Insurance Question

[ed1655]

Could you explain what you are talking about, since I have state farm insurance, and , they have always taken great care of anything I have turned in???

search the c1/c2, and c3 forums for "insurance".... there is actually a thread in the c1/c2 forum archives specifically about state farm! read just a little and you will quickly learn. state farm covers "stated" value not "agreed". meaning, if your car burns down tommorrow, you are NOT guaranteed what you think you've got coming to you. don't learn the hard way. you may have had some minor claims that worked out ok and that's great, but god forbid anything major should happen.... hnoes

GOOD LUCK, GRASSHOPPER!

 

[LVMYVT76]

Yes, your car is insured for a ceterain amount, what they show it is worth, and probably not near what you tjhink it is worth. But if you get your car appraised and set it up as a certain amount of insured, at a higher preimum price, they will pay accordingly. This is what I was told, now that is the way for any car insurance company, unless it is a special car insurance company that is insuring the car for an agreed set amount, if completely distroyed or damaged. You can believe an insurance company is not going to give you $20,000 for a $5000 car just because you think it is worth more to you, the same said for a newer car, you won't get $50,000 for a $20,000 listed car.

 

[ed1655]

it's not what you THINK it's worth, it's what it IS worth. if my car gets appraised for 35grand and it gets destroyed, i better damn well get 35 grand for it, which is what you WILL get with an agreed value policy.... only available from collector's insurance companies.

 

[LVMYVT76]

You are wrong if your insurance is State Farm, I just verified it with my agent. You can get an agreed upon value of your car and pay that premium price, if. you want a higher value , they submit that to the home office. IF it a very high price, they will probably need an appriasal done on the car to get that value. NOW, when and if it needs repair work, usually you can choose the repair shop, have them submit an estimate for repairs, have it approved and then repaired at that shop. That is not the way it was 30 to 40 years ago though. This is what my agent says the way it is done now, and they have never done me wrong, they want my business, why lie to me???? too manylawyers wanting to make money on insurance law suits and bad publicity now adays. The local TV stations love to get ahold of stories like that here.
NOW, my car is on the antique car policy along with my other cars and house, where you get discounts. My premium for the car with a $7000 replcement is $45.00 per 6 months coverage.

 

[ed1655]

hey look... i'm not trying to argue here. my whole reason for posting was to warn people not to fall into this trap. if you don't believe me... fine. proceed at your own risk. and you know what? if anything happens to your vette, i hope to god that you are RIGHT! i don't want you to get screwed... i don't want ANYONE to get screwed, that's why i posted in the first place.

 

[killain]

I always had American Collectors Insurance policy on my strickly stock & restored 1979 Corvette. In fifteen years I had the policy it cost $130 a year and after fifteen years it still only cost 140.00 a year. I always had a very good relationship with the company. They never gave me any trouble and only once asked about where the car was stored. But I have to tell you, you don't to get into a P&*^*%g contest with a insurance company. If they don't want to pay for something they don't feel was a honestly covered loss, they'll spend whatever it takes to fight you in court. Your always better off being a little over insured than on the margins. American Collectors to me was a great company. Also, I never had to get a independent appraisal, the company rep. from American Collectors asked what value I wanted to attach to the car. I said I wanted 18.500 and that what was put on it. It was "Agreed Value" and the premium still was only $140.00 a year.

 

[LVMYVT76]

I'm not trying to argue either, just some people don't ask enough question before they get mad at an insurance company, THINKING sometimes they are covered for something they are not, trying to get more than they should, and then blaming the insurance company. We seem to want more than we entitled to now days.

 

[GerryLP]

Now that some time has passed...

Now that some time has passed since this post was started, does anyone have a different opinion or changed their minds about their insurance company? For example, was your claim pain-free, but your premium skyrocketed? If you recently changed you coverage to a different insurance company, what was your motivation?

I just rear-ended someone yesterday ;squint:ad, and I am debating whether I should carry-on with my claim or perhaps fix it on my own...

GerryLP:cool

 

[Evolution1980]

I just rear-ended someone yesterday ;squint:ad, and I am debating whether I should carry-on with my claim or perhaps fix it on my own...

Bummer! What car were your driving?
As to fixing it yourself versus filing a claim, I learned this when I had the same quandary.

The insurance company allows so much to be paid out before they raise your rates. Kinda like their own deductible. If their total payout is more than "X", then your rates go up. However, if you have a pretty clean record, your rate may only increase by maybe $200-$300/yr (at a high estimate). Now, you may think that sucks...$75/qtr. BUT...that would only likely be on your record for three years and then you can likely have your rates lowered again. So over three years you'll pay between $600-$900 + whatever your original deductible is for the claim ($500? $1000?). Say it's $1000 deductible and you paid out $900 in increased rates. So your total out of pocket for the entire claim is $1900. What is it going to cost you to repair the car yourself? More than $1900? More than $1900 over a three year period?

Based on that logic, I went ahead and filed my claim. Yeah, my rates went up, but considering what it cost to fix the car, I'm still way ahead.

2¢ for ya...

 

[MDKyleZ]

After my current claim I've been looking into many of these insurance threads; I want to follow this one to see if the same applies to Comprehensive claims as well. Any thoughts?

 

[ocsm158]

For my '74 convertible, I got American Collectors through my USAA policy. They were fantastic to deal with. Here are my details.

Collector Vehicles

1. Original 1974 Chevrolet CORVET CONV Value $16,500 Condition Excellent Annual Mileage 3000

Coverages

Vehicle 1974 Chevrolet
Bodily Injury/Property Damage (300K/500K/100K) $52.00
Medical Payments (1,000) $4.00
UM/UIM Bodily Injury (25K/50K) $7.00
Liability Total $63.00
Comprehensive ($0) $57.75
Collision ($0) $41.25
Towing and Labor for Collectors (TLC) Plan - Platinum $34.95
Spare Parts ($500) Included
Vehicle Total $196.95
Annual Premium: $196.95
Total Due: $196.95

 

[Evolution1980]

For my '74 convertible...Here are my details.

Any deductibles?

 

[GerryLP]

Bummer! What car were your driving?
As to fixing it yourself versus filing a claim, I learned this when I had the same quandary.

The insurance company allows so much to be paid out before they raise your rates. Kinda like their own deductible. If their total payout is more than "X", then your rates go up. However, if you have a pretty clean record, your rate may only increase by maybe $200-$300/yr (at a high estimate). Now, you may think that sucks...$75/qtr. BUT...that would only likely be on your record for three years and then you can likely have your rates lowered again. So over three years you'll pay between $600-$900 + whatever your original deductible is for the claim ($500? $1000?). Say it's $1000 deductible and you paid out $900 in increased rates. So your total out of pocket for the entire claim is $1900. What is it going to cost you to repair the car yourself? More than $1900? More than $1900 over a three year period?

Based on that logic, I went ahead and filed my claim. Yeah, my rates went up, but considering what it cost to fix the car, I'm still way ahead.

2¢ for ya...

I was driving the Vette.

And I have Hagerty Insurance with an agreed value of $24K and $0 dollars deductible.

I will take the Vette to another place to get an additional estimate (I already to her to where she was painted), and I am thinking of repairing the different pieces / areas myslef except for fiberglass repair (where needed) and paint.

I am just wondering how much more will I have to pay in the future.

GerryLP:cool

 

[Evolution1980]

Gerry, one of the nice things about having someone else do the work, specifically a shop that works directly with your insurance company, is that if you encounter anything later on down the road that was done incorrectly, you should be able to take it back to the shop (or your insurance co.) and tell them, "Hey, this wasn't done right!"

I did exactly that yesterday. I had work done on my daily driver back in February. Just this past weekend I found something that wasn't correct. The body shop didn't install a splash shield. I checked with the shop and they told me it wasn't replaced because it wasn't there when the car came in for repair. I called the insurance company and they said, "No, it needs to go back on and they should've put it on." By this time, I had already purchased the splash shield myself. Insurance company said that they would reimburse in full for the shield (I faxed 'em my receipt) and that all I need to do is take my car back to the shop and have them complete the job.

So...there's a benefit in having someone else do all the work in terms having recourse later if you find something related to the accident that wasn't taken care of now.

 

[ocsm158]

Any deductibles?

No deductibles.

 

[indycallaway]

I use Classic Auto Insurance. Great to deal with, and extremely competitive rates.

 

[hzl6cm]

Now that some time has passed since this post was started, does anyone have a different opinion or changed their minds about their insurance company? For example, was your claim pain-free, but your premium skyrocketed? If you recently changed you coverage to a different insurance company, what was your motivation?

I just rear-ended someone yesterday ;squint:ad, and I am debating whether I should carry-on with my claim or perhaps fix it on my own...

GerryLP:cool

I have State Farm collector car insurance on the '71 Vette (for about $70 for every since months) and on my '82 Camaro CP Autocross car (about $50 every six months) and regular coverage on my '04 Z06 (for about $300 every 6 months). Since I just spun the Z06 in to the ditch last Friday, I guess that I will find out what it does to my rates. I am leaning towards using a local body shop, which I know does good paint work, that happens to be on State Farms prefered list - the worst dame for them to repair will be fixing the rear suspension, which is bent. Replacing the rear fascia and fixing the exhuast shouldn't be any big deal to them.