide to rent a bike."
That's a good idea. I called my agent and asked if I was covered and they said no. Maybe they missed a sales opportunity! I'll give them a call and ask if I can add a rental coverage rider.
Not sure about insurance, but you won't encounter any toll roads out there.
Washed out roads, yes. Toll roads, no.
I checked my BMW MOA and AMA membership discounts. There is travel insurance that protects your flight costs, cruise fares, all-inclusives, medical and auto when out of the country, etc. but that's not what I'm after. Just good ol' motorcycle insurance in my own country of residence.
I like the Progressive feature to include rental. Currently I'm underwritten by American Modern.
First off, you will want to re-confirm with your agent that neither Physical Damage (to the bike you are renting) nor Liability (for injuries or damage you may cause to someone else) are covered. If they say neither, then you will want to go further and ask if you have Liability protection when riding any other bike than the one(s) listed on the policy. If that answer is still "no", then you should shop for other insurance and Progressive would be a good place to start. (to all the amateur insurance experts reading this: yes, I know that the insurance on the other bike is primary, but too many folks ride without insurance so Stichill wants to make sure that he has that coverage). If they tell you that Liability is covered, but Physical Damage is not, then you should go back to Eagle Rider and let them know that as it could affect how much they charge you.
Next, if you have secured Liability coverage (and, ideally Physical Damage coverage) that extends to other bikes from your own policy, you still have the choice of purchasing or not purchasing the Eagle Rider coverage. You may want to pay the "fairly expensive" cost because doing so will keep any incident involving the rental bike off of your claim record which would help keep your rates from increasing after said incident. Purchasing Eagle Rider's "insurance" also means that you don't have to waste as much time on your trip talking to insurance people in the event of an incident. Assuming that you are physically able to continue your ride, you will probably get a replacement bike delivered to you which might not be the case with your own insurance. Everyone has their own idea of "fairly expensive" so you will have to weigh the benefits against that cost.
In my opinion, you should be looking for a new insurance carrier. If they have this restriction, it's anyone's guess what other ones exist.
Let me know if you want to discuss this further.
The car rental companies in Florida use to give me a hard time when I told them my State Farm policy covered rentals. I learned to ask State Farm to provide some printed documentation to avoid the hassle.
Be aware that they may will not deal with your insurance company, just charge you credit card for any damage. You may have to deal with your insurance company for reimbursement.
Just saw this Stichill - what did you end up doing? I may be doing this when I visit a friend in Utah.
Y'know, I remembered something my dad said to me when I was at the age where I had to start buying insurance. He said, "Do you have $100 for the premium?" "Yeah." "Do you have $15,000 if there's an accident?" "No."
"Then buy the insurance."
It was about $25 a day with a $1000 no-questions-asked deductible (they run a $1000 hold on your credit card). I had the bike four days, so $100...yeah I just paid it. No regrets!
If you claim you have your own insurance, the contract says they collect from you, not your insurance company. And, they run a $3,000 hold on your credit card.
Makes sense Stichill, thanks! Especially with a motorcycle rental too.