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Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:49 am

I am tired of calling agents explaining what I want, only to have them tell me it does not exist. I am told they do bluebook coverage, or classic with limited milage coverage; nothing inbetween.

Every other month, I call around and get frustrated.

I have read and read all the threads, and would love it if those that do have this magical coverage to reply with the company's name and policy type.

I would rather find someone who will charge me to cover a $10K car, then fight after a claim....

Thanks.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:03 am

Have you tried Hagerty?

Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:06 am

On my 87 Westy I got a private appraisal and my Insurance Co. agreed to accept this as actual cash value for claims. I also have receipts and documents of any work and accessories added.
This is a NJ only company, but it would seem that this is not out of the ordinary. The additional premium was very minor. I only did this because I wanted low deductible comprehensive, they refused to add without it.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:21 am

I am pretty sure you could have it bonded for a said value. And most states will accept that as legal coverage on the vehicle. It will work in junction with your regular insurance. I have an addon on my policy for I think its $3000 wouldnt buy me a mint van but it would buy another decent one or go a along ways towards fixing this one.So I would get that check plus whatever they decide the van is worth.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:30 am

Farmers told me they would insure for stated value.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:01 pm

-update-

Haggerty - Nope - will only cover a garaged vehicle.
Farmers - Guy is going to get back to me, but it doesn't sound good.
Travelers - American Classic Ins (insurers of my E-Type) suggested them, and they won't do it.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:29 pm

Daily driver is the problem here.

Your vehicle can be insured for a stated value but ONLY if it is not a daily driver. In other words, it will be insured on a Classic Car policy. Most insurance companies ask for proof up front that there are more vehicles in the household than drivers. This is only a check point up front. Just because you get it through the initial process doesn't mean you are home free. At the time of the claim it will all be investigated. The Haggerty policies have language as to how often the vehicle is driven, for what purpose, etc.

Many insurance agents themselves have trouble with clarity on this point and that's why you will get different answers. Also, why some consumers will swear they are covered for stated value. It is simply misinformation.

I am not going to mention my own company but here is an example of how this can go wrong when talking to an agent. Client says 87 Westy is worth 22K. When the car is added to the policy there is a process to input the value of the car into the insurance company computer. Customer is charged a premium on a vehicle that is worth 22k. This is the only way to approach this dilemma. Client says vehicle is 22K, company charges for a vehicle worth 22K. Doesn't mean you have 22K of coverage.
What would happen if you didn't mention the vehicle value at all? What if they didn't ask you? You could pay an incorrect premium for your coverage. At the time of a loss, you still get the ACV. The burden of charging the correct premium is on the company so if it was never discussed you might underpay and still receive the ACV which might turn out to be higher.

At the time of the loss (accident or theft) the dollar amount paid depends on the vehicle ACV (actual cash value). It could turn out that the vehicle ACV is 22K and you would have a much stroger argument if you were paying premium based on this amount. Or, it could be much less. There is a stated process in the policy that usually finds agreement between customer and company. Often, neither is happy in the end.

The fact that many of our vans are very nice and people have put much time, energy and money into the project doesn't mean they are worth $$.

The only thing you can do is to carefully document your vehicle condition. Photo's and receipts are helpful. Then, at the time of a claim you will have a shot at getting the highest value or possibly prevent the repair bill from causing the vehicle to be a total loss.

This information is based on what I know to be true about most companies that operate in Washington state. Insurance out of this state may be different but probably it's all the same when it comes to this subject.

One more thing, anything can be insured. Try Lloyds of London and if you want to pay the premium they will make you a policy that will cover you.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:40 pm

We have agreed value on our older ones with Liberty Mutual. Just need an appraisal/letter of value to get the 90 Vanagon on. They will not do our Kubvan as they call it a commercial vehicle (but our panel vans are not.....)

Also a smaller local company will do agreed value also (they think...)

No limits or garage is required either but it is a bit more than regular insurance.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:57 pm

xlr8r wrote: Daily driver is the problem here.

The only thing you can do is to carefully document your vehicle condition. Photo's and receipts are helpful. Then, at the time of a claim you will have a shot at getting the highest value or possibly prevent the repair bill from causing the vehicle to be a total loss.

This is frustrating. I have a one car garage filled with a regulary insured classic. I have two others (the '87 wolf, and the '74 mini). both can not be garaged, and I need to drive one of them to work.

So, without building another garage, and buying another daily driver, I am stuck with almost $20 worth of cars that I might be able to get $4K in case of a total loss of both of them?

The other choice is to document, document, document, and have a lawyer on retainer so I can fight for coverage after the accident?
:x :x
Why can't I pay for extra coverage?

Give me some more companies......

Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:05 pm

WM971252 wrote: We have agreed value on our older ones with Liberty Mutual. Just need an appraisal/letter of value to get the 90 Vanagon on. They will not do our Kubvan as they call it a commercial vehicle (but our panel vans are not.....)

Also a smaller local company will do agreed value also (they think...)

No limits or garage is required either but it is a bit more than regular insurance.

Please get this in writing and hold on to the letter. It should come from the claims department.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:09 pm

McVanagon wrote: xlr8r wrote: Daily driver is the problem here.

The only thing you can do is to carefully document your vehicle condition. Photo's and receipts are helpful. Then, at the time of a claim you will have a shot at getting the highest value or possibly prevent the repair bill from causing the vehicle to be a total loss.

This is frustrating. I have a one car garage filled with a regulary insured classic. I have two others (the '87 wolf, and the '74 mini). both can not be garaged, and I need to drive one of them to work.

So, without building another garage, and buying another daily driver, I am stuck with almost $20 worth of cars that I might be able to get $4K in case of a total loss of both of them?

The other choice is to document, document, document, and have a lawyer on retainer so I can fight for coverage after the accident?
:x :x
Why can't I pay for extra coverage?

Give me some more companies......

The reason you can't pay for this coverage is companies won't offer it. If they did, ovenight it would become the number one insurance fraud in existance.

The idea to reatin a lawyer who will fix this is not an option.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:23 pm

In my experience, there is such a thing as a "stated value" policy. It is based on ACV but it is determined ahead of time in writing between the ins. company and the insured. There is no argument at the time of the claim, which is why it is called "stated value". They pay you what you agreed on ahead of time. You pay premiums based on the agreed value. I said "agreed value" which is the key. It's not just a number you make up but it is a value agreed on by the insurance company and you.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:31 pm

"WM971252 wrote:
We have agreed value on our older ones with Liberty Mutual. Just need an appraisal/letter of value to get the 90 Vanagon on. They will not do our Kubvan as they call it a commercial vehicle (but our panel vans are not.....)

Also a smaller local company will do agreed value also (they think...)

No limits or garage is required either but it is a bit more than regular insurance.

Please get this in writing and hold on to the letter. It should come from the claims department."

Have no fear we got all the right paperwork....

Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:12 pm

I have a stated value policy with Owners Insurance Co. 6101 Anacapri Blvd., Lansing, MI 48917-3999. Just in case you want to contact them. The stated value is $20k, $300k combined liability/occurrence, with a $500 deductible and full glass coverage. All for about $600/yr.

If you go with stated value, make sure you save all your receipts and take plenty of pictures and anything else that you can use in court to prove the van's worth.

Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:03 pm

hey...I'm with State Farm.

here's what they did with my CRX when it got stolen. they looked at the avarage selling price of the closest match (year and stated condition) in the area and after deductable was given that ammount.

I have also had an Intermecchanica Speedster kit car inchured w/ them for 15 years and 6 of that was daily driving, it was my only car at the time.

using that process of figureing value I think I'd come out ok if it got stolen. kit cars are hard to inchure I'm told with State Farm it was a breeze.

now for my crewcab, since it wasn't listed in the dropdown menue in there inchurance softwhare aplication...they asked me to get an aprasial of value and provided me with several shops who's word they would accept. I haven't gotten around to it but I want to. the crewcab is a wierd car like the speedster. I think by their process (pics taken when I bought it, my statement of condition and avarage selling price) I'd come out ok.

a fair aprasial would probably help too.

Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:32 am

FNGRUVN wrote: I have a stated value policy with Owners Insurance Co. 6101 Anacapri Blvd., Lansing, MI 48917-3999. Just in case you want to contact them. The stated value is $20k, $300k combined liability/occurrence, with a $500 deductible and full glass coverage. All for about $600/yr.

If you go with stated value, make sure you save all your receipts and take plenty of pictures and anything else that you can use in court to prove the van's worth.

I wanted to be sure that what I was saying is correct so I called Auto Owners Insurance Company in Lansing, MI. I also contacted an independent insurance agency in Colorado who write policies for AOIC.

According to the claims department at AOIC and the Independent agent who sells the product, this company does not settle claims any different than others that I am more familiar with. At the time of the loss, you will be paid ACV. It is fair to say that ACV may actually be 20K. It depends on your particular vehicle and the market value in the area. The only criteria they will use if your vehicle is a total loss is the current ACV of the vehicle.

Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:07 pm

i have state farm with an agreed upon value policy. i just checked with my agent and he said that if my syncro is destroyed i will get the agreed upon value. i do save all receipts for upgrades i do and use them to increase the agreed upon value once a year. i should say that i've had insurance with this agent for 20 years, more or less, and he's always done what he said. we have four cars, one rv, two boats and our house insured with him.

r

Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:37 pm

uther wrote: i have state farm with an agreed upon value policy. i just checked with my agent and he said that if my syncro is destroyed i will get the agreed upon value. i do save all receipts for upgrades i do and use them to increase the agreed upon value once a year. i should say that i've had insurance with this agent for 20 years, more or less, and he's always done what he said. we have four cars, one rv, two boats and our house insured with him.

r

This is a tough point to get across.

If you pull out your State Farm auto insurance policy and compare it side by side to another persons State Farm policy you will not find any different policy language in yours compared to his.

Call that agent back and get him to tell you what State Farm will pay if your vehicle is totalled, stolen, etc. Ask for a specific number. It should be easy for him to do because you have an "agreed value policy". If he won't/can't do it you need to question why. If he does do it, ask him to put it in writing and keep it for your records.

Then, down the road if your vehicle gets totalled or stolen you will have his signed statement and have an excellent Errors & Omissions claim against the agent. Your going to need this letter because you will be shocked to find out that State Farm will only be looking to pay you the vehicle ACV.

For daily driver vehicles, not classic or antique, State Farm pays ACV like the rest of them.

Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:47 pm

State farm around here did not want to do agreed value.

For years with a company... We had Nationwide till last year. That was 22 years and most (15+ with the same agent after the original agent retired). When we rolled our perfect 90 Jetta diesel we got the big shaft. Our body shop (also old boss) made a comment to the adjuster that I was a dumb ass for not having any "extra" insurance (besides collision) due to the value of it. The adjuster told him that it would have just been a waste of money :roll:. Oh and our agent response to the state insurance board about our complaint that they were low balling us hard was "I'm just the agent" (not any more).

Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:54 pm

WM971252 wrote: State farm around here did not want to do agreed value.

For years with a company... We had Nationwide till last year. That was 22 years and most (15+ with the same agent after the original agent retired). When we rolled our perfect 90 Jetta diesel we got the big shaft. Our body shop (also old boss) made a comment to the adjuster that I was a dumb ass for not having any "extra" insurance (besides collision) due to the value of it. The adjuster told him that it would have just been a waste of money :roll:. Oh and our agent response to the state insurance board about our complaint that they were low balling us hard was "I'm just the agent" (not any more).

That adjuster is right and many people pay higher premium than necessary thinking they have changed the way a company will pay out in a claim. A lot of agents are sorely lacking in understanding this point.

If anyone thinks they have agreed on the value of a vehicle with their insurance company just clear up any question about it and get a letter signed by the agent or claim department stating what the agreed value is.