Insurance Renewal Time Again

Dave · January 02, 2008, 04:30:49 PM

I had haggerty AND switched to grundy and ill go with them on the roadster and i need to do that soon..
Dave

ChevyGirlRox · January 02, 2008, 05:04:11 PM

I have my daily drivers, house and life with State Farm. I like them for those kind of things. I don't like them for classic insurance because their policies are not defined enough. What one agent tells a customer in one office can be (and usually is) totally different from what corporate or other agents say in terms of coverage.

For example:
A friend of mine purchased a 1937 Ford 2 door sedan last year. It is in primer and has been since the 60s. The guy he bought it from has had it insured with State Farm for the past 40 years! So my friend, who also has some cars with State Farm, takes the '37 to his agent with the policies from the past 40 years in hand to switch it over to him. (We are taking about 2 agents within 1/2 hour of each other, within the same state). His agent REFUSES to insure it! She says it isn't a done car and won't insure it no matter what. Even though State Farm had insured it for the past 40 years!

Also another friend has a 1951 Nash that is all original with faded (faded, not missing, not primered but faded) paint they won't insure either.

When you have a special car, you really need special insurance.

reborn55 · January 02, 2008, 05:36:25 PM

My 55 is with Grundy as well as my past streetrods. Their premium was 100 less than Hagerty for more coverage. So far n claims, but have never heard of any problems.

kb426 · January 02, 2008, 07:12:30 PM

I've been a State farmer since 1970. They have all my stuff. The reason being that one of my friends was an agent, He has since passed away. He mentioned that if you have one company, there is no discussion about who has to pay. My thought is if the total premiums are enough, the agent may do everything they can to help you. Very few people read their policies thinking they don't need to know that stuff. When something does happen, you may get an education that could have been avoided.

HotRodLadyCrusr · January 02, 2008, 08:27:49 PM

Don't be misled thinking that your SALES AGENT is going to be the one you deal with when you have a loss. Company's have claims agents and adjusters that specialize in claims just like sales agents specialize in selling you the policy.

People should read their policy, each and every page, and understand what is covered and not covered. As boring as it is, it needs to be done. The most important thing is to make sure your policy is an "Agreed Value" policy and not "Stated Value".

junkyardjeff · January 02, 2008, 08:59:41 PM

I have state farm on all my vehicles including my 37 chevy p/u and 55 ford convertible which have stated values,I kind of have the 37 and 55 low on value but the premiums are cheap. My agent had no problem insuring the 55 and 37 and collector vehicls but would not insure my 65 country squire as one,my guess is they dont think wagons are collectable or the paint did not shine enough. Jeff

phat rat · January 02, 2008, 10:30:02 PM

Quote from: "kb426"I've been a State farmer since 1970. They have all my stuff. The reason being that one of my friends was an agent, He has since passed away. He mentioned that if you have one company, there is no discussion about who has to pay. My thought is if the total premiums are enough, the agent may do everything they can to help you. Very few people read their policies thinking they don't need to know that stuff. When something does happen, you may get an education that could have been avoided.

Well I've known my State Farm agent since about 1953 or 54 been insured with him since about 78. We have, house, 2 life and 3 daily driver policies through him. We are personal friends, go to dinner, theater and cruises on his boat with he and his wife. But when State Farm made the low payout on my wifes totaled Mustang there was nothing he could do. So don't believe that your agent has the final say.

HotRodLadyCrusr · January 02, 2008, 10:59:14 PM

Quote from: "junkyardjeff"I have state farm on all my vehicles including my 37 chevy p/u and 55 ford convertible which have stated values,Jeff

Scary term for someone to have that has classic cars

Without sounding like I'm beating a dead horse "Stated Value" is NOT what you want for a "collector car." "Stated Value" is what you have for your daily driver. This means the insurance company states to you what the car is worth at the time of loss. You will get screwed if you have a collector car with this type of policy.

"Agreed Value" policy is where the value of the collector car is determined when the policy is bought and is agreed upon by both the insurance company and the policy holder. At the time of loss the whole agreed upon value is paid out to policy holder. Thi is the type of speciality insurance coverage that Grundy and Hagerty provide.

kb426 · January 02, 2008, 11:07:28 PM

Phat rat, I understand what you're saying. I just meant that the agent would have something to lose and be motivated to do what they could to assist you. The policy that I had on the 53 was for the dollar amount that I had chosen and the premium was based on that amount. I will do the same on the 32. Is that something that not everybody has available in State Farm due to area or past history?

tom36 · January 02, 2008, 11:13:36 PM

Little story here about agreed and stated values. A friend of mine has a Ford streetrod that was probably worth in the mid 20's. He had it insured for an agreed value of $15,000, figuring if he wrecked it he built it so he could fix it-- if somebody hit him, well, all bets were off. A few years ago in a driving rain he came up on an accident and when he hit his brakes in the oil and antifreeze on the road, he a bridge abutment. Damage to his car was in excess of $15,000, so the insurance company TOTALED his car, offered him a check for the agreed amount and wanted the car! He thought he would get $15,000 and pay the rest out of his pocket. He finally settled, basically having to buy the car back from the insurance company for the salvage value. :oops: :oops: :oops:

junkyardjeff · January 02, 2008, 11:28:34 PM

I meant to say agreed value,I keep getting those two mixed up. I need to have them appraised and raise the value as I have it set to low. Jeff

phat rat · January 02, 2008, 11:36:04 PM

Quote from: "kb426"Phat rat, I understand what you're saying. I just meant that the agent would have something to lose and be motivated to do what they could to assist you. The policy that I had on the 53 was for the dollar amount that I had chosen and the premium was based on that amount. I will do the same on the 32. Is that something that not everybody has available in State Farm due to area or past history?

Yes that's what I had, but that doesn't mean if it's totaled that you will receive that amount. They can and most likely will depreciate it. On the other hand I just got my renewal from Grundy and they said the price of cars was going up and they automatically increased my coverage by $2500. Remember with agreed value there is no depreciation. If something were to happen to my car and it was totaled I would receive $42,500 with no problem of arguing value. If you look back at what I wrote in my first comment on this you'll see that when I changed to Grundy my premium was within $10 a year for $15,000 more coverage. To me that translates as a better deal plus no worries if something should happen

Junkyardjeff, you better talk to your agent again because State Farm doesn't write agreed value only stated value. There's a big difference in the two.

HotRodLadyCrusr · January 03, 2008, 08:41:13 AM

Quote from: "junkyardjeff"I meant to say agreed value,I keep getting those two mixed up. I need to have them appraised and raise the value as I have it set to low. Jeff

You should be able to call or email them and increase the value within reason without an appraisal. I just (last month) increased the value of my 47 Oldsmobile an additional $40,000 with a quick email stating what was new on the car since the policy was obtained and within 24 hours I had a reply email stating that they raised my "Agreed Value" to what I requested. A couple days later I had a bill for $107.25. Not bad for an additional $40,000 coverage.

If you do have an agreed value policy it will state that right on the declaration page (first page).

HotRodLadyCrusr · January 03, 2008, 08:56:59 AM

Quote from: "tom36"Little story here about agreed and stated values. :

It's not really a story about the two values. What it is is a story about EXACTLY how "Agreed Value" works. You agreed with the insurance company on a set value for your car. If something happens they will pay you EXACTLY what they have agreed to, no more, no less, in case of a total loss. This does not mean you get to keep the car. It's hard to imagine someone thinking they can keep the car if the insurance company pays them off in full.

The insurance companies are usually pretty fair when it comes to selling back cars to owners and your friend could have probably, or did, pick the car up from them for pennies on the dollar. In my instance, my burned Chevy had no salvage value because of the high temp burn. All the smashed and burned metal was now "soft" so to speak. Hagerty told me I could have the car if I wanted but friends advised me there was nothing I could do with the car. I'm sure Hagerty would have liked me to take responsiblity for the car so they wouldn't have had to hire someone to haul it away.

Stated value is what your daily driver coverage is. Your car gets totalled, the insurance company tells you how much the car is worth at that exact second, less deductable, and thats what you get. for the most part, there is no fighting them for more. Once in a great while you can state your case and hold out for alittle more but it's always a gamble on what they will pay you.

A few years ago I got sideswiped in my mini-van. Not bad but the car was worth about $5,000 and there was $5,000 worth of damages. The kicker was the van was paid off and I couldn't find something exactly like it, in the nice condition it was in, for that amount. That's stated value for you.

Bruce Dorsi · January 03, 2008, 09:51:27 AM

I have often wondered about settling a "Total" loss claim.

Let's say the value (either stated or agreed) of the vehicle is $15,000.

If the damage is $15,000 or greater, the vehicle is declared a "Total" by the insurance company. .....The insurance company writes a check for $15K, and wants your damaged vehicle.

Can the insurance company declare a vehicle "Totaled" if the damages are LESS than the value (either agreed or depreciated) of the vehicle?

I believe in the past, it has been stated (by Enjenjo?) that the insurance company does NOT have the right to take the damaged vehicle. ......If this is true, how does one challenge the insurance company?

In the above example, if the insurance company declares the vehicle a Total loss, and is willing write a check for $15K while expecting the damaged vehicle to be turned over to them, can I tell them to write the check for $14,999, and I keep the car, since it is now not a Total loss?