Ha ha, I'll be right over to borrow it Cliff, I had to hand my Ford Ranger back and can't get a bike in the back of my old Subaru, no matter how I try! But yeah, ask Pete about insurance, I'll probably get the cars done with Shannons next. Cheers, Terry. 
So Terry, and maybe I missed it, but what does a large comprehensive policy like that cost you in the 'land down under' ? Steve's Dairyland deal sounds like a real bargain and I just run the minimum also. Its an incentive to not crash---- but bad stuff can happen quick.
G'Day Eric, over here the insurance laws vary from state to state. In Victoria where I live, the annual registration fee also incorporates mandatory personal injury insurance, which means that if I crash, I don't get a bill for ambulance, hospital, surgery, physiotherapy, prosthetic limbs, dental work, etc etc. (God, I just frightened myself thinking about that!) If I'm involved in a collision in another state, I'm still covered for all of those things under that scheme. Likewise, if I hit a pedestrian, he or she is covered under my compulsory personal injury component of my vehicle's registration fee.
The insurance that I bought yesterday is just to cover the damage to vehicles and property, i.e., if I run into someone's car it covers the damage to both vehicles, and includes replacing any accessories that were damaged (for instance, aftermarket exhausts, saddle bags, fairings etc) and as I mentioned previously, my riding gear. (helmet, jacket, pants, gloves, boots etc) It also covers my bikes if they're stolen, to an agreed value.
My most valuable bike is the Triumph Rocket III, so the agreed value is $20,000, (about $16000 US at the current exchange rate) and the Magnificent 'Wang, CB750 and BMW K100RS SE are all insured for $8000 each, whereas the FJ1200 is only worth $5000 which surprises me somewhat, as it's every bit as good as the other bikes, but it was the same with my previous insurer, these old Yam's just don't seem to be as valuable.
Not really an issue though, as I only paid a fraction of the agreed value for each bike, which can be a problem for insurers, as insurance fraud is rife here, where crooks buy vehicles and purposely crash them or have them stolen so they can claim their insured value, which is usually far greater than the purchase price. I knew one bloke who openly boasted that he built his house from fraudulent insurance claims, but that's another story.
As Pete explained to me, the agreed value is set for the term of the policy, and it can go up or down when I go to insure them again in a years time. (newer bikes like the Rocket usually go down, and older bikes like the CB750 usually go up in value) Shannon's Insurance is Australia's foremost insurer for classic cars and bikes, and have a good reputation. When my brother's Rolls Royce was damaged when his friend (who was not listed on the policy) hit a couple of big Kangaroos, they paid him out around 75% of what he'd insured it for, and allowed him to keep the car, which is still drivable.
The cost to insure all 5 bikes with a total value of around $50,000 is just under $1100 per year (around $900 US) which is a sweet deal, considering that I was paying over $600 just to insure my $6500 Harley Sportster in 1987. Obviously I'm older (and arguably, wiser) now, and as with any insurance policy once you're over 50 you're a better risk, so the premiums are lower, plus of course I'm not riding my bikes every day so the risk is further reduced.
I'm sorry it took so long to get to an answer to your question Eric, but as I don't really understand the American insurance laws (when I watch someone getting pulled over on "Cops" the cop always asks to see the drivers registration and proof of insurance, is that personal injury insurance, or property damage insurance, or maybe both?) I figured that you'd probably be wondering what my insurance actually covers me for. Cheers, Terry.
