Is collision or comprehensive worth it? or neither? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Is collision or comprehensive worth it? or neither?

stickman88

Well-known member
As i am aware, liability is mandatory. I have called Desjardin and they are saying they can either do collision + comprehensive or just comprehensive by itself. I don't want to say how much the quote is but there is a difference of $400/year to just get comprehensive by itself. I never used to get comprehensive as i don't find it really necessary, as external events that damage my bike are either very minor or can be repaired myself. I've always gotten collision just in case in my previous insurance policies but now i'm thinking if it's worth it or not.

Let me know your input guys.
 
What's the value of the bike?

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I depends on many factors that aren't listed here. Value of bike, were you park it, etc. But a good basic rule of thumb, if a couple years of the price difference could pay for a replacement, don't bother. If you live in a condo however, and there's a good chance somebody is going to load your bike into a van in the next month or so, then full coverage is probably a good idea.
 
What's the value of the bike?

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app

I would say around 6-7k? Its a used bike but i think insurance goes by book value.

And yes theft is comprehensive but I only do.city riding and rarely park my bike for long hours.


I guess $400 difference a year is not super bad. If bike is worth 7k it would take 18 years to technically break even but this doesn't taken into fact that a motorcycle book value will drop down in price every year. Lol
 
Remember, insurance companies pay book value for write offs, so that bike you're paying $6K for might have a book value of less than half of that, and it doesn't take much damage to end up in write-off territory. Keep that in mind when you're doing the cost vs benefit analysis.

$400 is a lot of extra money for comprehensive though - for comparison it's <$100/year for me to add full coverage from liability only.
 
The few insurance claims I or family have gone through started with a lowball "book value". A simple "no thanks, here's 4 comparables from kijiji" is all it takes to get actual market value. Not hard.
 
The few insurance claims I or family have gone through started with a lowball "book value". A simple "no thanks, here's 4 comparables from kijiji" is all it takes to get actual market value. Not hard.

True enough. My sister wrote off her SUV last fall when someone cut through traffic and hit her (not her fault) and the insurance company tried to rediculously lowball her. Curiously enough, THEY did the Kijiji thing and sent her a list of three or four options that just happened to be in the price range of their initial offer to her, but they were located across the province, and were not really comparable. She countered with some more realistic matches, haggled with them over the fact she had just put new snow tires on it as well, and she made out much better.
 
yes and no. depends on what you told them you paid for it and if replacement value is what you have on your policy.

Lol that's what I was thinking too. If I told them I had paid a lesser amount, the premiums I assume would be a bit lower but if I were to ever need them to pay me out, they might only pay me the amount I actually paid for the bike Instead of a higher book value.
 
Remember, insurance companies pay book value for write offs, so that bike you're paying $6K for might have a book value of less than half of that, and it doesn't take much damage to end up in write-off territory. Keep that in mind when you're doing the cost vs benefit analysis.

$400 is a lot of extra money for comprehensive though - for comparison it's <$100/year for me to add full coverage from liability only.

No it's an extra $400 for collision. It was either just comprehensive or comprehensive + collision. Comprehensive and collision is already full coverage but $400 more. Hmm so maybe not worth for collision? Or do u alwwys suggest it?

They don't provide just collision coverage which is weird. My old insurwnce company did
 
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As i am aware, liability is mandatory. I have called Desjardin and they are saying they can either do collision + comprehensive or just comprehensive by itself. I don't want to say how much the quote is but there is a difference of $400/year to just get comprehensive by itself. I never used to get comprehensive as i don't find it really necessary, as external events that damage my bike are either very minor or can be repaired myself. I've always gotten collision just in case in my previous insurance policies but now i'm thinking if it's worth it or not.

Let me know your input guys.

Some bikes I've had it, some I've not. Thought process goes like this: How badly would I put out if I binned the bike tomorrow? Could I replace it, or stand sitting out the rest of the riding season? How likely is it to get stolen?

I can repair minor damage myself, i.e. the threshold for "writing off" a bike is a lot higher for me than it is for insurance. So usually since the bikes I'm riding aren't too valuable, I just consider the cost of the bike as an added incentive to not do anything stupid. Comprehensive is different, it's mostly what's my risk of theft vs what does it cost. I have had comprehensive on bikes that are almost worthless because comp was so cheap. I've left it off on bikes that were worth more to me because they would need a tank to get into where it was stored. If you live in the somewhere in the GTA and park underground, that automatically makes comprehensive mandatory.
 
Some bikes I've had it, some I've not. Thought process goes like this: How badly would I put out if I binned the bike tomorrow? Could I replace it, or stand sitting out the rest of the riding season? How likely is it to get stolen?

I can repair minor damage myself, i.e. the threshold for "writing off" a bike is a lot higher for me than it is for insurance. So usually since the bikes I'm riding aren't too valuable, I just consider the cost of the bike as an added incentive to not do anything stupid. Comprehensive is different, it's mostly what's my risk of theft vs what does it cost. I have had comprehensive on bikes that are almost worthless because comp was so cheap. I've left it off on bikes that were worth more to me because they would need a tank to get into where it was stored. If you live in the somewhere in the GTA and park underground, that automatically makes comprehensive mandatory.

Well if I binned the bike like the next day, yes I would be out quite a bit if I didn't get collision. However I haven't been in any accident at all since m license or my g. However, this doesn't meant anything as the unexpected can happen anyday.

I'm also not worried about comprehensive damages St all. It seems stupid that they don't offer collision by itself. I also don't feel comfortable getting neither comprehensive or collision....
 
Well if I binned the bike like the next day, yes I would be out quite a bit if I didn't get collision. However I haven't been in any accident at all since m license or my g. However, this doesn't meant anything as the unexpected can happen anyday.

I'm also not worried about comprehensive damages St all. It seems stupid that they don't offer collision by itself. I also don't feel comfortable getting neither comprehensive or collision....
You'll be out quite a bit if you get collision coverage and never need it. How much you're out shouldn't really be your evaluation criteria for something like this as nobody can predict the future. If you want to look at it statistically, the insurers have already done that for you and they are charging you more than what it's statistically likely to cost them. If you trust their evaluation of the risk, (which isn't necessarily always accurate), you can expect to be 'out' some amount, statistically.

As others have said, the questions that matter are how much can you afford to replace or repair yourself if you had to? If you can't, that's one point in favour of comprehensive. Also, how different of a rider are you from the average for your age/gender? You have to be honest with yourself. If you like to wind it out sometimes, you're probably about average. If you just putt-putt across the countryside looking for inattentive drivers to challenge your reaction skills, you're probably a safer rider. Also, do your unique circumstances compare to the general population in the area you live regarding safety (thefts, collisions). Insurers make their own assessment of these things but your assessment could be more accurate. If your circumstances aren't as bad as the area might suggest, that's a strike against comprehensive.
 
Yeh well comprehensive was not something I'm worried about its more so the collision. I apparently tly have to get comphrensive out of my two options. Even if I was to get into an accident and was claimed at fault, would I even want to make a claim to insurance and have them cover the repair damage JUST do I can also have my premiums rise.......or would I just rather fix the bike by myself as that would prob be the same money as my premiums even increasing along with the extra money I have been paying for collision coverage.
 
Ah, I get it now.

I guess since Loss or Damage isn't legally mandated coverage, insurers can structure it the way they want? I think it's more common for Collision to be available on its own. Have you inquired with different insurers to see if they offer it as a standalone?
 
Collision only applies to the repair of your vehicle and not the repair of the other person's right if you are considered at fault? If ur not at fault, u don't have to worry about anything.

Also if somebody was to hit and run, is that covered under collision.?
 
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Collision only applies to the repair of your vehicle and not the repair of the other person's right if you are considered at fault? If ur not at fault, u don't have to worry about anything.

Also if somebody was to hit and run, is that covered under collision.?
Yeah hit and run is considered an unidentified motorist, that falls under Collision or Upset coverage.

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