Hot Rod Insurance?

[camcojb]

After reading that other thread and all the restrictions on mileage and modifications, now my Statefarm policy didn't seem so bad afterall. I think when I finally get the car completed, I'll just get an appraisal, take some pictures, and go back to Statefarm and get another Agreed Value policy. Last time, it was $850/year here in Seattle (which is expensive for insurance anyway) for full coverage including liability/comp/collision with $100k/$300k coverage, agreed value $12k, $500 deductible... Even if it goes up a bit for the increased value of the car (say $20k), it seems fair.

Only problem there is I don't think State Farm offers agreed value. They offer stated value that you agree on, but there's a big difference between the two.

Jody

[CAMAROBOY69]

Only problem there is I don't think State Farm offers agreed value. They offer stated value that you agree on, but there's a big difference between the two.

Jody

There sure is!
STATED:This one means you THINK you will get that value but you get completely screwed.
AGREED: Means you WILL get that value. You say $15,000 you get $15,000 period.

[vintageracer]

If "track days" are a part of your cars usage, Parrish Heacock is the only specialty car insurer mentioned in this thread that will insure a dedicated or part time race car. As a matter of fact, they are the only insurers I found that will insure a street/race car period. Their insurance covers your car EVERYWHERE except the racing surface. That includes the paddock (pits for you drag racers) false grid etc. If another car/truck/trailer runs over your car in the paddock, it's covered. Just be sure to tell them that this is part of your cars usage. The other insurers will RUN when they find out that you autocross, open track or race your car. Ya, I know that your insured now and "run" your car. I also know that you DID NOT tell your agent about this little issue. Kinda forgot didn't you!

I insure my vintage race 66 Shelby GT-350 with Parrish Heacock because of the above stated coverage. My car is a "dedicated" race car. In Tennessee ANYTHING is street legal so I do have an "Antique" license plate on my car so I can test it on the interstate or drive a mile or two to the local cruise. I have full coverage insurance including liability on this car. The car is "properly" insured on the road and at the track.

Always remember that purchasing the wrong insurance coverage is the same as not purchasing any insurance at all! Tell the agent the truth about your cars primary and secondary use, methods of storage etc. You lie on the application and the insurer does not have to pay as you have committed insurance fraud on your application. An insurer denying a claim has happened far more than once for just this reason.

Think about it, if YOU were an insurer (insurance company) would YOU accept the risk of YOU driving YOUR car as poorly as YOU drive on street for $200-400 a year. That's an easy answer, HELL NO! It's not hard any more to get into an accident and cause a $1 million dollars worth of payout because of YOUR poor driving. Proper insurance is CHEAP!!!!

Of course "Insurance is for people who have something to lose". If you do not own anything (have assets or $$$$) why by insurance???? They can't get any money out of you if do not have any! And do not tell me "it's the law" or "it's your personal responsibility" to have insurance. Your in fantasy land today if you think anyone is going to have any personal responsibility for their own actions.

In today's silly world, an accident or a problem is ALWAYS somebody else's fault! It sure was not my fault that I ran into the back of your car! You should not have stopped so fast!!!

[Zee]

I'm a claim manager and worked for the largest US auto insurer as well as the 4th largest commercial insurer. All insurance companies are regulated by the state in which they are licensed to do business. Unless contractually agreed upon via an appraisal or agreed value, all total losses are required to be settled based on the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of the property lost.

ACV is generally defined as the retail (market) value of property. Insurers are allowed various means by the state to determine retail value but for the most part, no state allows an insurer to determine retail value strictly based on a "book" value when either sufficient market information is available to determine a retail value or the property in question has been professionally appraised.

What this mean is that if you own a car for which there is sufficient market information to determine it's value or your car has been appraised, you should not have any major problems resolving your claim.

The insurer has to start somewhere and they may begin with a suggested book value which if not contested by you would be considered a fair claim practice. The trick here is to make sure you have established the value of the car by providing pictures, receipts and ads for substantially similar cars to dispute that initial offer.

For example, I had a claim from a guy who owned an 87 Buick Grand National. If you go to the Autometer site, I believe they still have a picture of it there. We used CCC (large independent firm that most insurers subscribe to that does nothing but maintain a huge database of the sale price of autos) to establish an inital value for the car when it was stolen. In 2000, it came back with a value of something like $12,000 in excellent condition with under 20K miles. The owner showed up on my office after my rep made that offer with a 2" binder with an appraisal, receipts and 50 or so pictures of the car. The receipts totalled about $34K and the claim was settled for $24,000 which was $1,000 more than the appraisal due to some things he added after the appraisal.

If we did not reach an agreement, virtually every policy I have seen has an arbitration policy where the value is decided based on your documentation by three professional appraisors. You pick one, the insurer picks one and both of them pick a third. Agreement by any two settles your claim.

The point is if you are not insured by a specialty you are not screwed as may seem to think. The problem is when some yahoo in his primered over rust, disco Nova with JC Whitney shackles and mismatched wheels thinks he's got a "classic" that's worth $25,000 'cause it is in number "2" condition when in reality, it's one step away from a basket case and in no way collectible. He's got nothing to back up the value as most of the parts were scavenged off of the other Nova he has on blocks out back. This guy gets "screwed" by getting $800 which is probably $300 more than he bought it for.

Like anything that's worth a significant amount of money, you want to insure it and it's your responsibility to document what you have. Specialty policies that do not use appraisals and use an agreed value are a relatively new product that appears to meet the needs of our hobby very well. These policies probably represent a better choice than traditional policies although I have some concern over repairable vehicles that are not a total loss and how a total loss is determined in the first place.

[DarkBuddha]

Only problem there is I don't think State Farm offers agreed value. They offer stated value that you agree on, but there's a big difference between the two.

Jody

Actually, I had an AGREED VALUE policy with them before. They had to get an underwriter involved, but it took 'em 10 minutes to do. The policy I got had a special page that simply said "**NOTE** AGREED VALUE: $12000.00". I only dropped the policy because the car ended up getting bogged down in the build-up.

[Steve Chryssos]

I HAD J.C. Taylor for years and they paid total loss on my 68--which was $11K back before all this muscle car appreciation insanity. Then they let me buy the car back for $1K. Oh, and they never checked or confirmed mileage use at the the time of claim. They took care of me then but.....
I rebuilt the car with roll cage and other safety equipment and Taylor said no way: We will not insure cars with roll cages. So I shopped around, got a comprehensive appraisal for $47K (3 years ago) and went with Condon & Skelly for both the Camaro and my bone stock Riviera.

You will never know how good the innsurance company is until you put in a claim. And make sure you get UNDERINSURED coverage--not just unisured coverage.
Underinsured coverage means that if the idiot who tried to take your life only has $25K minimum liability and you have say $100K, you get to sue yourself for the difference: $75K. This is very important if you live in a liberal state like NY that will let anyone get low minimum coverage.

That Chevy Hi Performance article is very good (and features a very sweet Chevelle). It emphasizes good insurance as well as proper safety equipment such as roll cages, belts and seats. Great insurance is of no benefit if you are dead.
/Steevo

[CAMAROBOY69]

My paperwork came for Hagerty and I will have my 69 Camaro and my girlfriends 67 Mustang switched over by monday.

[suh weet]

Hagerty questioned my cage, but I told them it is retired, and won't be raced. Haven't had any problems yet(as I knock on wood).

[CAMAROBOY69]

I have been with Hagerty since my last reply in here and I am very happ so far.
They are very open minded. I never plan on switching to another insurance company. I have talked to a lot of people that are 100% satisfied with Hagerty so far. Even the people that had multiple claims.