A warning about your insurance * Towing Story *

thepopularjock

thepopularjock

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OK guys - I wanted to post this so you guys will not get the surprise that I did. I know that it is the policy holder's obligation to read the contract with the insurance company. I take full responsibility but I did want to share this with everyone so you guys don't get in a jam.

Here is the story - I am coming back from Austin and cruising around at about 80 mph. No problem. All of a sudden my temp light comes on and my oil light blinks. OH SHIT!!!! I immediately pulled over, turned the engine off and checked all the fluids. Everything was A+. (I'm thinking thermostat but IDK yet). I limp into the next town just about 5 miles down the road. LOL Driving about 40 mph :)

I called Progressive Insurance and gave them all my info. It's not a bad system and I had a live person on the phone in a few minutes. I gave my address and everything was rolling fine. (Side note: It helps to have the address of the shop that you wish to have it towed) THEN THE OPERATOR SAYS: You are only covered for 28 miles of your tow. It's an 80 mile tow. How would you like to pay for the remainder of the charges? I WAS STUNNED!!!! She had to call my name twice before I answered and I snapped at her "YOU NEED TO GIVE ME A MINUTE TO PUT MY WORDS TOGETHER SO I DON'T SAY WHAT'S ON MY MIND RIGHT NOW!!!" After a few seconds I got my head on straight and realize that it makes sense to go ahead and get a quote. I asked her what the charge would be - she called me back 15 min later and quoted a $200 bill.

I just wanted to you guys to clearly understand what is in your policy. I was a catastrophe adjuster in the hurricanes in Florida so understand you need to read your policy but the problem I ran into was that Progressive is the only game in town. NO ONE else covers motorcycles in this part of Texas (and they know it) so I didn't read through every word....after all....it's not like I could compare it to anyone else. :tdown:
 
Boy! That sounds like the dealership guy who was going to mount my tires for $20 bucks a piece........until I brought them and it turned out to be over $125 dollars! Sorry to hear about your incident but it doesn't surprise me. These insurance companies send you home your policy package and you have to be a lawyer to even understand it, and have a magnifying glass to read it! Besides all that, I can't stand their spokeswoman "Flo"!
 
Don't know why you were surprised. I don't know of any roadside assistance with unlimited mileage towing option. I believe AAA only offers something like five miles free on the basic plan. 28 miles is pretty reasonable. I can see how that would be a nasty surprise though, that's why my wife has keys to my truck. :D Honey....come get me! Thankfully I've only had to do it once, sadly it was to pick me and my destroyed motorcycle up.

***EDIT***

Just looked it up, 3 miles on AAA classic policy, 100 miles on Plus and 200 on premier.
 
thepopularjock said:
OK guys - I wanted to post this so you guys will not get the surprise that I did. I know that it is the policy holder's obligation to read the contract with the insurance company. I take full responsibility but I did want to share this with everyone so you guys don't get in a jam.

Here is the story - I am coming back from Austin and cruising around at about 80 mph. No problem. All of a sudden my temp light comes on and my oil light blinks. OH SHIT!!!! I immediately pulled over, turned the engine off and checked all the fluids. Everything was A+. (I'm thinking thermostat but IDK yet). I limp into the next town just about 5 miles down the road. LOL Driving about 40 mph :)

I called Progressive Insurance and gave them all my info. It's not a bad system and I had a live person on the phone in a few minutes. I gave my address and everything was rolling fine. (Side note: It helps to have the address of the shop that you wish to have it towed) THEN THE OPERATOR SAYS: You are only covered for 28 miles of your tow. It's an 80 mile tow. How would you like to pay for the remainder of the charges? I WAS STUNNED!!!! She had to call my name twice before I answered and I snapped at her "YOU NEED TO GIVE ME A MINUTE TO PUT MY WORDS TOGETHER SO I DON'T SAY WHAT'S ON MY MIND RIGHT NOW!!!" After a few seconds I got my head on straight and realize that it makes sense to go ahead and get a quote. I asked her what the charge would be - she called me back 15 min later and quoted a $200 bill.

I just wanted to you guys to clearly understand what is in your policy. I was a catastrophe adjuster in the hurricanes in Florida so understand you need to read your policy but the problem I ran into was that Progressive is the only game in town. NO ONE else covers motorcycles in this part of Texas (and they know it) so I didn't read through every word....after all....it's not like I could compare it to anyone else. :tdown:
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Always read your policy! I also have Progressive and I have their tow coverage on my bike (it was only an extra $10 a year and it CLEARLY states limitations on how far they will tow). The way I figure it, it would cost A LOT more than $10 if I had to pay for the first 28 miles of the tow, so it's still a good deal. I seriously doubt any insurance company is going to cover unlimited mileage towing, and if they did, you would pay a huge premium on the tow coverage.
 
That happened to my dad while we were in Yosemite. The closest towing company was 60 miles away in Mariposa, and the bike had to be towed to Fresno, another 70 miles away. The towing bill came to $500.00. His AAA membership didn't cover his motorcycle, and his Progressive policy didn't help much either.
 
I have AAA towing for this exact reason (though I am insured through State Farm). I used to carpool with a guy who had a VW that frequently broke down... Each towing cost him (us) $75... The AAA Plus package, at least here in Utah is like $80/year, for 100 miles of towing. It gives me a good amount of peace of mind and I can use it for my vehicles or even someone else's that I'm with; I have not had any motorcycle breakdowns on long distance trips, so I'm not sure how well it works out in that scenario.
 
I have the AAA plus membership and it has saved me a fortune in towing costs with my old saab. I was always under the impression that the membership was for a person not a vehicle. I have used my membership to help friends out before. Why wouldnt the membership cover his motorcycle?
 
glutton said:
I have the AAA plus membership and it has saved me a fortune in towing costs with my old saab. I was always under the impression that the membership was for a person not a vehicle. I have used my membership to help friends out before. Why wouldnt the membership cover his motorcycle?
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AAA can be a little weird when it comes to motorcycles. They don't even offer any coverage in NY and may be the same in other states.

I actually got a membership to Riders of Kawasaki just for their roadside assistance. And the best part is you don't really need to own a Kawasaki to join ;)
 
RavenFZ1 said:
Always read your policy! I also have Progressive and I have their tow coverage on my bike (it was only an extra $10 a year and it CLEARLY states limitations on how far they will tow). The way I figure it, it would cost A LOT more than $10 if I had to pay for the first 28 miles of the tow, so it's still a good deal. I seriously doubt any insurance company is going to cover unlimited mileage towing, and if they did, you would pay a huge premium on the tow coverage.
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Thanks Captain Obvious!!

captainobvious.jpg


I didn't learn my lesson by being stranded in the middle of nowhere.
 
Mad_Martigan said:
I have AAA towing for this exact reason (though I am insured through State Farm). I used to carpool with a guy who had a VW that frequently broke down... Each towing cost him (us) $75... The AAA Plus package, at least here in Utah is like $80/year, for 100 miles of towing. It gives me a good amount of peace of mind and I can use it for my vehicles or even someone else's that I'm with; I have not had any motorcycle breakdowns on long distance trips, so I'm not sure how well it works out in that scenario.
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Same here. And I have used it.
 
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