Commuting - Auto Insurance Discounts

A couple posts in the thread on calculating the cost of not driving a car you already own got me thinking about switching my auto insurance. I'm wondering who has the best policies\discounts for us.

I called mine (State Farm) and they said the could switch my vehicle to a "pleasure vehicle" (which sounds like a lot of fun) but it will only save me $70/year. For those that are getting a discount, how much do you save and who do you use?

A couple posts in the thread on calculating the cost of not driving a car you already own got me thinking about switching my auto insurance. I'm wondering who has the best policies\discounts for us.

I called mine (State Farm) and they said the could switch my vehicle to a "pleasure vehicle" (which sounds like a lot of fun) but it will only save me $70/year. For those that are getting a discount, how much do you save and who do you use?

Most companies will have either a car-pooling discount or will change the use of your vehicle from "drive to work" to "pleasure" which means driving, but not for business or to/from work or school. I'm not aware of any company offering a distinct bike commuter discount, but if anyone does find one, I'd be interested to know as well.

(Disclaimer: I work in the insurance industry)

I've talked to a few insurance companies and I've never found a low mileage discount that was worth bothering with. As you say, a few tens of bucks a year.

I only drove mine 2-3 times a year, and I took it off insurance. State Farm was happy to insure it for a week or two at a time. So if you only use it a handful of times, that might be an option.

Otherwise the "pleasure vehicle" or "low mileage" vehicle option is probably the best you can do.

Contact your insurance agent and ask him/her about "pay per mile" programs available.

This is a relatively new concept to the insurance industry. It’s not available in all states. In Minnesota, I believe Progressive Insurance offers it as well as a few others. It involves attaching a small device in your car to keep track of miles driven.

I agree, traditional usage classifications such as “pleasure use” don’t really do anything for you because the insurer cannot adequately verify this information.

Edited to add:
I'd be curious if anyone has sucess with this program. It sounds perfect for commuters.