Progressive Insurance Ranks U.S. Metro Areas By Likelihood Of Motorcycle Crashes And Theft

Progressive Insurance, the biggest insurer of motorcycles in the U.S., has reviewed over two million motorcycle theft and crash claims to compile a ranking of claims for theft and crashes compared to population for 89 U.S. metro areas of 500,000 or more.

The company's accounting only examined claims, not police reports or other data, and measured it against the population of that metro area, not the motorcycle population and not miles ridden in the case of crashes. In each category it gave a score that compares to a typical 100 claims for a city of that population. A score of less than 100 means that there are fewer claims than is typical for a city of that population size. For example, a score of 50 would mean that there are half as many claims as is typical for a metro area of that size. A score of 200 means that it has twice as many crashes or thefts as a typical city of that size.

We think the theft rate computed by Progressive is probably a better measure of the sense of security you can take away than the the crash rate. Without any sort of estimate of miles traveled, the crash figures are not too meaningful. The cities with the highest rates are mostly in warmer regions, where people ride more, while the cities with the fewest crashes are generally in colder climes where most owners don't ride for a large portion of the year. Or maybe it's the water in Ohio...

In any event, we wouldn't be surprised if where you live affects your insurance rates.

Cities with the Lowest Motorcycle Theft Rates

1. Grand Rapids, Mich. 29
2. Harrisburg, Pa. 33
3. Syracuse, NY 35
4. Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY 39
5. Lansing/East Lansing, MI 41
6. Cincinnati, OH/KY/IN 41
7. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 41
8. Milwaukee, WI 42
9. Pittsburgh, PA
10. Nashville, TN 45

Cities with the Highest Motorcycle Theft Rates

1. Honolulu, HI 428
2. Miami, FL 359
3. San Diego, CA 277
4. Las Vegas, NV 249
5. New York, Ny/NJ 247
6. Washington, DC/MD/VA 242
7. Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA 233
8. Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, FL 229
9. New Orleans, LA 228
10. Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Portsmouth, VA/NC 226

Cities with the Lowest Motorcycle Crash Rates

1. Bakersfield, CA 68
2. Indianapolis, IN 70
3. Akron, OH 70
4. Toledo, OH/MI 72
5. Cincinnati, OH/KY/IN 74
6. Tacoma, WA 76
7. Providence/ Warwick/Pawtucket, RI/MA 79
8. Cleveland, OH 80
9. Oxnard/Simi/Ventura, CA 82
10. Columbus, OH 82

Cities with the Highest Motorcycle Crash Rates

1. New York, NY/NJ 171
2. Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Portsmouth, VA/NC 157
3. Baton Rouge, LA 153
4. San Diego, CA 142
5. San Francisco/Oakland, CA 140
6. New Orleans, LA 128
7. San Antonio, TX 126
8. McAllen/Pharr/Edinburg, TX 124
9. Nassau/Suffolk, NY 123
10. Orlando, FL 123

"Riders can't assume that just because they may live in a smaller metropolitan area they have less risk of accident or theft; the data make that very clear," said Rick Stern, Progressive's motorcycle product manager. "No matter where they live, motorcyclists are encouraged to ride safely; to take appropriate measures to protect themselves and their bikes; and to review their insurance policies to make sure they have the coverage that's right for them based on their individual circumstances."

For more breaking motorcycle news, visit the home page of www.MotorcycleCruiser.com.