Insurance Blacklist Dropped
Insurance Blacklist Dropped
ROUNDUP
STATE FARM INSURANCE, BEsieged by letters from its policy holders and acting on information supplied by the American Motorcyclist Association, has dropped a controversial "black-list" of high-performance motorcycles, primarily sportbikes that had been deemed uninsurable.
I1n a news release issued by the AMA. a State Farm spokesman is quoted as saying, “As of February 10, there is no longer a group of ineligible motorcycles.”
State Farm, the nation's largest insurer of motorcycles, instituted the ban in April of 1 988, acting on information supplied by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which conducted a study of motorcycle accidents in California in 1 987. The study came under immediate fire from motorcycle safety experts, who called it incomplete, but IlHS-orchestrated publicity surrounding the issue of highperformance motorcycles prompted State Farm, among others, to refuse coverage on a long list of motorcycles.
Following a meeting in October,
1 988. with AMA officials. State Farm substantially reduced its blacklist. and additional information. along with a Hurry of letters written by outraged motorcycle policy holders— many threatening to drop their State Farm automobile and household insurance—persuaded the company to retire its blacklist altogether.
Other insurance companies can still adhere to the ban. but many are expected to follow trendsetter State Farm’s lead. At least one company moved ahead of the State Farm announcement, though. Dairyland Insurance, which has specialized in motorcycle coverage, announced in early January that it would not refuse to write a policy based solely on the type of bike a rider owned.
According to Marty Katz, Dairvland's director of motorcycle insurance, “We’ve been working to bring affordable insurance to motorcyclists for years, and we don't mind being mavericks to do it. It made sense to examine the quality of the rideras well as the kind of cycle. As a result, we believe we can provide affordable insurance for virtually all motorcycles, as long as the rider has a good record.”
Officials at the 1111S had not returned phone calls asking for their reaction to the dropping of the blacklist by the time this issue went to press.
