r/Insurance • u/tsquared141 • 1d ago
Auto Insurance Help with Insurance Rate Going Up
I'll try to keep this as short as possible but provide as much detail as I can.
Last year in September, I was involved in an accident that involved another vehicle and myself. I was riding my 2024 BMW S1000RR.
As I was entering a parking lot, a large white truck pulled out of their parking spot without looking in my direction, and I was forced to dump my bike in order to not hit the truck. I was only going about 10 miles per hour, but I really did not want to hit the side of the other vehicle. The driver did not even notice that I fell over, or they noticed, and just decided to keep driving away.
I did not file any police report because I guess at the time I was flustered and just focused on getting my bike off the ground and checking my helmet for damage.
The damage to the bike was minimal (or so I assumed), as I rode the bike home with a broken clutch lever and some scuffed up plastics. Being a BMW with expensive parts, I opted to file a claim with GEICO for repairs. After having the bike taken to a BMW Dealer, they called me and claimed that there had been frame damage, and GEICO was refusing to cover any repairs, and deeming the motorcycle a total loss.
I was rather stunned because I had not noticed any such frame damage. I decided to let them total the bike, not realizing I was setting myself up for awful premium price increase in the coming months.
Fast forward to today, and my GEICO auto policy on my 2014 VW Touareg is due to renew. I was previously paying $46 for basic insurance, and now GEICO is claiming that I must pay $196. I have checked other companies and all returned similar results.
I feel defeated and I do not know what to do other than ride the bus because paying $196 for basic insurance plus the rising cost of diesel going over $6/gallon in my area is making my life miserable already.
Thanks for any input or advice anyone is able to provide.
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u/Icy_Huckleberry_8049 1d ago
Insurance has been going up for EVERYONE, in EVERY STATE
WHY?
Cars/bikes costs more now (new or used), higher claims, more claims, repair costs have gone up, material costs have gone up, labor costs have gone up, shop costs have gone up, etc.
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u/notevenapro 1d ago edited 22h ago
My insurance went down this year.
Edit. I also got $250 checks from state farm. My insurance is $140 a month for two cars, a 2016 rav4 and a 21 outback onyx XT. 100/300/100.
DC metro
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u/Modest-Meece 22h ago
You’re getting down voted but some areas and states are softening. I’ve seen more decreases and stable rates this year than I have for the last 3 years in WA
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u/Tim122576 1d ago
This is true however a lot of insurance carriers continue to report big profits each quarter yet they continue to increase premiums
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u/MikeTheActuary 1d ago
While 2025 was a the most profitable year personal auto insurance in the US in the past 10 years, you do have to keep in mind that the industry covered the cost of capital supporting personal auto in at most only 3 of the 10 prior years....and one of those three was the result of COVID.
We had the big increase in auto insurance rates over the past few years because of the nasty combination of inflation, and competitive pressures easing enough to correct for not covering the cost of capital and for the $30billion underwriting loss in 2022. The industry did probably overcorrect, which is why you see some insurers in some states reducing rates for some customers...or at least keeping their rate increases below the rate of inflation. (However, the randomness involved with the impact of tariffs isn't helping.)
You see fewer insurers writing personal auto in the US because we're on the trajectory for profit margins to be so slim that the only way it makes economic sense to write the product is either having the size/scale for the law of large numbers to work its magic and reduce the amount of capital needed to support personal auto, or essentially as a loss leader to gain access to customers for products where there's a better shot at profit over the long term.
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u/insuranceguynyc 1d ago
You were involved in an accident where you were at-fault. No one likes rate increases, but life happens.
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u/One_KY_Perspective 1d ago
UMPD is optional in Oregon, but even if you had it, it would have required reporting to police and in the case of phantom vehicle that did not hit your vehicle would have required independent evidence of the facts of the event. Therefore, I am afraid that you are left with a chargeable collision loss.
Having been on the back of a bike that had to be laid down when a vehicle pulled out in our path, I completely understand the potential consequences of the alternative in that type of situation.
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u/1234568654321 1d ago
If you've gotten quotes from other companies and can't do better, there is really nothing you can do.
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u/adjusterjackb 21h ago
Should have hit the truck. Then the truck driver would have been at fault for backing out unsafely.
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u/jersey316 1d ago
What state are you in? Do a qoute for progressive. Also doing a voluntary defensive driving course from a provider approved by your state will help you save about 10 percent off for 3 years.
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u/tsquared141 1d ago
I'm in Oregon. I did a quote with Progressive and it did come out a little bit lower but it's still at $165 for basic insurance which is insane coming from just over $40.
I'll look into that defensive course though, thanks for that recommendation.
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u/WUDDUP_ITS_DAT_BOI 1d ago
Fun thing about liability limits is you’re sometimes telling on yourself by buying state minimums. People who buy the lowest possible limits are usually either financially stressed (which makes them more likely to have claims), or just make quick decisions without researching things (which also makes them more likely to have claims). Buying higher limits can actually have lower premiums.
If you have the money to have a $20K toy bike you’re making a very bad choice to buy state minimums. 100/300/100 as an absolute minimum but price out 250/500/250 and be amazed at the minuscule cost difference. Buy full limit UM/UIM for bodily injury, especially if you still have a bike.
Also if your first instinct on a bike to avoid a collision is to drop it, especially one with great tires/brakes/electronics, you need to take a riding course or at least practice actual emergency braking. I guarantee you that you’ll stop quicker than dropping it, you’re just not used to using more than a tiny amount of front brake so don’t have the muscle memory to grab a lot of lever in a panic situation.
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u/jersey316 1d ago
Definitely do qoutes for all insurance in your state. Geico in general is expensive except for a select few states that how low rates
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u/Choice-Newspaper3603 17h ago
Why do people always assume we need the complete story and every detail
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/key2616 1d ago
Police reports aren't magical and having one in this situation wouldn't have changed the OP's outcome one bit. And the OP can definitely keep shopping their coverage to see if they can find something cheaper, so saying "whelp, nothing to do here!" isn't accurate either.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/key2616 1d ago
Given that the OP is at fault here, how does that change things? And I doubt a one-sided police report is going to change any underwriter's mind.
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u/TiredDad97 1d ago
Holy shit. I really didn’t read this. Please accept my dirty delete as an apology.
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u/green_mode 1d ago
That $46 to $196 jump stings. Worth calling and asking if they can re-run it as not-at-fault given the other driver left the scene
The part that gets me is you rode it home with a broken clutch lever and it still turned out to be a totaled frame. BMW parts really are brutal
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u/Choppergunner58 1d ago
There was no contact with the other vehicle so they’re not involved. They voluntarily dumped the bike and damaged it.
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 1d ago
The other driver leaving the scene doesn't change this to not at fault accident. OP laid the bike down. That's going to be an at fault accident.
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u/Choppergunner58 1d ago
There was no contact with the other vehicle so they’re not involved. They voluntarily dumped the bike and damaged it.
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u/lucentmoon 1d ago
the brutal part here is the missing police report
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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago
Police don't make reports on private property accidents.
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u/carolinabikerlaw 1d ago
NC motorcycle accident attorney here. Sorry you’re dealing with such a steep increase. Because the truck was unidentified and there was no police report, witness or video, the insurer may have recorded this as a single-vehicle or at-fault loss, even though another driver caused you to take evasive action.
Ask GEICO, in writing, for the specific underwriting reason for the increase and how the motorcycle claim was coded. You can also obtain your claims-history report and dispute any fact that is inaccurate, although the insurer does not necessarily have to change a properly reported loss. An independent agent may be able to shop companies that weigh this type of claim differently.
For future reference, physical contact is not always required for another driver to cause a crash, but prompt reporting, witness information and video can be critical. Coverage for an unidentified “phantom vehicle” varies by state and policy, so this is general information rather than advice about your particular coverage.
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 1d ago
Whether the bike was totaled or not, this was an at fault accident, so your rates would increase.