Crow, you're absolutely right about premiums -- the insurance industry will always find a way to take more, but will never give part of it back.
I always wear a helmet, but I also feel that armor is an important accessory. A head injury is more likely to be fatal or crippling than a road rash (I once saw a road rash run right through a guy's ribs -- his guts were hanging out. He had slid on the concrete with his HD on top of him. But where his head had been looked a lot worse than his torso). I think riding without a helmet is foolish, but I don't think it should be mandated. I do ride without armor frequently in the summer. I'm surprised the insurance industry hasn't started penalizing us for not using helmets.
