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[Richard230]

Yesterday I received the premium renewal bill for my Progressive Insurance policy for my 2009 BMW F650GS (an 800cc twin - don't ask, it is a German thing) and also for my 2014 Zero S ($33 and $97, respectively).  (My other bikes are on a different policy as Progressive for some reason has a 4 vehicle limit for each individual policy.) I was surprised and somewhat irritated to see that my Zero's premium was three times as much as the premium for my 2009 BMW (with more HP and a 40 mph higher top speed).  So I called Progressive to see what was going on.  Keep in mind that I only have $250K/$500K liability insurance and self-insure myself for all other hazards - including being run over by an uninsured/unlicensed/not-supposed-to-be-here motorist.

As it turns out, Progressive had a reasonable explanation for the discrepancy in the premiums:  My Zero gets charged more because I told them that I ride it twice as far each year than I do my BMW. Their liability premiums are not based upon engine size or vehicle cost, only estimated seat-time.  They also tell me that with multiple bikes on a single policy, the newest bike gets hit with the majority of the total premium for the policy as they feel that the newer bike will be ridden more often than an older bike.  Also, one of the bikes in a multi-bike policy gets hit with all of my insurance agent's fee and that was the Zero. Finally, all of their rates went up last October and they dropped discounts for policy holders who are members of motorcycle associations, such as the AMA.

While I am not happy about their rates increasing (although they are still pretty cheap), at least I now feel like the Zero is not getting gouged because it is an EV.

[Zorgalouf]

Well, maybe they are just expansive!
I asked 2 of my usual insurances for a 2013 Zero S, one costs 460€, the other 670€, for the same type of policy! ( the first is even better because they are specialised in bikes policies).
So it is good to ask around to have the best price!

[CrashCash]

I moved from GEICO to Progressive because the quote was about half. GEICO could not tell me why it was so expensive either.

I've never ever heard of anyone getting straight talk from an insurance company like Richard has... I think the closest was when State Farm told a friend it'd be cheaper for them to battle the court case than to pay out on his house.

[Richard230]

After my insurance agent couldn't answer my question, I called Progressive directly using their 1-800 number and the woman who answered the phone was really much more forthcoming than I had expected.  She actually made sense and I was able to understand her explanation. That was the first time I had ever received a straight answer from an insurance company representative that didn't sound like BS and I thought it was worth repeating here.

[Richard230]

I forgot to mention (short-term memory loss) that during my conversation the Progressive Insurance rep she asked me if my yearly mileage had changed for the IC motorcycles on my other policy and what my current mileage estimates were for my BMW, Yamaha and Triumph.  When I gave her my new estimates, which were lower than my previously estimates because much of that riding has been replaced by my Zero, I was told that the lower distances would reduce my premium for my other motorcycles by 1/3.  So I will be getting a check from Progressive for $67 in a couple of weeks and the renewal premium for my other policy will be reduced accordingly next year.   

When you have multiple IC motorcycles it pays to ride electric.   

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I forgot to mention (short-term memory loss) that during my conversation the Progressive Insurance rep she asked me if my yearly mileage had changed for the IC motorcycles on my other policy and what my current mileage estimates were for my BMW, Yamaha and Triumph.  When I gave her my new estimates, which were lower than my previously estimates because much of that riding has been replaced by my Zero, I was told that the lower distances would reduce my premium for my other motorcycles by 1/3.  So I will be getting a check from Progressive for $67 in a couple of weeks and the renewal premium for my other policy will be reduced accordingly next year.   

When you have multiple IC motorcycles it pays to ride electric.   

That's interesting. My V-Strom mileage has gone down while my Zero mileage is about 6000 commute miles per year now. My premiums just went down considerably this year and I assume that's because both bikes both aged. I rechecked the policy on the website and realized that although I've marked the Zero for commuting and the V-Strom for pleasure, there's no way to indicate my past/expected mileage on each. So, I could call for maybe a little savings.