By Michael Levy – Rider Rescue Motorcycle Towing Company, Denver Colorado
This great-looking 2016 Indian Vintage kept stalling out when it stranded the rider up in Johnstown yesterday. It was throwing a fuel code… so the rider called Rider Rescue Motorcycle Towing to get him and his bike back to the Denver area.
The challenge was that it was already 4.30 pm on Sunday, and there was a ton of traffic heading south… GForce was due to close at 5…, and there was no way to get there until at least 5.30 p.m.
The problem was that if you call Geico’s roadside assistance, you have to wait to find one of their providers. And when they do find one, it’s more often than not a motorcycle towing specialist who knows little about towing a bike.
Geico used to let you source your own motorcycle tow provider… and Geico would pay that provider to get you off the road quickly. But NO more. Now, with Geico, if you choose your own provider… they will only reimburse you up to $75 per tow. (And when you’re stuck in Johnstown, Colorado, over an hour away with heavy traffic… $75 won’t get you that far).
Just know that the best insurance companies that give you the most flexibility in choosing your own tow provider (AND reimbursing you for that tow)… is either State Farm or Progressive.·
State Farm – you must have Comprehensive coverage for towing reimbursement to be included with your policy.·
Progressive – towing reimbursement coverage will cost you an additional $10 for the year.
AAA – will only tow your bike if you have AAA for Motorcycle/RV
In Colorado in the mountains, it never hurts to layer on a AAA policy for Motorcycles and RVs. Again, you don’t want to have AAA source that tow because you’ll be waiting hours for the wrong tow truck to show up and mess up your bike. BUT… with that AAA motorcycle membership… you can still go to their site after the fact and apply for a tow bill reimbursement.
The bottom line is in Colorado or any rural area where cities are so spread out or on a long road trip… you always want to start with the right insurance company and then layer on any additional roadside assistance coverage you can.
Another way to add tow coverage is through the BikerDown Foundation’s Roadside membership.
This membership will enable you to have two tows up to $300 each for the year for only $37.50 for the year.
BE PREPARED for a breakdown. Knowledge is power, Ask yourself, Do I really know how far my roadside towing will take me?
https://bikerdown.org/join-us/To sign up for the BikerDown Roadside membership, please visit www.bikerdown.org/join-us
