My disappointing exprience with Meloche Monnex(MM)

[bombart]

I had been with MM for over two years and used to insure my car, my home and my first motorcycle (Kawasaki Ninja 500) with them and was part of the professional engineers discount. This year, I planned on upgrading. I had done my research and found 3 bikes that I was interested in:
1) 2009 Ducati 848
2) 2011 Daytona 675
3) 2011 Ducati monster 696
I called MM for quotes on all three. I was quoted $19xx for the Ducati 848, $19xx for the Daytona 675, and $9xx for the Ducati monster 696. I went for the Ducati monster 696 in large part because of the huge difference in insurance premiums. After buying the motorcycle, I call MM to finalize my insurance and give them the VIN number. They now tell me that to insure the bike, it would cost $19xx. I was baffled and shocked. I asked them why there is such a significant difference between the price initially quoted and the price been quoted to me now. They tell me that when I initially called, I got a quote for a “2011 Ducati Monster 696”, but my bike was a “Ducati Monster 696 ABS”, which is classified as a superbike. I ask them how one can be classified as a superbike and the other not if the only difference between the two is ABS? So I tried to explain this to them I asked for this situation to be investigated and they obliged. They came back and told me that they would not be able to honor my initial quote, and so I escalated the case to a supervisor. I contacted Ducati North America and asked them if they would be willing to clarify this fact for my insurance company and they said they would and gave me a contact to forward to them. MM said that they would take it into consideration. A few days later, they told me that they would still not be able to honor the price quoted to me. They also added that without a VIN number, no quote is final (this was the first time I was actually stated this fact). I asked them how the regular version could be classified as a regular bike and ABS a superbike and they said that this was a mistake in the system and that they will be correcting the mistake to make the regular version also a superbike. I asked them how they can admit that this was a mistake and yet not honor the price that was given to me and they said that it was out of their control and that the supervisor had made that decision. I told them that if they had classified both models as superbikes when I had initially called, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and that I would be riding and 848 right now. I asked to talk to the supervisor that made this decision because I wanted to hear it from them. I waited a week to receive that call and no one called me back. I called again and asked talk with this supervisor and was again blocked. At this point, I gave up. I was furious, but at this point, they had already lost me. I had been so happy with MM but just couldn’t stay with them after this experience. So, I started doing my research and called several companies/brokers and eventually went with Jevco via Dalton Timmis, who quoted me $9xx. It’s unfortunate, but MM has lost me for life as a customer.
The moral of the story, which a lot of you may already know, is to ask for the VIN number of a potential bike you’d like to buy and get a quote based on the VIN and not the make and model alone.

[jay-d]

That sucks.. but +1 for Jevco! They've been great-- well, they haven't even really done anything other than take my money, but they were the only one willing to take the least amount of money for the most coverage.. so that's gotta count for something right?

[ThrottleThrow]

+1, jevco dropped my insurance 1300 dollars. No more KD for me!

[K24_CM7]

hm ... Is it possible to switch insurance after already buying it ?
Also with MM , and after seeing the differences with jevco pricing I may consider switching to save a few bucks, after I get some quotes of course.

[jay-d]

hm ... Is it possible to switch insurance after already buying it ?
Also with MM , and after seeing the differences with jevco pricing I may consider switching to save a few bucks, after I get some quotes of course.

You most definitely can but you will be charged a penalty of some sort.. not sure how much though.

You can tell them to cancel your insurance because you're selling the bike

[EngineerJoe]

Even with the PEO member discount, I've found that MM is a waste of time and I sure-as-hell won't be giving them my business... EVER! They couldn't give me a straight-forward answer as to why a 2" lift on a Jeep would render the Jeep un-insurable. ThePersonal (OSPE discount) isn't much better.

It's been my experience that MANY insurance companies mis-classify bikes. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they classified a Honda Ninja as a cruiser.

And yes, I'm aware that a "Honda Ninja" doesn't exist... I was being facetious

[Scudzo_2]

Even with the PEO member discount, I've found that MM is a waste of time and I sure-as-hell won't be giving them my business... EVER! They couldn't give me a straight-forward answer as to why a 2" lift on a Jeep would render the Jeep un-insurable. ThePersonal (OSPE discount) isn't much better.

It's been my experience that MANY insurance companies mis-classify bikes. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they classified a Honda Ninja as a cruiser.

OACETT is always sending me garbage from The Personal. I finally got a quote from them and with my OACETT membership "discount" they were $600 more a year for my car!!!

[VifferFun]

I'm surprised that they classify the Monster as a SS, and that was some pretty terrible customer service on TD/Meloche's part (but it was within their rights to adjust the original quote). In this situation, I think they should have honoured the original quote by providing you with an underwriting exception.

[Venom01]

I'm surprised that they classify the Monster as a SS, and that was some pretty terrible customer service on TD/Meloche's part (but it was within their rights to adjust the original quote). In this situation, I think they should have honoured the original quote by providing you with an underwriting exception.

I thought the monsters weren't on the ss list either!


None the less any insurance company reserves the right to change these things and **** you around at will.

This is my signature

[TheNewDude]

I'm surprised that they classify the Monster as a SS, and that was some pretty terrible customer service on TD/Meloche's part (but it was within their rights to adjust the original quote). In this situation, I think they should have honoured the original quote by providing you with an underwriting exception.

Yeah but they would've kept increasing the insurance every year by a little saying "Oh we had to increase rates, we had permission from the Government."

I am sure I'm not the only one who hates Insurance companies.

[RetroGrouch]

I thought the monsters weren't on the ss list either!

Monsters are not on Jevco's surcharge list but all Ducatis are considered supersports according to other insurers.

[drax666]

I'm with MM and pay around 7 bills for an SS (with PEO discount). So the question I would ask is how does where you live affect your rate....SF was over 13 bills.... @#$@#$^

[dash8]

i'm with MM also, pay 600$/yr full coverage for my 2009 zx6-r... was the cheapest I could find!

[bombart]

I'm surprised that they classify the Monster as a SS, and that was some pretty terrible customer service on TD/Meloche's part (but it was within their rights to adjust the original quote). In this situation, I think they should have honoured the original quote by providing you with an underwriting exception.

I thought so too. I really tried to stay with them and get them to honor their quote, but just gave up. They're not going to get by business anymore.

[murf]

Even with the PEO member discount, I've found that MM is a waste of time and I sure-as-hell won't be giving them my business... EVER! They couldn't give me a straight-forward answer as to why a 2" lift on a Jeep would render the Jeep un-insurable. ThePersonal (OSPE discount) isn't much better.

It's been my experience that MANY insurance companies mis-classify bikes. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they classified a Honda Ninja as a cruiser.

And yes, I'm aware that a "Honda Ninja" doesn't exist... I was being facetious

You changed the bumper heights, which I believe are set to an FMVSS standard........kinda important.
I wonder what happens when a truck that has been lifted 6 inches or a foot collides with a regular sedan? The people in the sedan probably don't fare to well......I would assume insurance wouldn't cover that unless they knew about the lift. Not to mention the lawsuit for negligence against the owner for changing a safety aspect of the vehicle and possibly the shop who installed it and/or manufacturer of the lift.

[EngineerJoe]

You changed the bumper heights, which I believe are set to an FMVSS standard........kinda important.

For my research, I've looked through CMVSS (section 215), FMVSS (581) and Title 49, Part 581 of the CFR and I could find nothing on bumper height requirements for my vehicle. However, I did find something interesting from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (right off of their website)... I underlined the part I find interesting.

13) Why are bumpers on light trucks or SUVs higher than the those on passenger cars?Bumpers are typically higher on light trucks, pick-ups or SUVs than on passenger cars to provide better clearance for approach and departure of steep grades or when driving over large rocks and other objects during off road operations.


14) Does the Federal government specify uniform bumper heights for vehicles to prevent damage in low-speed collisions?
No, NHTSA regulates the height and impact capabilities of bumpers only of passenger cars, but not for light trucks, minivans or SUVs. However, some states and localities have requirements that limit bumper height for other vehicle types. We suggest individuals contact their local or state agency responsible for motor vehicle regulations.

So there you have it... within legal requirements, but still not insurable. Here's how bad some insurance companies are in Ontario. A friend was recently on the phone looking for insurance for his Jeep and was told that "stickers" on his Jeep would be considered a mod that would void insurance... And that still wasn't the stupidest thing she said on the phone in that conversation.

I wonder what happens when a truck that has been lifted 6 inches or a foot collides with a regular sedan? The people in the sedan probably don't fare to well......I would assume insurance wouldn't cover that unless they knew about the lift. Not to mention the lawsuit for negligence against the owner for changing a safety aspect of the vehicle and possibly the shop who installed it and/or manufacturer of the lift.

You are correct in saying that your insurance will not cover claims if the vehicle involved has modifications that the insurance company was unaware of. My insurance company is aware of my mods. And stock bumper heights don't help. I was driving a grand cherokee once when a civic was oncoming in my lane (passing at a high rate of speed). If he didn't swerve back into his lane quickly enough, the Grand would have climbed his bumper and decapitated him.

[murf]

I did a bit of work on variation of bumper height on cars. Never trucks though. I think insurance companies just play it safe with this kind of stuff since they don't want to pay for people getting their heads chopped off.

[murf]

Interesting

http://sparebumper.com/index.php?act...Id=41&catId=15

Keep in mind, that you are only kidding yourself if you think an insurance company will stand behind you if they find out you’re driving a vehicle that is not street legal and you get into an accident.

[HunGJaI]

i'm with MM also, pay 600$/yr full coverage for my 2009 zx6-r... was the cheapest I could find!

$600/year?

Age???

[murf]

My zx6R is $945 a year full coverage