First off, I’d like to say that I’m a very good driver. And I don’t mean in the Rainman sense either. I really know how to handle both my bike and my car. With that being said, let’s talk about motorcycle insurance and the scam that it is in relationship to automobile insurance (another uber-scam).

A few years back I was caught going through a stop sign in a Dukes of Hazzard-type scheme. I was on one of those hills where you have to pull a few feet past the stop sign to see the oncoming traffic. Even though I was going 2 mph, I still got a ticket. Fast forward 6 years and the ticket finally falls off my record. Since I just moved I figured I go and change my insurance agent (because my current agency is too far away and their customer service blows).

There is a company right by my house. I went in and met with some of the people, who seemed to be nice and on the level. They walked me through the options of what I need for insurance and how much, you know, all that fun stuff.

Now let me tell you how bad my state of Massachusetts is when it comes to insurance:

• there is no competition here so you pay the same no matter what insurance company you go with
• unlike auto insurance, when you insure a motorcycle you have to pay into “personal injury protection” but if you ever get injured you can’t collect anything
• no multiple vehicle discounts - if you have a car and a motorcycle you don’t save anything
• no seasonal discounts - I ride from about March/April to November-ish (depending on snow) but pay the same to insure the motorcycle for 6 months or a year
• no discount for alarms - not that I have an alarm on my bike, but I do on my car and get a discount for that

So what’s the deal?

In Massachusetts we pay more for insurance that any other state and from the looks of it, I get less if an incident ever were to happen. I talked to some people in Laconia this year who pay about $400 to insure a Heritage Softail for the year, which is about 1/2 of what I pay. As of now I am getting a safe driver discount and have no points on my license.

So why am I getting screwed?

I’m guessing that it’s part of the Mass state theory of knowing what’s best for me. But come on people I am subjected to ads for Progressive, Esurance and those cavemen guys, why not let me buy that insurance? AND….to go to one of those sites and try to get a quote, if you enter MA as the state you’re from, they boot you right out of the page.

I know this is a bit soap-boxy, but lets be real. My bike costs 1/4 what my car does and I ride it 3 months less than my car. Why should my insurance be almost the same?